Plans to launch Puppet Theater [Archives:2005/875/Local News]
SANA'A- Sept. 6- Like other developing societies, children in Yemeni society suffer from maltreatment, violence, a lack of education and other injustices. Such mistreatment is an enormous psychological burden to a developing mind and can severely limit or influence growth and socialization. The suffering is worse for children who live in difficult conditions due to poverty and family disintegration.
Children live in the streets, beg or work in dangerous and unregulated jobs, often illegally.
The social and economic transformation of Yemeni society has left extra burdens and tensions that create an environment suitable for violence changes witnessed in Yemeni society over the last 14 years, particularly after adopting the political reform policy and halting support for categories of limited income, contributed to deteriorating the living standards of population, mainly the poorer families. As a result, several families have become unable to provide social care for children and against children.
Violence against children in Yemen and other forms of maltreatment, either in or outside their families requires the concerned parties to conduct a study to check domains, reasons and bad effects of the phenomenon. These parties should suggest social policies to restrict the phenomenon and contribute to reinforcing child rights and providing better means for his/her care by parents at home and the society in the outer world.
This project would be implemented by Ibhar Foundation for Childhood and Creativity and the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood being the parties concerned with supervision and coordination and responsible for protecting rights of children. This project can be implemented in collaboration with the UNICEF to be the initial step for raising awareness, fighting violence against children as well as enabling children who have been subjected to abuse and exploitation to express themselves and speak directly with the society via theater.
The project account on the ability of theater to directly address the public and create a positive interaction with them. The idea concentrated on the design of simple popular theater to draw the attention of children and benefit them. Funny was taken into account while designing the Puppettheater and ho it will fit the Yemeni environment and the cultural privacy of Yemen. The project will move according to a timetable in the Capital Secretariat and the city of Aden and will display the skit for partners of the last part of the project: al-Amal House for Girls, Safer Childhood Center, Boys Guidance House and Comprehensive Services Center.
Arrangements for the project started in the final month of 2004 and continued up until last August in coordination with the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
The project went through the design of 4 wood-made mobile theaters and the procurement of 20 popular puppies to be delivered to the above said four partners of the project after the 8 offers, concerning the display of 4 recorded skits, goes to an end.
The skits will be distributed to partners of the project and a number of schools in different Yemeni governorates in coordination with the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
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