JUVENILE PROGRAMME
Storytelling unlocks the prison of the mind
Credo Mutwa-inspired Khulisa Social Solutions deploys storytelling to promote self-esteem and identity among young people, writes Struan Douglas
Built on a foundation of African storytelling first inspired by Credo Mutwa’s book, Indaba My Children, Khulisa Social Solutions was founded by Lesley Ann van Selm 21 years ago. After reading the book in 1986, Van Selm made contact with Mutwa and they spent the next 13 years working together. They travelled to Australia, Bolivia, Peru and England to explore the many similarities between ancient cultures, and documented Mutwa’s rich knowledge of African folklore, fables, myths and legends. In August 1997, Mutwa and Van Selm were in Australia with an Aboriginal community when a message arrived from Kensington Palace with an urgent request from Princess Diana to meet with Mutwa. "Credo sometimes lamented his gift of seeing the future as a curse. He did not know how to respond to her request because she would be dead before he could get to their meeting," recalls Van Selm.
"Diana was the only person I had ever known Credo to truly idolise; to speak of so adoringly, to put on a ped...
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