UKZN Creates Garden of Hope and Healing Against Abuse

Staff and students are taught how to make flowers
out of plastic bottles for the Garden of Hope and
Healing at the Howard College campus..

In honour of International Women’s Day, UKZN’s info4africa together with Diakonia, Sydenham Community Centre, Dramaide and the UKZN Health Promoters recently launched a miniature garden of hope and healing at UKZN’s Howard College campus.

The garden alongside the Square Space Theatre and Info4africa offices buildings boasts flowers handmade by staff and students from tissue paper and plastic bottles of various colours decorated with glitter.

Messages against the abuse of women and children were written on the back of each flower while a graffiti artist, Mr Pastel Heart, decorated the wall above the garden with a flower with the words “Hope” “Healing” and “Respect” to tie in with the theme and the purpose of the garden.

Those attending the launch were asked to wear black to support the Thursdays in Black movement to raise awareness around issues of gender justice, violence against women and corrective rape.

A workshop on how to make the flowers was run by the Sydenham Community Resource Centre.

A special thanks was given to Diakonia and the Sydenham Community Centre for supplying the flowers, the UKZN AIDS Programme Health Promoters and Peer Educators for their support, Mr Heart for the beautiful graffiti and Second Banana for sponsoring the graffiti art, Sir Juice and Fulham Bakery for the generous supply of refreshments, and Illa Thompson (Publicity Matters) and Dianne Merchant (info4africa) for exceptional co-ordination.

Workshops on how to make the flowers can be run by the Sydenham Community Resource Centre on request.

Info4africa can be contacted on 031 260 3052 or heusticed@info4africa.org.za for further information.