OCTOBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

Hello all dollmakers and Uthando friends,

This is a momentous time for many Uthando dollmakers. Dolls have been zipped into their travel bags for their sea journey to Durban. 1427 dolls went off yesterday, bound for TREE’s crèches and for use by the women trained in early childhood education. Several bags went to the Drakensberg area to Family Literacy groups. For the first time, dolls were sent to the children in the cancer and blood borne diseases wards at the Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban. Then more bags to Pietermaritzburg for our beloved partners, the Sizabantwana group of 45 Primary Schools and to LifeLine & Rape Crisis centres. When packing, we try to imagine what the special needs of the children at these different places would be and which dolls would suit them best.

EXHIBITION OF THE DOLLS AND PORTRAITS & LAUNCHING OF THE BOOK "100 DOLLS, COUNTLESS HEARTS"

To get more than a glimpse of how the dolls enter the lives of children in KwaZulu-Natal, simply open up our newly published book, 100 DOLLS, COUNTLESS HEARTS, to see many pictures and read the personal stories and backgrounds of the caregivers. Their words and faces bring them so close to us.

Getting our (and I mean all of us) book together has been a labour of love. Natalija Brunovs has brought the different threads of dollmakers’ portraits, their stories from childhood and their dolls together with Voices from Kwazulu-Natal and Voices from Australian groups. Not only do we see the faces and read the beautiful stories of our common humanity, but we get many sewing and knitting patterns as well. It has involved several hundred people to bring this book to fruition.

When our book is out there, doing its work, we ought to see many more dolls being made and perhaps the lively concepts of the whole Uthando Project being applied independently to other countries. Any one can do it. This is what grass roots action is all about.

TRAVELLING EXHIBITION OF THE REAL DOLLS IN THE BOOK

The travelling Exhibition of the real 100 Dolls featured in the book, will be displayed at

CHOGM in Perth, Wed 26 through to Sat 29^th October, 11am – 6pm.

Everyone is invited to come.

We will be in the People’s Space, the Orchard, opposite the Art Gallery.

This exhibition is designed to go to the Midland Junction Arts Centre in February 2012, the Western Australian Museum, Albany in March and then to Cape Town, South Africa, in April for the 13^th World Congress of Infant Mental Health.

We will have an informal Book Launch and Book Signing by as many dollmakers as possible at the

Kalamunda Zigzag Festival, Sunday 30^th Oct, 11 – 4pm, with the Book Launch to be between 11.30 and 12.30 at the Music Shell. If it suits you, come in national dress to celebrate the multicultural nature of the book.

Books for sale at both events. Please pay with cash. Sorry, no credit cards.

HOW DO I BUY THE NEW UTHANDO BOOK?

We would love as many dollmakers as possible to buy this book. It is beautiful, informative and practical…..very moving.

The 200 full colour pages give the depth of the Uthando Project in a very accessible way.

A Special Exhibition Price (until Nov 30, 2011) is $35 each. 3 books for a $100.

Leading into Christmas we will work to have the books sold through booksellers, which means the price will increase significantly….so buy now.

Send this newsletter to your friends, students and professionals, especially those working with children or those interested in multicultural richness and international partnerships.

Please keep an eye open for being able to order and pay with Paypal on our website. Coming soon.

Postage & Packing; Perth metro area, $11. Australia wide for 1- 3 books, $14.

Email our Treasurer, Lis Hansen uthandoproject@hotmail.com for freight costs for other countries or for larger orders.

There will be a full report on the year’s activities in December. For now, the main purpose is to invite all who can to the CHOGM  and Kalamunda events if you are in Western Australia. Then, through the sales of the 2000 copies printed, our KZN partner, dlalanathi, will benefit from all the profits, enabling them to work with more communities.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO IS BRINGING THIS BOOK PROJECT TO FULFILMENT

Special thanks also go to the City of Swan and the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health (National and State) for generous contributions towards the cost of the book.

May the dolls brighten our lives and the children’s lives,   

Georgia Efford and the working for the doll team