Chieza

CHILD EXPOSURE IN ZAMBIAN ARTS (CHIEZA) TRUST

Registered as a non-profit, CHILD EXPOSURE IN ZAMBIAN ARTS (CHIEZA) TRUST is an arts education for development and employment private trust for children and young people with a powerful capacity to effect behaviour and mindset change. Our mission is to infuse Zambian children with a sense of self-identity and self-belief in a global village by equipping them with expressive capacities to take responsibility and show leadership in advocating for better children’s welfare in society. Nurtured in Zambian cultures, their artistic talents will be exposed through arts and media education in music – both traditional and contemporary – dance, drama, radio, television and film. Further, CHIEZA is a gender-equal and non-discriminatory organization offering equal arts practice and training to all children and young people including those living with disabilities. It believes that children and young people have the greatest potential as agents for change and the best way to ensure that our efforts to develop a better world are successful is to work with children and young people.

MISSION STATEMENT
To infuse Zambian children and Young People with a sense of self-identity and self-belief in a global village, by equipping them with empowered capacities to take responsibility and leadership to participate in whole for a better child-welfare in society.
A children and young people’s arts education for development and employment!

VISION
A stand up organization to empower children and young people in society for prosperity, unity and peace through participatory arts.
BACKGROUND
Child Exposure in Zambian Arts (CHIEZA) Trust is a Zambian non-profit organization that provides access and opportunity for a Zambian Child to build a sense of self-identity and self-belief within the global village by exposure of his/her artistic talent to a local and international audience.
With headquarters in Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia, CHIEZA is a brain child of L.A. Arts Promotions (LAAP), itself founded by Mr. Gabriel Edward Mbambala in 1994, to promote performing arts in Zambian. Since formation, LAAP has actively promoted various performance arts at an assortment of fora i.e. training for youth artists in drama, music, dance and poetry. LAAP also sponsors a youth arts group specialized in dance, drama, traditional cultural dance and poetry. The group acronym – LEPLATO – is short for “Let’s play Arts Together”. It has since toured the country nationally, and other neighboring countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. One member of the group was also selected and attended an international course in dance in Finland in 1997. Currently, Leplato also performs developmental plays for a fee, with allowances being paid to its members for each such project done. LEPLATO has done many mass audience projects since 1997, the highlight being its central province tour attracting a total of 25,000 people, covering five (05) district high schools and their communities.
It is as a result of this local success that LEPLATO started incorporating children in their works, as children were proving to have more interest and showing a keen interest to have their talents in the arts tapped and nurtured, that LAAP was inspired to form CHIEZA. Children are overwhelmingly satisfied after performing to an audience, develop confidence and have increased interest with time. So much so that even street-children joined the group and started coming for rehearsals, after watching their friends perform. The LEPLATO youthful group became their trainers in dance, drama, poetry. These street-children started participating in developmental plays performed to the public during National days and celebrations. This exposed the children’s talents in the arts and gave them self-identity and self-confidence.
More street-children showed interest seeing their friends in performances as time went by, a realization which inspired LAAP to consider creating an organization of arts for children. Hence, CHIEZA was formed in May 2011, with the help of Dr. Robert McLaren (as assigned by CHIPAWO) after Mr. Gabriel Edward Mbambala and Mr. Joseph John Ntulisha attended an Arts Education for Development Orientation and Planning Course, which was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 9th to 13th January 2012, organized by Children Arts Education World (CHAREWO).
A children and young people’s arts education for development and employment!
LEGAL STATUS
CHIEZA TRUST was duly registered in Zambia on 11th June 2012, as a private not-for-profit company by limited guarantee with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), certificate number 102714.

OBJECTIVES

  • To provide an opportunity for children to expose their artistic talents in their Zambian culture.
  • To provide training to children to improve their artistic performance skills.
  •  To provide entertainment for the satisfaction of the communities and children.
  • To enrich children’s performing skills for enhanced youth employment opportunities.
  •  To ensure that the children’s artistic performances in the community makes them a part of it as human beings and as members of the same society.

INSTITUTIONAL MODEL OF CHIEZA
• Development of a Children’s arts and media education program, in dance, drama, music, in both traditional and contemporary, radio, television and film.
• Training of trainers of children.
• Equipping the institution with all necessary equipment required in the institution to run all the programmes.
• Initiating income generating projects for sustainability and to complement donor support projects.
• Development of annual strategic calendars for performances and film/video productions, costume and props productions for sales.

THE TRUST
CHIEZA is a non-profit making private trust, registered in Zambia with under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry PACRA office. The Trust is governed and run under the following structure:
A children and young people’s arts education for development and employment!

GOVERNANCE
• The Board of Trustees
• The Children’s & Youth Council
MANAGEMENT
• Executive Director
• Projects Manager
• Director of Finance
• Artistic Director
• Arts Educators
CHIEZA is affiliated to CHAREWO as an independent organization which shares the CHIPAWO mission. CHIEZA is child-driven and open to all children, including disadvantaged children in urban and rural communities, AIDS orphans and the challenged – the deaf and the physically and mentally challenged.

GENDER/DISABLED
CHIEZA is a gender equality and non-discriminatory organization which offers equal participatory opportunities for all children including the disabled children.
ARTS PRACTICES
• Language: Children at CHIEZA centre start their practice of art using their own language and gradually learn other languages. Their performances are done in their language for them to know their culture and they are more creative in their own language.
• Adult artists who work with the children are first trained and then come to share their experiences with the children.
• CHIEZA children come from different backgrounds and culture but they are brought together to combine their experiences to make one whole performance.
• Other children are also taught poetry, and how to recite and perform poetry in English (the Zambian Official Language).
A children and young people’s arts education for development and employment!
TRAINING
• The children trainers are trained by adults who are qualified in each artistic field i.e. drama, music and dance.
• CHIEZA also hires other skilled trainers from within and outside of the country to come and hold workshops with the children and the youths.
• During all trainings children are encouraged to participate and to be original, creative and innovative.
• Every Year CHIEZA holds training from 1 – 5 days for children in one of the performing art disciplines e.g. drama, dance or music. These trainings are part of an annual strategic plan.
CHIEZA’S PEDAGOGY
CHIEZA’s pedagogy is modeled along CHIPAWOs:
• Humanism – the human being is at the centre and the child is put first.
• Democratic – the right to freedom of expression is highly upheld especially in the interest of the child.
• Co-operation – working together, helping each other and sharing.
• Equality – Equality for all to participate in the activities and in sharing whatever comes out of it.
• Gender – respect and inclusivity of men and women among children and adults.
• Disability – The right of the disabled shall be respected
• Poverty and Employment – The creation of employment for all and the eradication of poverty shall be upheld.
CHIEZA IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE
CHIEZA shall expose and express its Zambian identity in the global village, but accept and tolerate other members of the Village. It will seek international relationships in order to fit in the global village and it shall still expose its Zambian cultures.
.CHIEZA CHILDREN & YOUTH COUNCIL
CHIEZA has established a council of children and young people, where both youths and children shall be part and parcel of the developmental decision making process.
A children and young people’s arts education for development and employment!

CONTACT DETAILS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gabriel Edward Mbambala
Mukuni House, 2nd Floor, Eastern Wing Room 2.13
P O Box 81441
Kabwe
Zambia
Phone: +260 955/966/976 830390
E-mail:chiezatrust@yahoo.com