Life-changing Education for South African Children

Dear Friend of YOUPSA,

We wish you could see how our children have grown and developed their character. The creative educational and personal development opportunities they enjoy in the YOUPSA Afterschool Enrichment Programme do not exist anywhere else in the rural communities.

A huge Thank You to our donors and supporters for your care and for making this possible. Please enjoy this brief news update highlighting some of the many activities in our weekly programmes.

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Healthy nutrition

Learning about healthy eating and drinking is an important part of YOUPSA's programmes. The children love trying new foods! They get a nutritious snack during each session.

We also learn to read the ingredients on packages and distinguish between what is healthy and what is not. These children are very precious and we want them to enjoy continued good health and vitality. Our favourite juice is 'Rugani Juice' because it is 100% pure fruit and vegetable ingredients, with no preservatives or additives.

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Neurographic art

YOUPSA children engaged in the mindful and expressive art form called Neurographic Art. This therapeutic form of drawing and colouring is excellent for recreating neuropathic pathways in the brain. Originally developed by Pavel Piskarev, Neurographic Art is a way to capture how the inner being reacts to the outer world.

Here are the steps you can try out for yourself: begin by thinking of something that is on your mind — an emotion or a challenge you are dealing with. Acknowledge it quietly and draw a curving, wandering line to express this, beginning anywhere along the edge of the page. The line may cross over itself or loop around, but must finish at another edge of the page. Then draw 2-4 or more of these lines. Let them intersect freely and organically. 

Finally, colour in the spaces between your lines, choosing colours based on your mood or intuition. As you colour, imagine smoothing out the tension in your thoughts and enjoy the calm that comes.

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My very own first book!

YOUPSA has been distributing hundreds of books to children in the farming areas and reading together with them. The children could not believe that they were receiving their very own book!

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Alphabet art

Learning how to draw bubble letters is a creative and fulfilling literacy activity for the children. It opens discussions about letter form, sounds and vocabulary, and strengthens knowledge of the alphabet. The children just loved this new way of adding personality to their signature!

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Perspective drawing

New arts, maths and life skills are always part of the YOUPSA afterschool programme. Our children were introduced to one-point perspective drawing. This helped them to see the world differently, adding new possibilities and layers into their art work. Rural primary and high school children never learn about perspective in their schools. The word perspective and its meaning was a completely new concept for everyone.

We first went outside to observe how things seem to be large when near and how they seem to be smaller in the distance. Putting this conscious observation on paper was so exhilarating for each child! One-point perspective drawing uses a single vanishing point on the horizon line, where lines converge to a single point.

We hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into the work we do with the children. Please stay connected, let us know if you have any questions or ideas to share.

With love and best wishes,

The YOUPSA Team