Cultural Activities

“GRG has united us; we have made friends, people who did not know each other now do.”

Local culture can play a major role in enabling groups to develop new and positive relationships, particularly with those whom they may have had previously conflicting relationships. Cultural activities consist of community theatre, adult literacy and sports activities.

Community Theater
In 2012, GRG established a partnership with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), to create an innovative reconciliation-through-theatre project. Community theatre facilitators were trained and the groups then designed their own plays based on the issues that were important to them. These plays encouraged participants to examine the reasons behind past behavior and to better understand the effect of their behavior on others. The groups then performed in front of their communities and encouraged their neighbors to participate in a discussion after the performance.

GRG plans to continue the community theater initiative and partnership with JRP. In 2013-2014 our community theater project sensitized over 3000 people on the subjects of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and land conflicts through drama, music and dance performance. GRG anticipates reaching an additional 3000 in 2015.

Functional Adult Literacy (FAL)
In 2013, two GRG-sponsored groups requested assistance gaining small business skills and obtaining necessary educational support to permit them to enroll in vocational training. GRG responded to the request by turning the question back to the group: how could they gain these skills using their own resources? The groups identified their members who had completed primary and/or secondary level education and were comfortable with teaching if they had the right tools and support. GRG provided them with the materials and thus the functional adult literacy (FAL) program was born.

The objectives include learning English to enroll in vocational training and math in order to improve their small businesses and savings and to help their children with their homework. In January 2015 GRG trained 11 tutors from 6 groups in curriculum building, classroom management and distributed start up materials such as notebooks, chalk boards & elementary level classroom readers. Over 60% of the women in GRG groups are functionally illiterate. By 2016, GRG plans to cut this number in half.