Visual artist Ndako Nghipandulwa has embarked on a project to bring life to shacks in the informal settlements of the city and ensure that inhabitants, under the economic circumstances, still enjoy their shelter and continue calling it home.
He told Youth Corner that Project Babylon was birthed when he had to do some shack artwork for an initiative called Babylon: Life in a Corrugated Maze.
“I went to the Okahandja Park area, took a picture of the shacks, at the time when children were playing in front of the shacks in the area. I made the artwork and thought, how can I sell this and the kids in the photos are not going to reap any benefits from it?” he recalled.
Nghipandulwa decided to go back to the area, track down the families of the children in his pictures by asking people around, and managed to find the parents.
The artwork was sold a couple of months later, and him and the team bought clothes and school shoes for the children, as well as food.
“I embarked on a mission from there to paint the whole area, or at least as many shacks as I could to try and change the look and feel of the whole neighbourhood. This plan was boosted through the grant given by the National Arts Council,” he stated.
He is excited about the impact the project has been having in the community, to the extent that some members have started volunteering to assist where they can.
Lukas Ndinyando, one of the beneficiaries who had their home painted by Nghipandulwa, said he is happy that the project has started, and the feel of the neighbourhood is different. He counts himself lucky because “they started painting my house first, which was amazing.”
“Since the painting of the shacks started, the people are happy about it. The colours have made a difference, and they look happier even. Things are looking beautiful, man,” said the overjoyed Ndinyando.
He said this may seem like a small personal project, but it has made an impact, and the transfer of skills is already taking place when students are learning how to paint. This is also a way of keeping them busy, instead of roaming around in the streets.
“What I have noticed about the Babylon Project is that it is allowing people to come closer, and make sure it becomes a success. People are learning how to communicate with one another, and how to paint. This is amazing to witness,” stated the young craftsman whose interest is in clean energy.
– psiririka@nepc.com.na