Dangwe Arts and Culture Centre

Currently

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Dangwe Pre-School

Since 2018, the Dangwe Arts & Culture Centre has been running an inclusive preschool for 25 children between the ages of 3 and 5. The loving guidance corresponds to the applied Waldorf school pedagogy, whereby all children receive targeted support. The early stages of life form the basis for healthy and personal development for every child. With the Dangwe Preschool, children from low-income and marginalised households are given this access to early education. The members and founders of the Dangwe Art Collective, who drive the preschool, know from their own experience how important it is to grow up in a protected environment. That is why they are still committed to providing this child-friendly care.

After only four years, the preschool was expanded with its own permaculture garden. Today, the organic cultivation of vegetables and grains enables all pupils and children from the neighbourhood to enjoy a healthy meal. The attached sanitation system provides access to clean water and contributes to reliable and improved livelihoods.

Dangwe Arts

Arts and crafts as self-help – The story of Dangwe

Dangwe means “first born” in the Shona language of Zimbabwe. In Chitungwiza, one of the largest townships outside the capital Harare, a group of children got together in 1997 to find their way off the streets. The result is today’s Dangwe Arts Collective, a community of 20 children and young adults who earn their living by selling handicrafts, among other things.

Since hardly any tourists come to Zimbabwe any more, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the young artists to find buyers for their products. The majority of the handicrafts are made from recycled materials. fepa supports the sale of Dangwe Arts products in Switzerland for the benefit of the collective.

With fepa’s support, the Dangwe Arts collective has been able to create its own home outside Chitungwiza. Today, the two buildings and the Dangwe Arts pre-school are complemented by a large permaculture garden for self-sufficiency, a chicken coop as well as a sanitary facility and a well for the supply of clean drinking water.

Brief overview on the Dangwe Arts Collective

fepa partner organisation	Dangwe Arts Collective
Location	Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Target group	(former) street children, children at risk of having to live on the streets, children with disabilities
fepa contribution 2018	CHF 6’500
fepa contribution 2019-2021	CHF 45’700
fepa contribution 2022	CHF 25’000
fepa contribution 2023	CHF 25’000
fepa contribution 2024	CHF 25’000

Your donation for the Dangwe Arts Collective

Support the Dangwe Arts Collective, which advocates for the right to education and basic services for children from disadvantaged families.

Donate towards the early education of children at Dangwe Arts Preschool.