Dream a little dream

In an effort to bring about additional awareness to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to encourage dreaming among the masses, members of the KwaZulu Natal community have come together to work on a very special project. “The Dream Chair” as they so fondly refer to it has been a creation in the works for the last 2+ months and I was there to witness the beauty on opening day.

Under the creative eye of Paula, a staff member and in conjunction with the Woza Moya (“Come Spirit”) Shop which is a complementary project tightly associated with the Hillcrest AIDS Respite Center the chair came to life. Thirty women spent countless hours using beads to express hopes, dreams, frustrations, fears and the challenges that HIV/AIDS has presented to them, their families and their community.

The chair will be “sold” to large corporations in the greater Durban area for a month at a time. Along with it the company will receive their own personalized business cards and postcards as a thank you for donating to the project. Businessmen and women, patrons and family members will have an opportunity to visit the chair at each location and take a picture sitting in it. The pictures can be uploaded to the website www.dreamsforafrica.com along with each individual’s dreams. The final destination of the chair is unknown, but there are high hopes that celebrities will take their turn and that one day Nelson Mandela himself will sit in the seat and share his dreams with the community

The chair is the most elaborate, delicate and stunning piece of art work I have ever seen. It is covered from top to bottom with endless colors of beads in all sorts of formations. Some beads spell out words both in English and Zulu, “RECONCILIATION”, “ININGIZIM AFRICA”, “STRENGTH”, “FREEDOM” “DIVIRSITY”, “RESPONSIBILITY” and “PEACE”. Intricate formations were made out of traditional patterns and colors and other beads form the shape of sacred animals, mountains and people. The chair is accompanied by two wings on either side; each in the shape of the continent of Africa.

All of the beads together echo the voices of the community. A shared commitment to the support of all peoples. A hope for strength and endurance. A promise of love.

Yesterday the chair moved throughout the Hillcrest complex; making stops in the horticulture department, publication department, bead shop, second hand shop, feeding scheme and finally making its way down the dusty road to the Respite Unit. The chair in all of its splendour was placed amid the beds and staff members and patients alike were encouraged sit in the chair and share their dream.

Staff members scrambled at the chance to be photographed by a professional while having their turn in the chair. And then slowly one by one patients began to take interest. I have never seen such a profound sight – those who typically can’t walk without help seemed to be running – those who can’t talk were spouting paragraphs. The dreams of the patients were some of the most touching sentiments I have ever heard.

“To make it to my 25th birthday in a few months”
“To get well so I can see my son grow up”
“To get strong so I can teach others how to fight AIDS”
“For others to learn to love me even though I am infected”

As I took my turn sitting in the chair I felt so connected; connected to those who made this chair a reality; to those who had sat in it and those will sit in it; and connected in a deeper sense to Africans. There were smiles and tears as everyone talked about who they hoped would sit in it. Color of skin, male, female, religion, negative, positive, infected or affected….it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that the dream of the chair was made into a reality.

My goal as you’ll soon be able to read on the website was “that all individuals would have the ability to recognize their own, and all others God given potential and that everyone would be able to love without boundaries”