Today we went to Chatsworth, about a 30 minute drive from our flat, to meet with our public affairs person, Clive, in that area and to see about checking out the Mandela Youth Centre and the Arena Park Regional Hall. Clive told us they were both available on August 10th and they are across the street from each other, so we decided to go and take a look. We found it after a couple of wrong turns. It is very close to the Chatsworth chapel that we have attended before, but not on GPS. We've come to rely on GPS around here so much that going somewhere without it was a challenge. The internet here is different than the US. There is a real lack of addresses to put in map quest. We never did get an exact address for the youth centre, so our directions took us just so far and then we had to drive around and look for it. Clive did not show up at 10 am, as we had arranged, because he was busy at work, but we got a hold of him and he directed us the rest of the way.
The Youth Centre was built under Mandela's direction for the Chatsworth area youth. That is significant, because it is an Indian dominant neighborhood. The building was probably really nice when it was built, but it has not been kept up, so it is in desperate need of paint and TLC. It did not seem like it would work for our conference, so I was anxious to get over to Arena Park and check that out, but when we arrived it was locked up. The outside was in great shape; there was a big parking lot and it seemed more appropriate for the concert, so we called the number posted on the door to see about getting in. He told us that it was booked for August 10th and that Clive never called him...hmmm. So that building is out.
We went back to the Youth Centre and tried to call the director, but had to leave a message. While we waited in the car, my brain was forming ideas of how we could spruce the place up. I thought of helping hands projects and sponsors and actually making this a community effort to get this youth centre in good repair by the time of the concert. It is wheelchair friendly, so we could do the last LotusFM wheelchair giveaway there and then invite all recipients and their caretakers to the concert that follows the giveaway. Because we are combining the venue with the wheelchair giveaway we could probably get the building for free and perhaps some sponsors to help us spruce it up. We could involve the elders in the Durban Mission and maybe even the Senior Missionaries...
So, I got out and started taking photos of the place. The inside also needs painting, but may not be that obvious at night. Perhaps the stage could be draped in black curtains. There was a boxing ring at the back that did not look too easy to move, so I was trying to figure out how to mask that. There were concrete bleachers on the left and I was wondering if we should block that off or leave it for seating. The plastic chairs that were there for testing that day could work for seating, but there were not near enough of them. Desks would have to be moved outside, chairs brought in, junk removed. It is a huge project.
The upstairs balcony area could easily seat 50 more people, if we needed to use it and it would require minimal clean up. The women's bathrooms had four stalls and four place to wash hands. It actually was pretty nice, but one of the stalls said 'out of order' and you could hear the water continually running.
The entrance patio had a nice painting of Mandela on the wall and a mosaic mural, but the walls were suffering from years of moisture and mold and needed to be painted badly after a spray wash. Was this actually possible, I thought, to make it look decent before the concert. Was it even important that we do that? I guess I was more worried about David Glen Hatch and his students and what they would think of the place. It would be having a concert in a gymnasium, but it is so symbolic of the struggle of the African people. The Indian people have been in Africa a long time. By now, most of them were born in Africa. It is their country too. The wheelchairs we are giving away are to the Indian community, through an Indian radio station. They have the same issues and problems that the black people have. Since we cannot find a nice theatre that is available to do this concert, perhaps we change gears and have it more of a charity event.
I shared my enthusiasm with Elder Kyle and I could tell he was thinking, "Whoa, put the brakes on." He is thinking of going through the correct channels in the stake and wards and knowing how slow things go in Africa, I am thinking, 'No, let's just get it done.' Perhaps we will compromise and do a little of both. We finally got tired of trying to get someone to show up that we could talk to about the centre, so we went back to our flat. We called Clive and he agreed to get in touch with the Director, but so far no one has been able to . We cannot move forward until we have booked the place. Fun and games here. Interesting possibilities.
The Youth Centre was built under Mandela's direction for the Chatsworth area youth. That is significant, because it is an Indian dominant neighborhood. The building was probably really nice when it was built, but it has not been kept up, so it is in desperate need of paint and TLC. It did not seem like it would work for our conference, so I was anxious to get over to Arena Park and check that out, but when we arrived it was locked up. The outside was in great shape; there was a big parking lot and it seemed more appropriate for the concert, so we called the number posted on the door to see about getting in. He told us that it was booked for August 10th and that Clive never called him...hmmm. So that building is out.
We went back to the Youth Centre and tried to call the director, but had to leave a message. While we waited in the car, my brain was forming ideas of how we could spruce the place up. I thought of helping hands projects and sponsors and actually making this a community effort to get this youth centre in good repair by the time of the concert. It is wheelchair friendly, so we could do the last LotusFM wheelchair giveaway there and then invite all recipients and their caretakers to the concert that follows the giveaway. Because we are combining the venue with the wheelchair giveaway we could probably get the building for free and perhaps some sponsors to help us spruce it up. We could involve the elders in the Durban Mission and maybe even the Senior Missionaries...
So, I got out and started taking photos of the place. The inside also needs painting, but may not be that obvious at night. Perhaps the stage could be draped in black curtains. There was a boxing ring at the back that did not look too easy to move, so I was trying to figure out how to mask that. There were concrete bleachers on the left and I was wondering if we should block that off or leave it for seating. The plastic chairs that were there for testing that day could work for seating, but there were not near enough of them. Desks would have to be moved outside, chairs brought in, junk removed. It is a huge project.
The upstairs balcony area could easily seat 50 more people, if we needed to use it and it would require minimal clean up. The women's bathrooms had four stalls and four place to wash hands. It actually was pretty nice, but one of the stalls said 'out of order' and you could hear the water continually running.
The entrance patio had a nice painting of Mandela on the wall and a mosaic mural, but the walls were suffering from years of moisture and mold and needed to be painted badly after a spray wash. Was this actually possible, I thought, to make it look decent before the concert. Was it even important that we do that? I guess I was more worried about David Glen Hatch and his students and what they would think of the place. It would be having a concert in a gymnasium, but it is so symbolic of the struggle of the African people. The Indian people have been in Africa a long time. By now, most of them were born in Africa. It is their country too. The wheelchairs we are giving away are to the Indian community, through an Indian radio station. They have the same issues and problems that the black people have. Since we cannot find a nice theatre that is available to do this concert, perhaps we change gears and have it more of a charity event. 
I shared my enthusiasm with Elder Kyle and I could tell he was thinking, "Whoa, put the brakes on." He is thinking of going through the correct channels in the stake and wards and knowing how slow things go in Africa, I am thinking, 'No, let's just get it done.' Perhaps we will compromise and do a little of both. We finally got tired of trying to get someone to show up that we could talk to about the centre, so we went back to our flat. We called Clive and he agreed to get in touch with the Director, but so far no one has been able to . We cannot move forward until we have booked the place. Fun and games here. Interesting possibilities.
I like your thinking Mom! GO FOR IT! Even if you fall a little short, it would be awesome based on your ideas. And we all know that Heavenly Father has a way of making things happen! I think the place is totally cool. If you can get enough people to buy into the idea and get the creative thinking caps going, the possibilities are endless! What a great opportunity to use two events for a great cause and great visibility!
ReplyDeleteYOU CAN DO IT! (Assuming you can get a hold of the director. Maybe this is secretly a gift from God?)
I just looked more closely at the pics and I think that place is perfect! You guys are experts at making things like this look amazing. All of that vision you have is ideal for this place. "If you build it, they will come" hehe...
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear about what happens!