A campaign to “air your dirty laundry” took place at the Saartjie Baartman Centre on 11 December 2009, as part of the Centre’s 10 birthday celebrations, and also as part of the 16 days of activism to end violence against women. Some 200 children from neighbouring schools were invited to join our shelter children to spend a morning of fun and seriousness painting their messages on t-shirts. Aided by a group of artists who volunteered their time to inspire them, the children set to their task with great enthusiasm, interspersing their flashes of inspiration with leaping on and off the jumping castles. They could also have their faces painted and each child wore a slapper band on their wrist, proclaiming that `violence ends here’.

The photos below can speak for themselves: