Hopespring Ghana –

“Freedom comes with a cost”

The performance was implemented in September 2013 at a correctional institute for young boys, for 44 boys serving time.

The characters

Young boy – Oppressed

Ally Oppressed – Counselor, Teacher

His friend – Oppressor

Ally Oppressor – Ju-Ju Man, Mother

Neutral –Colleagues from school

The boy comes home from serving his sentence in a correctional institute. The mother is alone at home, cleaning and complaining about the hard life they have. She is surprised to see the boy and she treats him indifferently. She clearly states she doesn’t trust him and she sees him more as a problem now that he came back home. The boy promises that he has changed and he will be a good boy from now on. The mother sends him off and continues to clean the house complaining about the poor life she has and the problems with the boy.

After one week he goes to school together with his counselor. He is now going to a different school after finishing his sentence. The counselor introduces him to the teacher and she explains his situation and the trust she puts in him, and asks the teacher to pay closer attention to him and respond to his needs. The teacher looks friendly and willing to help the boy. She introduces the boys to the 2 colleagues but she shows extra effort or attention to the boy and his new arrival in the class.

After some more weeks the boy meets by coincidence on the street one of his previous close friends. His friend mocks him for going to school and clearly states that it is stupid, nonsense and only for losers. At the same time the friend shows off with his richness and success and the boy is attracted to it (especially as he comes from a poor background and he would like to get to have money faster). The friend tells him that with school he will never have money and in fact he can suggest exactly what he needs to do if he wants money. He lures the boy to go and see a ‘Ju-Ju’ man or a spiritualist in order to gain wealth through illicit means. They go together to the ju-ju man right away. The boy is afraid but his friend reminds him that if he wants money this is the way he made the money. The Ju-Ju man requires some items from the boy together with an initial amount of money (which the friend provides).

After a couple of weeks the boy desperately goes to see his friend. He tells him that he is very afraid of the Ju-Ju man, that he went a couple of times there and every time the man asked for new things and threatened him that if he doesn’t provide those things it will be very bad for him. The friend explains to him that he needs to do everything the Ju-Ju man asked, he did the same thing (he even killed people) because he wanted what he asked for. The boy says he needs more money to pay the Ju-Ju man but the friend becomes angry as he already needs to pay back the initial amount – he tells him to make sure he will give everything to the Ju-Ju man and to pay him back his money.

Scene 5

The boy goes again to the Ju-Ju man (very scared and desperate) and he tells him he doesn’t have the money. The Ju-Ju man tells him that in these conditions the spirits are angry (because he didn’t do what was requested) and he will have to do something to make them calm down-he needs to make a ritual sacrifice of his mother. The boy is shocked – Ju-Ju man warns him that if he doesn’t do that he will go crazy.

The boy is in a dilemma because he is very afraid for what might happen but in the end decides to pursue with the ritual involving his mother.

Interventions

Scene 1

- The mother was changed to pay more attention to her boy, to give him another chance and to trust him; to encourage him in his plans for life.

Scene 2

- The teacher was changed to be more interested in the boy’s story and to make a warmer introduction of the boy to the class, also to encourage them to talk more and become friends.

Scene 3

- The boy was changed 2-3 times to show different approaches in talking with the friend and to reject the offer to go to the Ju-Ju man.

The forum with the boys was focused a lot on the support needed in the family and also the strength they need when they go back to their neighborhoods and to stay focused and say no to these friends with bad influences.