“Our Narratives”

Diyo M Bopengo discusses his experiences on the Young People Together project, building a creative community, taking chances and shares a brand new poem inspired by the project.

8 Min Read

Standing up in a crowd and sharing a piece of writing brought so much peace in my heart.

I am a Refugee in the United Kingdom with DRC Congolese origins, which puts me in a place to speak various bantu languages, like Zulu, Swahili, Lingala, Xhosa and French - my first international language before relocating to South Africa where I have spent most of my life and now, I have migrated to the UK. And yes, I love to embrace different cultures, I also love foods, animals as well as nature and people.

Having so many words in mind, please do bear with me if I sound a bit poetic at times, as this is one of my passions. I discovered my love for creative art when I joined Good Chance Theatre in the Autumn of 2019. Standing up in a crowd and sharing a piece of writing brought so much peace in my heart. I have co-published three anthologies with Good Chance’s Change the Word Collective, the poetry department of Good Chance which I now coordinate. I have done various poetry performances including being part of Sheffield’s Migration Matters Festival.

I migrated to the United Kingdom during the spring of 2019 and I was living in doom. My mind was troubled and all hope was lost…

 “Walking in a strange path with no hope, I stand to think, my mind speaks in silent” 

these words will live with me ‘till the end of my days but the darker the tunnel gets, a light of hope shines at the end. I found this through art and creative activities.

As a migrant it is difficult to step your foot on solid ground, as a business developer art was never in my mind as I was working in a senior management position in South Africa for many years. I believe that one has to start somewhere and once you discover where to step your foot, it is time you guide others and for me it is through creative art, where you can stand tall, feel invincible and have a voice.

This is just what SBC Theatre is all about.

My experience with SBC made me feel at home. The love, the friendship, the understanding and the patience everyone has is just out of this world.

I once asked the question in a Good Chance board meeting “Why do people praise others all the time even if they are not doing thing as they should?” this I have noticed in the UK. But my warmth of heart and the experience with SBC is not even close to just a praise but a happy place where I truly felt at home and had the opportunity to be nothing else but me.

I was approached by Dr. Thea Shahrokh to take part in Young People Together with SBC Theatre as a Poetry facilitator and I just couldn’t say no. Truly, it was a good decision to accept even though I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know who would attend. I do regular creative writing workshops with adults and this was the first time I had to do a workshop with young people - to be honest most of the group until today don’t know that I was there to facilitate, we were always so collaborative with no hierarchies in the room and this just shows how much fun we had and we made so many happy memories.

Tokoss!

I would do it over and over again, the world needs more creativity.

The group worked beautifully as a team with the guidance and coordination of SBC leaders, and they have come up with such astounding words which I have added to my free writes while writing this poem…

Our Narratives, when we greet and chat

By Diyo M Bopengo

In the mixture of languages,
we stood and passed a mushy ball like a Mexican wave
playing in the flood of joy by the stream with no ends

We hold the pillar that stood still,     a self-check
The next thing you hear     chicken or falafel?
Some of us don’t even know what that means

So! we stood by our simple dinner,     yes, chicken please, one,
two, then more voices Echoes
The ladies in their white shirts
bang their muscles against their bones
while dancing, with so much talent and vibrant patience.
Maybe the world just needs a bite of pizza,    it sizzles your tongue from one end to another.

We Migrated to a comfort filled with sweats of happiness.
The men who couldn’t hear their thoughts
found a voice.

and spoke with thunder roll,
it vibrates your earbuds,     like a thunder storm on a summer break
we, who could not dance, move and shake our hips     to those happy drum’s beats.
Woods!     Changes!     Wife!     Brother!     Life!     Edible!

The world needs more mutual understanding
But what is the colour of life?
             Body movement?
             Hope?

or freedom to live,     we need our family, or just stop war!
We even need to embrace different traditions
like a warm blanket on an icy day. Maybe a friend.

communities need places like this, a place of redemption,
And to be glorious even just for a day. Yet we had seven of them.
            Love?
            Family?
            Or just an answer from God!      Perhaps

The voice echoes at the end, chicken or falafel?
We dwell in this open space;     losing track of time.
Our mind speaks

But it whispers at ease,     in the openness where we can
only be bold and you,     being yourself.
We learnt, we connected, we made friends,     with a real smile
Our arms opened;     we embraced each other’s flows.

The world needs more of us!