Vanderful: promoting a positive future through play
Imagine a dog, a cat and their humans rolling into your town in a vintage Volkswagen campervan. You’d look twice.
And this isn’t just a family camping trip. In 2019, Vikki Farrell, brothers Francesco (Frankie) and Federico (Gibbo) Gigli, Bronzo the dog and Zuzu the cat founded Vanderful: an organisation dedicated to delivering performing arts and surf craftsmanship workshops to children. Having turned heads in Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Trieste, Italy, this summer, Vanderful pulls up in Rome.
The makings of Vanderful
But how the hell do you find yourself driving your cat and dog in a campervan through Africa? Vikki and Frankie’s journey began when they moved to Namibia in 2017 to take up teaching jobs.
As they settled in, talk turned to replacing the campervans they’d loved in their previous homes, Taiwan and Australia. They soon found Tomas and his Volkswagen Syncro Kombi. Vikki says: “He’d driven her for 17 years. Before that, she belonged to a British aid worker who imported her to Namibia in the 90s. We named her Syncro-nicity. She’d traversed Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, and was destined to carry us on the Vanderful journey. She became part of the family”.
Next, came Zuzu. “She was one of a small litter of stray kittens born in our boat. Zuzu is the Himba word for ‘dark colours’,” says Vikki. “Soon after adopting her, we took her on a 10-day camping trip where she became close to our friend’s terrier. She’s still convinced she’s a dog and sees the Kombi as her home.”
Nowadays, her best friend is Bronzo, the Rhodesian ridgeback. “Bronzo was neglected by his owners, couldn’t be re-homed and was destined to be put down. When we adopted him he was 15kg underweight. It took six months to bring his weight up and train him. It was never part of our plan to have a 45kg Rhodesian ridgeback, but we haven’t regretted it once.”
“All children should have the right to play.”
It was their experiences teaching in Namibia which inspired Vikki and Frankie to take what they’d learnt on the road.
Vikki explains: “You would ask a child, ‘How are you?’ and their response would be ‘I’m fine thank you, how about you?’ When you asked, ‘How do you really feel?’ they would just repeat the statement. We felt an after-school drama club would help our students express themselves.
“We didn’t know how it would go. In the end we had to limit capacity. After a successful year of fun, games, rehearsals and a school play, I knew this was what I was born to do. To support children to build confidence, self-esteem and the ability to express themselves through creativity and play.”
Vikki and Frankie could see they were making a difference, but they wanted to share what they’d learnt with more children. “These were the lucky ones, whose parents could afford to send them to private school.”
Vanderful was born.
Surf craftsmanship
The surf side of the project emerged from the Atlantic. Frankie and Gibbo are passionate about the sport and the therapeutic power of the ocean. Vikki says: “When we lived in Namibia, we discovered that many children had either never seen the sea (even if they lived nearby) or didn’t know how to swim. There’s a lot of superstition about the ocean, and with good reason. The Atlantic isn’t very inviting. It’s murky, rough, cold and there are strong rip tides along the coast.
“That said, West Africa is blessed with incredible surf and surf tourism is beginning to boom. We wanted to equip developing communities along the coast to take advantage in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.”
On the move
In June 2019, they hit the road. They visited eight towns. Children and young people learnt how to make ancient-style wooden Alaia surfboards and then how to surf them. They practised making natural surf wax and surfboard leashes from plastic bags collected from the beach. They took part in expressive arts workshops that expanded their team-building skills, confidence, self-esteem, self-expression and empowerment. They identified issues in their local area, and by writing and performing plays, explored how they could help to solve them.
They became the voices of the future.
Bumps in the road
And whilst the Vanderful team had huge successes, their journey wasn’t always smooth. “Travelling in an almost 30-year-old Kombi van was not the easiest. When it rained, it really rained and there were no roads, just lakes and rivers.
“As a result, we took an unplanned break for rainy season at the start of 2020. And it’s lucky we did. When the pandemic hit, we were supposed to be in Gabon. It’s not worth imagining how difficult that would have been.
“After living in a van for six months, you appreciate running water, an actual shower, a comfy bed, a good night’s sleep. I don’t believe I’ll ever be the same again after what I experienced that year.”
Sustainable for planet and people
One big concern for the Vanderful team is the sustainability of their project. From the environmental, to the social and long-term impact.
For the planet, the team aim to leave as little trace as possible, they make wooden boards and use drama props made from recycled ocean plastic. They also carbon offset every journey they make.
But socially, leaving no trace is not an option. Vanderful are committed to building communities, organisations and livelihoods, which will last long after they’ve rolled out of town, conscious of the risks involved in itinerant projects such as theirs.
“In Mozambique, the kids’ club, Gutsakisana, continued to implement our approach, games and methods. After learning to shape Alaia and Paipo surfboards, Vanderful apprentice Manuel started his own business, Manu Shapes.
“In Cabo Ledo, Vanderful graduates, Miguel and Edwardo, are making Alaias to be sold to surf tourists. In Cuerama, students continue to play chess using the boards they made themselves and the giant chessboard we painted at the school.”
Where next?
After taking the early part of 2021 to regroup, Vanderful hit the road again this week. “From the 2nd to the 27th of August, Vanderful are collaborating with an Italian NGO called Surf4Children hosted by Danny’s Point in Santa Marinella. “The teenagers will learn how to make their own wooden surfboards and then get the chance to surf them.”
Vikki, meanwhile, is focused on Vanderful’s sustainable future. This starts with legacy documents like a Surf Craftsmanship manual and an Expressive Arts Teaching manual.
She says: “Since the pandemic, we’ve doubled down on making Vanderful truly sustainable. In place of itinerant projects, we now dream of creating Vanderful Play Centres, starting in the locations we have already implemented projects. The centres will have workshop spaces, toilets, a skatepark, a garden, an amphitheatre and a library. The point is to create safe spaces for children to play and learn new skills in a supportive environment”.
And it’s already becoming a reality. “Our collaborator in Mozambique has some land. Another NGO – MakeLifeSkateLife – is also interested in collaborating with us to build the skatepark.”
Unsurprisingly, Vikki sees children as the key to a brighter future. “Listen to and include children in your ideas, discussions, plans. Often, they come up with something amazing, which us adults probably wouldn’t have ever considered.”
