‘Michezo Wakati wa Kufungiwa’: Adapting games for lockdown in Nairobi

A few weeks ago, we blogged about the first stage of our work using our Prospero online drama platform to help prepare the community of Korogocho in Nairobi, Kenya for the rise of COVID-19. Since then our first set of our interactive smartscripts, designed to educate children in the importance of social distancing and hygiene, have been used extensively across the slum. Meanwhile, our partners in Koro have not been idle, working with us to create a new set of Prospero ‘smartscripts’ (our name for our online drama workshops), which we can preview here today.

The smartscripts - called ‘Michezo Wakati wa Kufungiwa’ (Games for Lockdown) - take traditional Kenyan games and adapt them to be played under lockdown conditions, reinforcing some of the important healthcare messages residents of the district increasingly need to observe.

Above is an example of a traditional game called ‘Watoto Wangu Wee,’ about an elderly man who has spend his battling lions. As he grows more fragile with age, he seeks the advice of children as to how to overcome the lion enemy. In our Prospero version, Coronavirus replaces the role of the lion.

‘Michezo Wakati wa Kufungiwa’ will be a fully interactive resource, using the full potential of C&T’s Prospero technology. Players will be framed so they can either use the resource as a facilitator or as a participant. They will be sequenced around public health themes, age appropriate content and types of traditional games. This means users can target activities to either reinforce particular messaging or adopt a more playful tone. Filmed in a typical Kenyan home with a family from Koro enacting the games, ‘Michezo Wakati wa Kufungiwa’ tries to replicate the typical conditions most people currently find themselves living in, to make the activities feel as authentic as possible.

The numbers of cases of cOVID-19 in Kenya are currently low by comparison with many other countries, but with limited public healthcare services and access to medical professionals at only a minimal level, it is vitally important that these messages are observed as widely as possible.

C&T are building a comprehensive package of these games for families to play and these will be freely available on Prospero from next week. All that is needed is a basic smartphone. You can sign up for advance notification of them here.