We had a really great time in April talking about Changes. August, Charlotte and Jessie came up with a wonderful month of discussions and projects.“Be the change you want to see in the world,” was the quote that we based much of our discussion on, and became the inspiration for our Poetry Slam.
At Art: After School we like to try and expand the kids’ definition of “art” to include not only painting and drawing, but also other forms of creating such as poetry. Talking about changing the world was a great opportunity to introduce poetry as a form of expression.
We explained to them that often participants in a poetry slam use it as an opportunity to “speak out” against something that they feel strongly about, and emphasized the need to respect other peoples’ ideas. For a bit of fun, we also showed them a bit about rhythm and how drums are used in poetry slams, and that people snap their fingers instead of clapping to show support for a poem that they particularly like.
After giving them time to create their poems, we had a little slam of our own. It was so fun watching the kids perform with the drum, and snap madly after each performance.
I’ve typed out a few of my favourites for you to have a look at. I’ve tried to type them out exactly as they were written so please keep in mind that English is not the first language of many of our kids. And reflecting the multi-culturalism of our group, one boy attempted to incorporate three different languages in his poem!
No more war in the world
Start helping and don’t do bad
Ne fais pas la guerre dans le pays
Il faut aider les gens et ne pas faire les truc mals
Don’t do bad
Don’t do bad
You should help
You should help
너를 감사하십시요
どういたしまして
~Joe
Discrimination
It’s something that destroys our nation
It’s so uncool
It makes me think about it all day in school
~Emma
Bullying is not the way to accomplish anything that they want to say,
When feelings get hurt, it doesn’t get cured in a day.
Be in the other person’s shoe.
See how it feels if it’s you.
~Amy
It’s more common than you think
It’s unfair and uncool
Girls need the same respect as guys
We are both made the same
We are equally important
So let’s treat each other the same.
~Jamie
Rwanda Update
I leave in a little under two months and I am still busy preparing. My fundraising for this trip has gone really well, and I have been very encouraged by all the support I have received. I finished the 10km run that I wrote about last letter, and was so happy to have six other people participating on my behalf.
Along with the fundraising I’ve been doing, I’ve also been to the travel clinic, received all the required shots (OUCH!!), purchased my anti-malarial medication, and started collecting all sorts of travel essentials like hand sanitizer and earplugs.
A small group from our team visited Rwanda in March, and came back with a bit of an updated picture of what we will be doing while we are there. Originally we had been told that we would be running a camp for over 500 kids, but that number has been limited now to 250, a much more manageable number, and the ages have been defined to only those who are 10-14. So now I am busily researching suitable art/craft projects for a group of that size and age.Please continue to pray for the team and myself as we sort out all the remaining details before we leave in July.
To donate to the Rwanda trip online CLICK HERE.
Open House
We finished up our year at Art: After School with a small Open House for the parents on May 7th. It was a wonderful opportunity for the kids to show off all of the projects we’ve worked on this year. Many parents came out to have a look, and all in all it was a very nice evening of chatting with the kids and their families.
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