Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Jul 27 2009 | By: Julie

Another post from Volunteer Danielle.

Fahad and I spend the morning watering the plants that the children have planted just outside of their school. I love being able to help the children take care of their new seedlings which are sprouting very beautifully. Photo Michael Young 2009.

What is wonderful about this school being in a rural community, is it gives us many opportunities to use the environment to teach them about living organisms and how to protect and make their wildlife survive and thrive.

Two mornings a week we worked on painting the mural on the rainwater tank outside of the school. I have never painted a mural before which enabled me to learn along with the children as we began our masterpiece! Photo Michael Young 2009.

With a couple hours of prep work such as scrapping the chipping paint away to make the surface even, we were on our way to painting. We had a great time but what impressed me the most was the level of concentration the children put into their art work. I have never seen children as focused and driven as I saw these children that morning. Two staff members of AoC even took the opportunity to throw in some art lessons about proportions and lines.

The mural is finished! Photo Michael Young 2009.

After two mornings of hard work from staff and the students we were able to finish the mural. This mural does not only add color to the school but it reminds the children and the community about the message AoC has been promoting: Staying Healthy. They painted pictures about the different ways they can be healthy such as keeping the classroom and toilets clean, washing their hands, brushing their teeth, and eating a well balanced meal.

I have also been given a wonderful opportunity to teach English in my spare time to a shop keeper down the street. Photo Michael Young 2009.

She has been one of the best students I have ever had. Never have I seen such determination from anyone to learn a new language. Her bright welcoming smile reminded me of why I decided to become a teacher when entering college. At times communication barriers were a problem for us since I did not have a translator. However, as they say pictures say a thousand words and through pictures, acting, and real life objects we broke the communication boundaries. In two days we covered basic vocabulary and simple conversation starters.

Alberto is another wonderful person living in Rwanda. All the way from Italy, Alberto came to Rwanda with an organization to work with orphaned children whose parents were victims of AIDS. Meeting him through Julie Ghrist, founder of AoC gave me another opportunity to work with a group of fantastic children. Photo Michael Young 2009.

Three days a week in the morning Alberto’s staff and I set out to run a camp for children while they were on school holiday. This would provide them with social opportunities and a learning experience. We began each day with a couple hours of games and songs. All of these games taught children to work together and to be respectful through out the activities. The last quarter of the morning was spent teaching the children the topic of the day. Day one was to love each other and your family. By teaching them love we hoped to decrease violence on the streets, at school, and at home.

More again tomorrow.

Danielle

Tags: children, conservation, education, environment, rwanda