March 2006, upon arriving in Kenya I was preparing to spend the day in a small wooden building that was our orphanage. This is memorable to me for a number of reasons: it was the first time I would do artwork with the HALO supported youth in this home and at the time this was one of the more remote homes that we supported. The agenda for the day was to introduce a HALO art project. This particular one was geared toward helping the youth to develop a positive outlook on the future. I was comfortable doing this project with youth from the U.S. and Mexico, which left me little doubt that these kids would respond any differently.
Looking like your typical tourist in Africa, I had a huge roller suitcase. The only difference was that mine was filled with art supplies. With some assistance from the orphanage mentors, we passed out the supplies and got ready to go. I stood in front of the artists with all eyes on me and said, "Let's do a project about what you want to be when you grow up." Crickets...
What I failed to realize was that I was asking children, who have lost the main adult influences in their lives and who had recently come from living on the streets, to imagine anything beyond today. These children never had the luxury to think about anything more than survival and where their next meal would come from. They looked at me like I was crazy... and I was. Crazy naive.
What I failed to realize was that I was asking children, who have lost the main adult influences in their lives and who had recently come from living on the streets, to imagine anything beyond today. These children never had the luxury to think about anything more than survival and where their next meal would come from. They looked at me like I was crazy... and I was. Crazy naive.
We worked for days on this "new concept" called - their future. We started with a number of questions: What do think you will do tomorrow? What will you look like in a year? How do you think you will look when you are my age? We talked about how, now that they are living in this safe orphanage, they will not have to worry about where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep at night ever again. They looked at me again as if I were again crazy. I looked back at each one of them, and made promises that HALO will forever keep. You are safe, you will thrive and you will become a positive, contributing member of your community.
We finally got to the point where the kids felt comfortable saying their dreams out loud. I clearly remember Elias, around 12 years old, whispering, "I want to be a pilot" and covering his mouth as if he said a bad word. He got to the point in the next few days where he painted a picture about it, shouted it out loud, and ultimately was proud and confident enough to hang his painting on the wall in the dining hall. Abdul is now where Elias was...
I am not much of a crier but that day I cried my eyes out. I was extremely humbled by the thought of being so privileged just to be ABLE to dream, and more importantly be able to pursue those dreams.
For HALO youth, sharing dreams is a VICTORY.
It is that time of year once again for the Artreach Auction. This is our opportunity to share the dreams of our youth with our supporters. Thanks to our generous donors, HALO supported youth who come from unimaginable circumstance learn that it is ok to dream. You all provide the tools to help them reach those dreams. We are super excited to talk about these precious dreams with our loyal and committed supporters on the evening of Friday May 4th.
I personally cannot wait to pass on the overwhelming gratitude we feel from our youth to each one of our guests.
I personally cannot wait to pass on the overwhelming gratitude we feel from our youth to each one of our guests.
For more info on the Artreach Auction or to learn more about how you can support a dream, visit www.haloworldwide.org
