My Heart Continues to Grow for the Children
I first stepped foot in an orphanage nursery in Kenya in the year 2000. That day forever changed my life. Imagine babies lying in crib after crib and only a couple volunteer staff to feed, change, and love them all. I picked up the first infant child, held him close, caressed his skin, and made him giggle. On to the next child...and the next...and the next. My heart broke seeing the dire needs of these children, and knowing that there were millions more out there that were in need....well, it left me feeling helpless....until....
I was invited to go to Zambia with one of my graduate professors at San Jose State University to work with orphaned and vulnerable children in 2005. I didn't have the funds to go. I didn't go. He invited me to go the following year. I didn't have the funds to go. I went! I was determined to go and was not going to let another opportunity pass me by. I brainstormed ways I could raise the funds to go. I decided to publish a website with the needs of the community and what I planned to do there. I set up a Paypal account on the site and sent the link to anyone and everyone I knew asking for help. I raised all the funds to go in 2006! I spent a month in Lusaka, Zambia in a compound (slum) known as Ng'ombe. I met an amazing Zambian woman named Angela who started a preschool-aged day site for the most vulnerable orphaned children in her community. About 90 students attended and were fed breakfast and lunch. I built relationships with the children and staff there and was determined to return to Zambia the following year to help in some way.
In my last year of graduate school (2006-2007) as I worked towards my master's degree in Counselor Education, I decided to write my master's thesis on utilizing creative arts to build resiliency among orphaned and vulnerable children, particularly dealing with grief (as many children in Zambia have experienced the loss of a loved one due to HIV/AIDS). I began my fundraising efforts again in hopes of returning to conduct workshops centered around creative & expressive arts. My first donation came from a stranger whom I had met earlier that day; I was shocked to discover later that evening that she had donated $1,000 to my trip funds! I was joyfully tearful and had high hopes that my fundraising efforts would go smoothly. They didn't go as expected however. Just a few weeks prior to my expected departure I had about $2,750 to raise. When I called my travel agent, she urged me to make a deposit on a ticket before they sold out. I didn't have much money, but I had just enough for the non-refundable deposit. So I cleared out my savings (which, at the time was only about $750) to make a deposit on a ticket in which I had no idea where the remaining $2,000 would come from within just two weeks! A week went by.....nothing. A couple more days....nothing. Two days before my balance was due a friend called to ask how my fundraising efforts were going. She said, "You are destined to go. You must go back and work with the children!" My generous friends wrote me a check for $2,000 and cleared my account the very last day my balance was due!
When I arrived in 2007, I was given a few weeks to conduct two workshops with the most vulnerable girls in the community ages nine to fourteen. I didn't quite know what to expect, as a few weeks is not much time to make a big difference. I learned that even a little bit of time can make a huge difference! I built rapport with the girls very quickly, and introduced a variety of different creative and expressive art activities (i.e. fingerpaints, hand puppets, memory books, psychodrama, art, etc.). The goal of these activities were to:
Shortly after my return in 2007, I was asked to join the Board of Directors at Temwani Children's Foundation. I served as a board member for three years and am now an advisory board member. Our mission is to support projects that raise the standard of living and well-being of orphaned children and communities impoverished by the effects of HIV/AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia. Please visit www.temwani.org for more details.
I was invited to go to Zambia with one of my graduate professors at San Jose State University to work with orphaned and vulnerable children in 2005. I didn't have the funds to go. I didn't go. He invited me to go the following year. I didn't have the funds to go. I went! I was determined to go and was not going to let another opportunity pass me by. I brainstormed ways I could raise the funds to go. I decided to publish a website with the needs of the community and what I planned to do there. I set up a Paypal account on the site and sent the link to anyone and everyone I knew asking for help. I raised all the funds to go in 2006! I spent a month in Lusaka, Zambia in a compound (slum) known as Ng'ombe. I met an amazing Zambian woman named Angela who started a preschool-aged day site for the most vulnerable orphaned children in her community. About 90 students attended and were fed breakfast and lunch. I built relationships with the children and staff there and was determined to return to Zambia the following year to help in some way.
In my last year of graduate school (2006-2007) as I worked towards my master's degree in Counselor Education, I decided to write my master's thesis on utilizing creative arts to build resiliency among orphaned and vulnerable children, particularly dealing with grief (as many children in Zambia have experienced the loss of a loved one due to HIV/AIDS). I began my fundraising efforts again in hopes of returning to conduct workshops centered around creative & expressive arts. My first donation came from a stranger whom I had met earlier that day; I was shocked to discover later that evening that she had donated $1,000 to my trip funds! I was joyfully tearful and had high hopes that my fundraising efforts would go smoothly. They didn't go as expected however. Just a few weeks prior to my expected departure I had about $2,750 to raise. When I called my travel agent, she urged me to make a deposit on a ticket before they sold out. I didn't have much money, but I had just enough for the non-refundable deposit. So I cleared out my savings (which, at the time was only about $750) to make a deposit on a ticket in which I had no idea where the remaining $2,000 would come from within just two weeks! A week went by.....nothing. A couple more days....nothing. Two days before my balance was due a friend called to ask how my fundraising efforts were going. She said, "You are destined to go. You must go back and work with the children!" My generous friends wrote me a check for $2,000 and cleared my account the very last day my balance was due!
When I arrived in 2007, I was given a few weeks to conduct two workshops with the most vulnerable girls in the community ages nine to fourteen. I didn't quite know what to expect, as a few weeks is not much time to make a big difference. I learned that even a little bit of time can make a huge difference! I built rapport with the girls very quickly, and introduced a variety of different creative and expressive art activities (i.e. fingerpaints, hand puppets, memory books, psychodrama, art, etc.). The goal of these activities were to:
- observe their current life stressors, symptoms, and coping strategies
- assist in identifying, verbalizing, and expressing feelings and emotions
- identify family relationships and support systems
- enhance problem-solving skills, coping strategies, and resiliency
Shortly after my return in 2007, I was asked to join the Board of Directors at Temwani Children's Foundation. I served as a board member for three years and am now an advisory board member. Our mission is to support projects that raise the standard of living and well-being of orphaned children and communities impoverished by the effects of HIV/AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia. Please visit www.temwani.org for more details.
Fallen leaves represent loved ones who've passed away
Finger puppets
Finger paintings of "people in my world"
A day at the park
Taking a young boy with an infected finger to the local clinic
