Watoto Wote Wazuri

Well, I am shamefully late at doing this post since the art exchange and show at Jordan Acres took place 2 weeks ago. I have not posted yet partially because I really fell down on my job as photographer that night. But truthfully, the reason for this was that  I got so engaged with talking with people that I just put my camera down. I really want to thank Sharon McCormack (whose picture I wish I had taken)  once again not only for doing amazing art with the children for me to bring to Kenya, but also for working on such a fun way for us to exchange the art and have a multimedia show  that night. In addition to the poster you see in the picture above we had a table with a  Maasai blanket and carvings and other such things that could be touched,  and all the Kenyan children’s art work, some was displayed and  what  wasn’t displayed was mounted and placed in a notebook as a permanent collection for the school to keep along with the poster. We also had a slide show accompanied by some great background tribal African music. The man and boy in the picture below spent much of their time watching the slide show and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them since  the little boy got newly very excited about each and every safari animal that came on the screen.

I was delighted that many children and parents asked lots of questions and  enjoyed looking at the Kenyan students’ art. Some of JA students were thrilled when they recognized their own art in the photos taken in Kenya.  I could tell from the questions that the students asked about the Maasai, and the animals, life in Kenya and other topics that they had really learned a lot about Kenya in the course of this project. So the Kenyan students art and the poster of all the smiling faces of Nyumbani have been on display at the school for everyone to see and enjoy since that night. For me it’s a really heartwarming thought to think of JA students smiling back and having an opportunity to browse through all the pieces of art and warm wishes that were sent to them.

Once again, thank you very much (asante sana) to all the JA students and to Sharon McCormack! Maybe we can do this again the next time I go to Kenya……