Drawing Kenya

Faces of Hope

As the tense political situation in Kenya unfolds, Orato.com citizen correspondent Scott Erickson reminds us all of the beauty of Kenya and the positive work being done in that country to enrich children's lives through art.

In July 07, my wife and I got to go to Kenya in partnership with Heart for Africa to put on art education programs in a local orphanage. We were part of a bigger group that was working on sustainable farming and other building projects. The art that you see the kids making was taken back to Atlanta, where we put on an art show called "The Faces of Hope" at the Urban Artworks Gallery.

This is just the start of art programs that we would like to do in schools and orphanages in Africa. As far as I could tell, not one of these former street kids had ever done any kind of formal art class whatsoever.