Day 10 - It is so hard to say good

The last day we are here with our students is definitely bitter sweet.  We start class a little later to allow us to prepare for celebration.  Today we did something different, we ordered a cake with writing celebrating 5 years of art and then went to Nairobi Java with 2 big thermoses so we could get Kenyan Tea and serve it.  Both a cake and tea is a rare event for our students and the first time that we provided this at celebration.  We got to school, set up the cake and tea, got ready with all our certificates as the students poured in and did a daily meditation.  It was exciting, there was a buzz all about and for Margaret and I, it was somewhat painful.  You see these tremendous humans in front of you and you are really not prepared to say good bye for another year and as we are ending, it always feels like it has just begun. 

We both shared our perspective about this years amazing art that was created and asked what they thought.  They liked what they did and appreciated us there.  We also asked about their thoughts on art all year around in a more accessible environment and they all thought it would be great.  It keeps us thinking about how we could expand Art in Kibera to be more than this once a year episode.  Thinking thinking thinking..... Margaret made a point when we were talking about how well they had done and that we were filled with gratitude for this opportunity to work with them each year, she asked: "who knows the song "Don't stop believing"?  Blank looks, she asked them to look it up but to let this be what they leave with.  Don't stop believing... It is so true.  We believed we could bring an art program and it just celebrated 5 years.  Our students believe in their ability to excel and the 5 graduate institute students are all going to great colleges and universities and one to the Buruburu Institute of Fine Art, all because he was inspired by taking our classes 5 years ago.  They believe and we believe in them.  

As we looked around at the art and our students, it was overwhelming to think that we have been with some of these students for 5 years.  Students come up and shake your hard, some hug you, some tell you how much they appreciate you and some just smile and look like they have enjoyed their experience.  The hardest thing is when they run after you to hug you and tell you that they love you and will miss you.  They stop to ask for one more picture or just want to make sure that you know your presence meant something.  I cannot begin to tell you how hard it is to leave.  The funny thing is that I bet they have no idea how much they give us and it often seems like so much more than we give them.  They embrace us as if it might be the last time you will see them, and for some that may be true.  Enough already, I have tears in my eyes!

We left the school to run errands, one was to Kibera paper to get paper for the Children of Kibera Foundation in the US, then to lunch then to visit Anne Wangari at work and have tea with her colleagues and then out to dinner with Anne, Margaret and I.  Its all a process of ending the two weeks of our life here each year.  Last minute details, settling your accounts, visiting to see where friends work or what they do, dining to share that last meal, all as an attempt to keep the experience still going when in fact it is time to go home.

We are back at Pedro Arrupe Center, said good bye to Father Terry thanking him for another great experience and off to pack.  Sitting here typing this I know Margaret is still packing and I have completed my packing.  Our plane leaves at 8:15am starting the journey back to our lives, for me to my boys and partner and for Margaret back to her mother and brother.  Excited to be going home to see our loved ones and sad to be leaving so many behind.

Thank you for being on this journey with us.  I believe that this blog had some issues with ability to leave comments but I received nice notes that we were in your thoughts.  We never know what is next with this program, it could be next year again, or next month.  Stay tuned. 

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 9 - Last day of art immersion for 2012

All,

It is an alarming realization when you get to the Thursday of the second week of this program that it is the last day that we do art with our students this year.  Today art class started out sluggish and picked up momentum.  We had the whole class for nearly 7 hours yestreday and some of them had errands around their homes that they had to handle that did not get handled yesterday.  We did daily mediation, and dove in. Although they have been so wanting to do painting and we brought it back this week for them after a week of sculpture, today they wanted to do sculpture and origami and such.  It is funny to see them get into it and I think for the students, they realize that we are leaving too.  We did our art creation diligently, many questions were asked, and then as we were closing class and preparing the room for tomorrow's celebration, you realize that although its an end to our art immersion for them, its a beginning of a year of art exploration without us from some of the basics that we have delivered.  It is amazing to come back and hear what they have accomplished, built on what was learned while we were here.  This carries through their established art club that happens during the time we are gone on a weekly basis.  This is the first time that I have felt uncomfortable that they will not be getting art immersion until next year so this may be the opportunity to expand to maybe a regular presence in the art space for the students at St. Al's and maybe others in Kibera.  Margaret and I have our thinking caps on for how we may bring the art more regularly.  They are such good artists that it feels a shame not to expand their horizons more than just when we are present.

During class, I prepared the certificates we distribute, this evening Margaret completed them with her nearly perfect hand writing by putting each of their names in.  Tomorrow morning we will celebrate the 5th year of the Art in Kibera program in a special way; we ordered a large decorated cake and if we can find a way to bring in tea, we will and it will truly be a treat for all.   FYI--If you do not know Kenya tea, you should!  Its equal parts milk and water boiled together then the tea leaves are added while boiling then sifted and then sugar is added.  It basically replaces my coffee addiction while I am here and I love it.  One of the left overs from colonization.

After class ended the student were still preparing the space for display by hanging and setting up their art and cleaning the room.  It is always such a nice event the last day of our class.  After class we went off to the Children of Kibera Foundation to work with the administration on some ideas for how to look at photos that convey they mission of their organization.  We showed them some website that do that well and pictures that can tell stories.  They are not the client and when they see the pictures they already understand their mission.  How do you get others to?  It really is about art.  How do you get people to understand, buy in, connect with your story and some how take part? Its about what and how you present information.  It happens in everything we do and its how you gain peoples attention. It was fun to be able to work with them and I hope we were helpful.

We did something very awkward for us, we went to KFC for lunch.  Yes there are many KFC's in Nairobi and they are big and nicely decorated.  At the end of the day, its fried chicken and really does not differ from that in the US.  Its good as your having it and then you realize that you don't like eating that food once you have had it.  Margaret said we were preparing for reentry to home in DC, and it was a reminder upon reentry that we should not be eating KFC!!!!!  After lunch a little last minute shopping at the Masai Market and then I was able to spend some time with Sr. Mary Owens, ED of Nyumbani.  I am on the board of this organization in the US and we always take time to catch up about the past year and the future on each visit.  Nyumbani home is the first Kenyan orphanage with Children with HIV and Nyumbani Village is a home for grandparents and children that have been impacted by the loss of family to AIDS, creating a self sustaining community that creates family and generates carism.  When the father/mother son/daughter die from AIDS, the children and the grandparents are the ones impacted as the model is that the middle of this equation takes care of both the young and the mature in age.  When this is not present they both are left in need.  The model is to bring actual or fictive grandparents (sho sho's) together with children to create this care model in the village.  This is so beautifully done at Nyumbani Village and it is just so amazing to think they are almost to 100 grandparents and 1000 kids.  This is also the 20th year of Nyumbani and in the US, we are having our annual benefit on September 28th,  Please see Nyumbani.org for more info.

We are excited and saddened by the fact that tomorrow is our last day.  Happy that we had another year, sad that we are done.  It is amazing to see the progress and to see the happiness and excitement for the work they do.  The students always give such appreciation for our presence and it is in fact us that are receiving the gifts of them.

It is always a wonderful experience taking you all on this journey with us.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 8 - Kuona Trust and Maryann Muthoni

We only have one class left tomorrow and celebration with the artists on Friday.  It feels like there is a leak in time and it just gets faster and faster.

At St. Al's, class was wonderful and the art that is being created is exciting and engaging and not traditional to what we have seen in the past.  We have always encouraged our artists to tell their story and they have perfected this.  It ends up being their major focus.  To move them into more free form art, we have asked them to paint more freely, work that is both abstract and available for interpretation has been encouraged and returned good results.  The sculpture has added a dimension to how they look at their art and it shows up in some cool, not so obvious outcomes in the work. We had a great session that was cut short by about a half hour as we rallied the class to get on the bus and go to the Kuona Trust to see an installation piece called "the woman's vote" by Maryann Muthoni.

All gathered onto the bus and then we were off to The Kuona trust.  The Kuona trust is special to us and the students of St. Al's.  It's a home away from St. Al's for our artists and have always felt very welcomed there.  The last two years our students have had exhibits.  Last years was "Landscapes of the mind".  Because of the exhibit Maryann had going, we were unable to show.  This provided us an opportunity to bring the students for an artist talk between her and the students.  They loved her and she was so engaging as is her exhibit.  Her exhibit focuses on the importance of the woman's vote and perceptions and feelings about woman as voters, leaders, etc.  Our students were engaged considering how timely this is with the vote happening next year.  The students were vocal about their point of view and they definitely shared points of views that brought on rich discussion which is exactly what Maryann hoped this installation would achieve and it did with our students.  The students also walked around the trust to visit with the other resident artists and see them creating art, ask questions and make connections.  Renee Mboya, Programme Manager and Sylvia Gichia, Kuona Trust Director, have been amazingly supportive of our connection and Renee was amazing as a facilitator with the discussion and the installation.  What a rewarding day for us, our students and the Kuona trust.  They do good work and the Art in Kibera program hopes to continue to partner with Kuono to provide art to our students and others in Kibera.  The world continues to be a very small place.  My Kenyan Sister, Anne Wangari, is very dear family friends with Maryann Muthoni and family and we realized this when I told Anne about the exhibit.  Today I shared pictures with Maryann and she said to me, Wow, I've been to their home you are showing me....Small World.

Today we had another bit of Great News.  One of our graduates who was unable to be part of yesterday's graduate institute, Jacob Kikoyo, was at a meeting..... This meeting proved to be very successful because today he returned to class with an acceptance letter from the BuruBuru Institute of Fine Art, welcoming him to the school and their art programme.  So exciting to think of one of our students who has been with us for five years is going to art school.  We could not be more proud and excited.

Our days fly by so quickly and then you realize you are packing your bags to return home.  Each year this experience grows and has a very different feel from year to year.  What a great thing to see our students develop, grow, prosper and move on. Its hard to leave them, its hard to know that you do not know what each one is doing or are able to keep track of each one, so we are so grateful to be able to have the connections we have with them as they are in school and especially when them move on and we can keep in touch.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 7 - one long and amazing day

The train will soon be entering the station for our final destination for the Art in Kibera 2012 year.  It moves quickly once it gets momentum and boy has it ever.  Today was evidence that our student do care and listen after we talked with them about being on time.  Most of them were on time and only a few late.  Progress!

We started out as usual, got into our sculpting and then changed gears mid way through to painting.  It was like a new slate, we cleaned the room, got ready and started painting.  I asked that they not create from what they had in the past but what might have inspired them from our sculpture sessions.  They also have been looking at reference materials that Margaret brings each year such as art magazines and postcards of art.  There is some very interesting work starting to happen.  Its nice to see that they continue to develop in new medium as well as ones they are so familiar with like painting. After our normal three hours of class with our group, today was our special in session for our Graduate Institute; former students who come back for art.  We all gathered and went out to Kitengala glass. Its a bit of a trip, it takes almost an hour with the traffic and the really hard roads that approach this art oasis in a rural setting.  It was all boys this year in the institute and a lot of laughing and looking at the views on the way to Kitengala.  One of our students had never seen a gazelle before and saw one on this ride and it made me realize that although they are in Kenya does not mean they have seen the wildlife or for that matter, so many other things that other Kenyans have access to.  There are these constant reminders that they come from the Kibera slum, enough said.  We talked about where they come from outside of Kibera and all from various parts of Kenya.  One said, Kakuma and my heart stopped for a moment realizing this is the refugee camp and then he continued to say that he was a refugee.  The realization of what people have been through and the privilege we live in comparison to their living situatiuon is alarming.

We got to the art center and they were all eyes and ears.  The watched and took in everything.  We looked around and the artist Edith who would teach us mosaics today was jovial and excited and kept saying to Margaret and I "they are so excited".  We got down to business after a tour where we collected glass that we would use for our mosaics and got to working.  Edith was a great, maternal teacher and they really responded to her.  It was great to see them get so into it and be so excited about it.  It was such a great idea to do this and I owe this all to Margaret who sought them out last year.  She, herself, is a glass artist and it was a perfect fit.  They worked hard and produced amazing pieces.  They also had fun together and we with them.  It was Dennis, Mike, Castro and Norbert.  Every time something funny happened, Castro would say-"well Charles, My Grandfather used to say...." Or my Grandmother told me when you hurt yourself........"  It was very funny.  We also got to meet with glass blowers and they thought that was the coolest. They show gratitude is such subtle and low key ways.  They thank you by smiling at their work, or being excited about something or their embraces.  its all very wonderful and often I say we get so much more than we give it feels.  They beam with light and you realize that you must be hitting a cord somewhere.  This makes a difference to them and to us. The pieces they produced today were also really great.

We are also very proud of them. All 4 of the Graduate Institute participants that joined us today got into school. Two of them will be starting at Kenyatta University, one the the two best schools in Kenya and the others are going to local colleges.  This is a big deal.  These students have been with us now, 5 years; it is hard to believe.

After a nearly 12 hour day, we had a great Japanese meal at Misoni and then back to the ranch for rest.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.  Until Tomorrow!

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 6, weekend and 4 days left

Can I just say it? Wow!  Weekends for us in Kenya are anything but restful. On Saturday we were out the door at 7am to Nyeri with Anne Wangari to visit my Kenyan Mom and Family and introduce Margaret to Central Province Kenya.  It was, as always, amazing and meaningful.  I know so few people get to experience true Kenyan life and we had a little country in Nyeri this weekend.  We took Margaret to see Nyeri town where the locals conduct business and then to Anne's family home with the rich red soil roads and the beautiful farm with everything from Macadamia's to Coffee.  Since my Kenyan Father passed in 2010 the farm has needed additional support and that sometimes is a challenge but Maitu (means mom in kikoyo) is getting by. We had a wonderful Kenyan lunch of makimo, chicken, cabbage and stew with chapati, all delicious.  After which Maitu took us on a tour of the farm to show Margaret as Margaret collected local leaves for her glass art at home. It was a 2.5 hour trip each way but well worth it.  It was great to see Maitu, the farm and other family members at the home.  It truly feels like returning home when we drive up the drive.

Sunday had a later start that provided some respite and then off to Kibera to deliver the Sunday Girls Club Art program at Red Rose School, a Children of Kibera Foundation (CoKF) school.  There were about 40 young girls and I as Margaret's assistant, we delivered some high level art history about a few famous artists and paintings and then worked with them to develop sketch books that they could personalize and use on their own.  It was a really wonderful project.  Having these type of programs where children go to school on the weekends keeps them busy, engaged and hopefully out of compromised situations.  It was great to see Margaret with these girls and they really enjoy her.  The work that CoKF is doing is meaningful and important.  Then off to dinner with Ken Okoth, Kiberan, Kenyan, friend and founder of CoKF who also is running for Kenyan Parliament.  We had the pleasure of his time and company with his wife Monica and brother and sister in laws in from Florence, Italy.

Monday was the realization that we have 4 days left, 2 field trips, projects to complete and a celebration to have all before we get on a plane bright and early Saturday morning to return to DC.
The day was drizzly which I knew would mean students would come in late and that is exactly what happened.  I put off meditation until more students arrived and then one of our forms 4's asked about when we would be having meditation. I  was pleased that people wanted to meditate but before meditation I wanted to refresh them on the concept of respect and reciprocity.  Talked about us coming to serve them with art immersion, that we would like them to come on time.  This is not usually a problem particularly when schools in session but is has been on this trip.  They all got it.  Our teaching on these trips is so much more than just art.  We then went in to meditation and continued to make found object sculpture and paper sculpture.  Pretty darn amazing. It really is about giving guidance, support and freedom and then sitting back and watching. We also talked about the art we will doing the remainder of the week and asked if they wanted to switch gears from sculpture to painting and we heard ever so clearly, we want both.  Done. You can have both.  At the end of our class we did a closing meditation with Classical Music from my favorite album Paper Music which is Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn and others.  I share this with you because it is the St Paul Chamber Orchestra with non other than Bobby McFerrin.  One of my favorite musicians who uses his voice as an instrument.  I also had the honor of being in the Let Freedom Ring Choir this year with Georgetown University at the Kennedy center with Bobby McFerrin as the guest artist.  It was amazing.  After meditation I shared that he uses his voice and the students loved it.  After class as we were walking through the halls we could hear people using their voices like instruments.  It was so moving.

We gathered Anne Wangari from work, had lunch at Nairobi Java and then off to a very Kenyan experience; the Kariako Market which is downtown and its were all the "stuff" that shows up at the markets is made.  There was not a non Kenyan in site except for Margaret and I.  We saw the real deal.  It was an experience that very few non Kenyans have.  It was cool.  I saw how shoes, jewelery, bags, etc are made.  After which we went to visit Triphose, a friend through Anne and got to meet her new baby boy Benjamin.  Triphose and her family are Rwandan refugees.  They seems so out of place, once a teacher and her husband a medical doctor, now living in the slum making bags and other sewn goods to get by. Lovely people.  Two of their children are in school in Canada for University.  Life is so interesting, the stories so varied and the reality right in front of you.

Back at the ranch, a simple dinner with the Jesuits and off to capture our experience to share with you.  As I reflect, these experiences are a combination of beautiful, hard, hopeful, moving, educational and spiritual.  From sharing our passion of art, to abject poverty, to the country to refugee experiences.  Sometimes taking all this in makes my head want to pop.  Then I just breathe and realize we are so very fortunate to be able to experience this Kenya for all its greatness and opportunity.

Thank you for being on this journey.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 5 - First week already over

It is amazing to me how this program always seems to start off slowly and then all of a sudden we are running to get things done and then wow, your at the end of your first week.

We have completed our first week with a true fulfillment in the progress of our artists. Although today started out slow because it was raining in Nairobi, we got there.  We were on time, the students were not and they slowly trickled in.  In you have any concept of Kibera, you do not want to find yourself in the rain in the slum.  With troughs of waste and refuse and then the mud coupled with the smell the gets conjured up, I too would have wanted to stay home.  We lost about 8 of our students today but all went well.

 Sculpture has really taken off in a way I did not expect.  Like I said yesterday, the paper sculptures ended up being way more than we could have ever expected, well today with the "found objects sculpture, it was even more exciting.  Some of the found objects that were used were interesting from cut up plastic bottles to metal pieces to cardboard, wood and styrofoam, all made interesting sculptural art.  One of our students designed a home with a yard and all; Margaret asked him if he wanted to be an architect and he responded, no a civil engineer!  Enough said.  Another sculpture was the interior of a home made out of various materials, one made a pair of flip flops, taking Creating from the soul (sole) to a whole new level.  One sculpted a coffee cup, many made different vehicles carrying loads of objects, a flower girl basket and one made a soda dispensing machine.  They get it and used their found objects to interpret through these new sculptures.  Pretty amazing.  We gave them assignments and off they went to find more found objects, write more about their exploration of art and really to get ready for next week. We, as always, start and end our day with meditation and it is so obvious it has an impact.

This weekend for us will be a busy one; first off the Nyeri with my Kenyan sister Anne Wangari to see my Kenyan family and have them meet Margaret for the first time.  Sunday is a visit to Nyumbani for Sunday mass and then Sunday Club with the Children of Kibera foundation where we will do some art projects with the students.

Next week will also be a great race to the finish....We have a visit with the Artist I told you about on Wednesday and then Tuesday, the "Graduate Institute" students will be taught how to do Glass Mosaic from a Master Mosaic Artist at Kitengala. This is in addition to our daily classes with the students.  Can we say large Mosaic at St. Al's in 2013.

We are always with mixed emotions at the end of the first week because we realize how exciting and full swing this program is at this point and the realization that this will be ending in another week sets in.  We experience it every year and are honored to be able to work with our students, its just the reality that it does not last but these two weeks.  I also realize that we spend all year around thinking about it and the students have art club that is based on these two weeks until they get a new installment.  With all that being said, its the contact that feels so great and seeing them face to face and realizing that we already miss them.

We thank you for being on this journey with us.  PLEASE comment on the blog so we know you are seeing it.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 4 - Breakthrough......

Our day started out smoothly with a timely arrival to the school.  Today was a wonderful day for us because it felt like we had a breakthrough and turned a corner with sculpture.  Margaret and I were questioning if we had made the right decision to introduce sculpture because although the creativity was there with the paper made cylinders, etc, we weren't sure they were getting much out of it.

Today when we arrived to class, we did our starting meditation and out of the gates went the artists, creating, talking, creating, thinking, etc.  While they were doing their art creation, I ended up creating a hanging sculpture to show them that they could move from the cylinder made of paper to using paper free form to create and wow did it happen. Some of the most amazing mobiles, sculptures of Giraffes, etc happened.  And it just happened.  We realized that the structure of using paper cylinders to create objects and sculpture were just to get them going.  Once we gave the license to use the paper how they see fit, it went over the moon.  Using paper seems like an odd technique for sculpture but using a fairly 2 dimensional subject to create 3 dimensional objects helps create the movement to 3D.  I don't know how or why, but it works.  The class was abuzz and it felt great to see our students really engaged.  It was also a bit of a relief.  We ended class with cleanup and meditation because we are going to work with our found objects to make sculpture starting tomorrow.  I could not be more excited to see what they come up with.  The really are Smart, Beautiful and Important.

After class off to the Masai Market, where I feel like after all these years of visiting Kenya, that this really is a tourist souvenir shop for the masses.  I asked a merchant if in fact that was what it was and she said its both for the tourists and the locals.  I really appreciated her honesty.  The stuff I used to get excited about buying is now just stuff.... Ughh.  After this we were off in search of bendable wire that for some reason can't be purchased at hardware stores or the Nakumatt!  Heaven forbid you can't find something at the Nakumatt, Kenya's Walmart.

After this we went to are really wonderful art opening at the Kuona Trust.  We met the artist Maryanne Muthoni who's installation exhibit titled "The Woman's Vote" was both timely and relevant considering that next year is the Kenyan Election under the new constitution.  It basically was about the importance of the women's vote and how little it is heard or valued though they are the mainstay of this society and so many others.  Really wonderful exhibit.  Our students are coming next Wednesday for a Meet the Artist talk just with her and our students.  It will be great for them. 

The Kuona Trust is a special place.  It is a central artist hub in Nairobi with local and international artists in residence.  We feel very connected with this organization and feel like they are a major supporter for us and our students at St. Al's.  They are so engaged with our work and look forward to what ever the future may hold related to them working with our students.  It is great to be at an event like this today and have artist come up and recall when we met over the last few years.  It makes us feel part of this community. We love it.

Another great day and more progress.  We are fortunate and filled with gratitude to be able to do this work.

We are happy to have you on this journey with us. Until Tomorrow!

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 3- Connections, growth and family

Today was a great day outside of the traffic that got us to school late after my rant about Kenyan Standard Time, we were late, Ughhh.  Got to class, started with meditation and people just dove into where they left off.  Its great to see students really jump at something that has peaked their interest and opened their door. The interesting thing is that the papers made cylinders really create some interesting sculpture when put together.  Some are creating flowers, others houses, one a rickshaw, all from this decorated paper that was rolled and glued.  It is very telling to see the openness of these student when they see art transform to 3D when they have been used to 2D. 

Today we had a slide presentation that Margaret put together from artists such as Calder, Moore, Giaccometti and more.  They were intrigued by what they could create.  One artist that was interesting to share was Marcel DuChamp, the king of ready made sculpture, considering that we are gathering found objects for sculpture that are pretty interesting.  We showed them Fountain, which was basically a urinal, reclaimed put on its side and renamed.  They just kind of laughed.  It all bounces around in their head and they react later.  I cant wait to ask them about it tomorrow to see what thought went into it.

In class we are either listening to classical or current pop music.  They all move and act very differently with the music including Margaret.  She bops around to the music and the student love seeing her do that.  It’s great that they connect with us.  Today, Beatrice, the principal came by to visit the class and the first thing out of her mouth was, “ I see you are trying something new with the students.  Very good”.  We continued with the class and also incorporated yarn so that they can put yarn through the cylinders to make them more flexible and changeable for their sculptures.  It’s all experimental to them.

After class we went to Kibera to visit the Red Rose School, which is a Children of Kibera Foundation school that our dear friend Ken Okoth started.  The school is Babies through 8^th grade.  Amazing work, amazing outcomes and they are growing by leaps and bounds.  I also got to see my beautiful and wonderful Kenyan son, David Dinda.  He is doing well.  He and I met in 2007 and have been family ever since.  David accompanied us in Kibera to visit the new Red Rose Campus.  It is well planned and well tooled and ready for growth, Great Job Ken and team at COKF.

Being in Kibera brought back the wave of the past that first connected us with Kibera, the hard and harsh environment mixed with beautiful and hopeful people.  The St. Al’s campus in no longer in the center of Kibera as it was when we first started coming to Kibera so we don’t see these harsh realities so easily. It’s a true reminder of why we started Art in Kibera and why we still come every year.  It is meaningful and helps create a different lens to look through for our students and frankly for us as well.  I think the great and wonderful element of this trip is that the only thing you can be sure of is that it will be great.  You often do not know how or why but you know it will.  Watching the growth in these students is just that great.

Thanks for coming with us on this journey!

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Day 2 – Kenyan Standard Time

You learn this early on in Kenya that things never really happen when you want them to and our classroom is no exception.  To take this a step further, we come during break when we are allowed to teach art.  Art is not part of the Kenyan Curriculum as prescribed by the ministry of education so we teach during break or off school hours when we are here.  Considering the St. Al’s students are on break means that they are not as motivated to move as quickly.  A 10am class started really about 10:30ish today.  I trust this will not be the case tomorrow, or at least I am hopeful.

Today we started class with Meditation and then we kicked of sharing from Creating from the Soul Journals.  Their first assignment was to write about what they would like to create from the soul.  We heard wonderful things from Peace symbols to homes, flowers to trees, happiness to changing the worlds view! These students amaze us so profoundly with their ability to go deep and be so present, even when they are late.

One thing that came out in class was the concept of expectation.  The Art Prefect, whom is appointed each year, Francis, pointed out that he had an expectation that we would be painting and drawing as we had in the past but that he was open to accepting this new genre of art through sculpture that we were teaching.  We had not realized that we had set expectations through the different mediums we have used over the years and the fact that there is comfort in sharing ones perspective made us both feel good that they were so up front.  Francis we have had in Art Immersion for 4 years since he was a form 1 (Freshman) and it’s so great to see him grow. It also is making us realize it is good for the students to be uncomfortable with new things as well as making us think to incorporate something they know.

We launched into a discussion about found objects that were brought to school.  We asked them to bring them so we can make sculptures together.  It was very interesting varying from lids, to broken cups to wood pieces, it was very exciting to see the different found objects.

Our project kick off today is sculpting with paper with decoration, turned into small cylinders then made into a sculpture by shaping them together.  It was great to see the students get into it today.  We literally had to shut down class to get them to go with Meditation and a promise of more to come tomorrow.

After class we met with the participants in the graduate institute.  These are students that have graduated and are waiting to start university or are already in school and want to further there art immersion.  This year we are teaching the graduate students mosaic with the help of Kitengala Glass.  Margaret and I visited the Kitengala studios today after class to get a feel for what the experience will be like and we are excited. Not only do they get to experience the studio, they also get to work in the studio and make their own mosaic.  This is exciting.  The graduate institute was a future goal that we achieved last year and it is well received and keeps the connection to the students even after they leave St. Al's. 

After our visit to Kitengala, we returned to Nairobi to have dinner with our friend and my Kenyan Sister Anne Wangari and Talisman.  It’s a tremendous place and we had a great dinner. It was nice to have some down time after a day of non-stop.  It was also nice to talk with Anne and hear how life continues to evolve for her.  She used to work in Dadabb as the Country Manager settling refugees and managing community.  Now she is located in Nairobi as the Country Director managing programs.  It’s exciting that she has such an impact on so many. 

We are now back at the Ranch (a Margaret term for the Pedro Arrupe Center) and time to turn in.  The time goes quickly while we are here and we often do not realize it.  We are starting our third day tomorrow and before you know it, we will be submitting our last blog entry for your view.  We love what we do here and its great to feel so connected and local.  Today we were in a restaurant and a woman said to Margaret, it’s been a year since I last saw you and I could tell she felt so Kenyan.  The other day we had another driver and I said we need to go to Westland at this certain location and he looked at me like “how do you know what you are talking about?”  I just wanted to say, don’t you know were Kenyan! 

Thank you for being on this journey with us.  Until tomorrow.

Peace and Gratitude!

Charles and Margaret

Day 1, Creating from the Soul

It hard to believe that we have been doing this Art in Kibera program for 5 years; it always feels new to me when we arrive and at the same time it’s just like coming home.  We arrived on Saturday evening to Franco, our friend and driver and to our surprise, Anne Wangari, my Kenyan sister and our dear friend was waiting as well.  Settling in to the Pedro Arrupe Center is like coming back to ones home.  You show up, they greet Margaret and I with great warmth and Karibu Nyumbani (Welcome Home) and it is just that, home.  Our home in Kenya that fortifies us and keeps us grounded as we experience all that is Kenya, Nairobi, Kibera, St. Aloysius School, and our Smart, Beautiful and Important students.

Sunday was up and out to Church at Nyumbani Home.  This is a home for orphans with HIV and is such a great, affirming and meaningful place.  The priest that held mass was wonderful and as were talking as the kids were arriving, he said to me,  “look how nice they all dress to come to mass” and I agreed saying it is important to them.  Its not only that he said, it’s about seeing the confidence this place builds in these children. When you are loved this is what happens.  My heart started to pound as I thought of my sons Andre and Lucas and turned and went into mass.  I am not sure that it matters what faith tradition you follow or if you even do when you see these children take part in mass, it’s about community and the creation of a core of love and respect and caring.  Its wonderful to see all the children so excited to be in church as they are singing and acting out their parts and giving peace to each other and signing and dancing as only I have seen in Kenya. If this was mass daily, it would be packed wherever it was being held. It was rewarding to see them so happy and engaged and makes me grateful for the work Sr. Mary Owens and her team does to create such a loving home, yes, Nyumbani means home.  Perfect name!

We went off to lunch to our favorite spot, Nairobi Java and then a little Masai Market perusing.  Then back at the ranch as Margaret calls the Pedro Arrupe Center, we had a nice dinner with the community as well as celebrated a few birthdays and wished one of the Jesuits well as he moves to the University of San Francisco to take on more education.  We were recognized for being part of this community and even Chachu, the Jesuit going to USF, thanked us for our presence.  It is moving to be recognized by a community that we have come to revere as a home away from home.  They are the kindest and warmest community ever. 

As I have said before, organic is almost always how this trip unveils itself to us.  Margaret and I had talked about introducing sculpture as our medium this year and starting small with found objects and paper made sculptures.  When we got to the school this morning and students were waiting.  They faces beautiful, there excitement visible and their rapt attention, meaningful. The way the students respond to us and greet us is worth all that you can imagine. We talked about sculpture, we talked about what art means to them, which is one of our standard questions, and the answers were amazing, as always. 

This year the theme is “Creating from the Soul” into the 3^rd dimension. We are taking their work from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional.  We talked about creating from the soul and what that might mean to you as an artist and what we heard was worth sharing:

“Creating makes you courageous”

“Brings you out as an individual”

“It’s a means of communication, expressing yourself”

“Builds self esteem-provides the courage to do the best”

“Transforms what is in your soul to something real and tangible”

These quotes are just priceless and knowing that this is only day one, seem to prove that we will in fact have a great 2-week session.  After this discussion was held, we stopped the class for a practice that we started last year to help our students become centered; we lead meditation with music. It was great to see them reflect, breathe in and out, take in the music and the words and then have them all come back to class.  This 5-minute exercise brings them back refreshed and relaxed and ready.

We started off with creating sculptures from paper just to see what people came up with. Interesting and structural and a little predictable but something that comes through in these exercises is how absolutely individual we all are and it is obvious in their creations.  Then Margaret brought out Origami and led the class through the creation of the peace crane.  I never thought it would take an hour to create the crane or how complex it is to do this with precision.  This is a test in patience, accuracy and presence, like most things in life.

We left the class with a closing meditation and an assignment.  The assignment are to write in their journals (I forgot to mention we made these at the start of class) about “what would you like to create from your soul” and bring found objects to create a sculpture and we were off.

After class we went to visit Kibera paper were old recycled bank paper and other recycled papers are made into new beautiful, colorful paper that eventually become holiday cards etc. The woman that run this organization are crafty and smart and creators of beautiful art From there we went off to the Kouna Trust to meet with the new director, Sylvia Gichia, who was an artist in residence last year when we visited Kuona.  We were hoping to have our students hang their art again but this year there is an exhibit opening that coincides with when we would want to exhibit. The name of the show is “The Woman’s Vote” by Maryanne Muthoni.  We are excited to bring our students to meet her in a private meeting next week; Sylvia and Renee were kind enough to set up discussion between our students and the artist on August 22.  We also visited artists at the Kuona Trust that we have known from the past and met some new ones such as Tony, a glass artist like Margaret.  It was great to hear them talk shop and compare and contrast.  The irony with this meeting was that Tony was the glass artist that did the glass windows and stained glass windows at the Pedro Arrupe Center Chapel where we stay.  It is a small world.  Margaret walked away feeling happy and excited by the whole experience.  This seems to be the norm with us when we are in Kenya, our second home. 

As I wrap up this blog, I am continually filled with gratitude for the opportunity we were given 6 years ago to develop this program for the students of St. Al’s.  It continues to be something new each year and amazes me how it unfolds and continues to bring us back each year.  We are reengaged and rejuvenated by the hopeful people of Kenya and this is most visible to us through our students and the School that invites us back each year.  It feels so normalized for us to be here and at the same time, I know that this is an experience of a lifetime that we have each and every year with our beautiful Kenyan friends. 

Thank you for coming on this journey with us and reading our blog and commenting, we like knowing you are here with us.  Your support means so much to us.

Until Tomorrow!

With Gratitude,

Charles and Margaret

3 days away from our 5th year of teaching art in Kibera.....

We are less than 3 days away from Margaret and I departing on another amazing adventure to teach our Smart, Beautiful and Important students in the Kibera Slum.  It feels like going home.  Margaret and I have met to have our requisite, "Oh my god, it's a week away" coffee to realize that it all falls into place as if it has always been meant to be. This feeling has been honed over the years. As I am reflective, we have continued to become even more calm about this trip and less planful each year we go and as we approach our fifth, it seems even more natural. Phil Boroughs said to us years ago, it will never be as you plan it, and it holds true.  We get to make it organically happen and it ends up being amazing.

I could not be more excited to share this 5th year of this Art in Kibera program with Margaret Halpin, an exceptional woman, a great artist, a person who is a woman for others every day of her life and as my partner David would say, "she is a gentle soul".

We are excited to be visiting our St. Al's students, do our exciting work and share, teach and learn as we go.  Every year I feel this and I say it once again; it feels like we get more than we give; these students have changed our lives and I can't wait to spend the gift of two weeks with them to make this happen.

We fly Friday night!

Please come along with us on this journey as so many of you have over the past many years.  Please take the time to experience "our" Kenya and our love of these students and of art.

It is such an honor to be able to do this trip each year and experience such amazing outcomes that this has for us and the students.  It is the truest form of reciprocity and love.

I speak for us both when I tell you that we are filled with the gratitude to you all for the support and love you have always provided us on these journeys.  We are glad to take you with us each year.

With gratitude,

Charles and Margaret