Big Hearts, Big Love
by Suzzanne Pautler
Pastor Joseph greeted us with open arms this morning as he brought us into the Pipeline community. Nearly 40 children joined us in today's four hour workshop. The Necessary Arts team was immediately welcomed as sisters into the Jeho family. A number of prayers of thanksgiving were verbalized, expressing gratitude that Necessary Arts has returned to the orphanage for the fourth time.
Each time we visit the site, we are overwhelmed by the love and positive energy that exists within each child. They know that they are in a safe environment and therefore have the initiative to take risks. They require very little in terms of teacher direction as they eagerly respond to each task we set forth. Today our six groups worked with the words: strength, peace, community, responsibility, courage, and love. Our groups began by using only their faces to express these attributes, and then they used their group's bodies as one to form a tableau to demonstrate the concept.
The groups had two further tasks assigned to them. One was to create a song/dance/chant that expressed the word, and the other was to create and perform a skit to share a story about the meaning of the word. Inevitably, their religion featured in each presentation. For example, 3 boys were smoking and acting up. 3 girls approached them with a Bible in hand to try to convince them to change their ways. Finally, one boy did. And then he had the courage to go back to his two friends to convince them, too, that their ways were the wrong ways.
Necessary Arts included artwork in the workshop today. Each group was also tasked with the challenge to draw a picture of what their word means. They worked diligently and took pride in their creativity. Each group had to give a speech about the meaning of the artwork, and the audience was asked to share compliments in return. The children could hardly stop complimenting one another. Such respect and support exists.
The final part of our day asked the groups to reflect in a written format about their words and what the words look like in their lives. The Love group suggested that they see love on the football field while carrying out first aid or cheering the players. The Strength group described physical strength in their work throughout the day, but referred to strength in their hearts in their written reflection. "If you have strength in your heart, you will be determined to achieve anything you want." The Peace group wrote that we cannot live without peace because without peace, there will be no progress in a nation. They went on to write about the current situation in Somalia including the lack of peace and progress. The Community group suggested that "community means people coming together in unity", which in their list of examples, included helping the vulnerable children. The Responsibility group knows they must take great care towards others. They mentioned the importance of taking care of young ones, which I presume is their daily reality, as 40 children live together in this humble 3-bedroom home. Finally, the Courage team reminded us that courage can give us victory over anything!
The childrens' messages are simple, but strong. And most importantly, one of the oldest boys, stood up to remind the children that they cannot just play games and activities with these words. They must reflect upon the concept and commit to applying it to their lives. There is no point for Necessary Arts to return if they do not process what we are teaching them, nor if they ignore the word in their daily lives. The children received the message. And Pastor Joseph requested that next time we come, please come for a full two-day workshop!
The House of Love
by Teresa Cantu
Our van bounded down dusty roads filled with people, livestock, trucks, and shopkeepers on a busy Saturday morning in Pipeline, Nairobi. After dodging numerous potholes and squeezing through tight passages never meant for two lanes of traffic, our van came to an abrupt stop. It was announced that we had arrived at our destination and I found myself craning my neck in all directions looking for the building that could possibly be ours.
As I walked through the metal doors I at once left the chaotic streets full of honking cars and shouting vendors and entered a space that brings a feeling of peace. The children of JEHO sat waiting anxiously for our arrival, and Director Joseph greeted us all warmly. He led us in prayer and spoke kinder words to my colleagues and I than I think I could have ever have been prepared for.
JEHO is a small facility that not only provides food, shelter, and safety for orphans, but also is actively involved in raising the children to be warm, kind, respectful, and confident members of society. The Christian centered style of education and rearing is evident from the get go as passages from the Bible are written on the humble cement walls. Children can be heard singing Christian songs throughout our visit. The idea of love and kindness are not new topics, and while these children have little they are more than willing to put others before themselves.
As Joseph leads the opening prayer, he does not ask the Lord to provide supplies for his children, or money for his school – but rather he focuses on the Necessary Arts team. He thanks the Lord for bringing us to JEHO. He prays for our health and wellbeing while in Kenya. He prays for all of our family and friends. Joseph never once asks for anything in return, which can be rare when people are at times in dire circumstances. I am beyond touched.
As we move through our activities it is clear that this experience is not like being in any other school or workshop. It is almost as if we are in someone’s home, and all of these children are brothers and sisters playing with one another. All in all this family would be made up of about 40 individuals, and they participated in warm up activities, performances that including singing, dancing, acting, and speaking, and an art activity that involved creating a group drawing. This workshop was twice as long as previous workshops and for good reason! The enthusiasm and the desire for everyone to be involved and have a chance to shine was clear, and before we knew it our time had flown by and it was time to go home.
Our day once again ended in a community meeting of sorts. Joseph asked students, individually and directly, reflection questions about the day. He expected answers on the spot. As students were called on, they rose to their feet and began to articulate eloquent answers on demand. This awareness, thoughtfulness, and maturity was shocking to me – in the best of ways of course. Through my work with Necessary Arts I have learned it is far too easy to assume that students with certain backgrounds and predicaments might not have the confidence to think through their expressions. However, I have seen time and time again that when given the chance everyone has a voice worth hearing. More often than not they want to be heard – they are just waiting for someone to care enough to inquire and lend an ear.
Joseph called the Necessary Arts team to the front of the room and two students approached us to vocalize their thankfulness on behalf of the entire group. We once again bowed our heads in prayer and thanked the Lord for the blessings the day brought. We nourished our minds, bodies, and souls together. I learned an incredible amount from the JEHO family and the word that stands out to me the most is love. It almost seemed a tangible force in the room. Joseph reminded us all that if you want something in life you must be willing to give something in life. If you want to be loved you must be willing to give love. I most certainly felt the love from the JEHO community and I in turn truly loved my experience with them today. I hope to return with Necessary Arts and see how we can nurture our relationship and develop in love together.
Eager for Creative Action
by Amanda Milkeraitis
As the Necessary Arts team set off for our second day, heading for JEHO, I could only base my expectations on yesterday’s experience. Today was very different! We were greeted by beautiful, warm, engaging, loving children ready to welcome us to their home and family. Joseph, the pastor and “man-in-charge” made a speech that moved me almost to tears. He talked about how some children just need a “place to stand, and someone to hold their hand”. Having many children already greet me with an open hand, open smile and open heart, it was clear that we were there to hold their hands and give them a Necessary Arts experience to enrich their day. It became so clear to me that they were there to actually enrich OUR day, within moments of our program beginning. Necessary Arts transformed into Necessary Hearts.
In terms of stimulating these children with artistic and performing ideas it was definitely a two-way street, as they taught us a new song, “Balance the Ball”. Because Necessary Arts has a history of visiting JEHO, and their own enthusiastic attitudes, it was obvious that these children were ready and willing for some creative action! Every activity we asked them to participate in was met with happy faces and strong and healthy ideas from them.
One young lady that touched me in particular, when she quietly mentioned to me that they all LOVED acting and couldn’t wait to create their own shows for us. Her earnest and very real approach to me demonstrated her real appreciation for the Arts and how important it is in her life. This was further backed up when the girls happily told me that the boys were obsessed with football, while the girls loved to sing and dance in their spare time. (Arts so very, very necessary to those lovely young ladies). The boys in our group were also dedicated to stepping up to the task of drawing, writing, presenting and acting today – even if some included some football!
Arts for Love
by Melinda Everstyn
Arriving at the JEHO orphanage was a very different experience from the previous day. We drove through the busy, lively streets as the locals were getting on with their weekend activities. The orphanage smack bang in the middle of the township in a 2-story building. The children came from their upstairs sleeping quarters, to greet us in the large room they use as a church, learning space and play area. But from the moment I was greeted from these children I did not see them as orphans, this was one very big family!
We started with a range of warm up activities the children then started a dance/vocal/movement activity called ‘balance the ball’. I was so impressed by their enthusiasm and confidence. We then moved into the main activity, however we made 2 changes from the previous day to suit the needs of these children. Firstly I introduced an art activity. After the students had completed their human statues I gave each group a large piece of paper and drawing materials. They then were challenged to complete an illustration of their groups’ word. I was interested to see if they would use the same clichés I have seen time and time again as a teacher, and I was pleased to report this was not always the case. I was also interested in the same clichés would apply being in a different culture, being in Africa as opposed to the Middle East and Australia where I have taught. I was not surprised to see ‘love’ group started with a heart, however as their ideas developed they made more additions. Most groups incorporated text and their penmanship was both very neat and creative. After the groups finished they presented their art and spoke about it to the audience who then provided feedback. I was not sure how this would go so was very happy when they kept raising their hands with a lot to contribute!We then continued with the theatre performance however another activity was included, with the students asked to create a musical piece about their words. Some groups incorporated a lot of movement and others was just voice/song. I got goose bumps with their fast thinking, harmonious and moving songs they sung. Their singing was just beautiful.This school has a lot of love for each other, and for the performing arts. Their passion for dance, drama, music and art was very evident. Therefore the ongoing visits from Necessary Arts is very valuable. The orphanage really shows that you don’t need a lot of possessions to be rich, and I hope the facilities can get funding to develop and allow the children more opportunities to grow, as there are so many talented children in this group….start of thefuturI am sure.
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