By interlacing our world views with our creativity, values, and critical thinking skills, we can empower ourselves to become true global citizens and improve society across borders. As Margaret Mead stated,“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” We have the choice to contribute or not. We could choose to passively sit back and relax while someone else solves the problems of the world, or better yet each of us could position ourselves to be a part of the solution. Necessary Arts chooses to be a part of the solution. Necessary Arts doesn’t just seek change; we are committed to change.
In February 2002, the Necessary Arts School officially opened in Trinidad & Tobago based upon the vision and commitment of its founders: Lydia Ledgerwood, Penelope Spencer, and Naima Thompson. Necessary Arts utilizes the arts to empower participants to realize their full potential and become confident, productive and innovative contributors to society. To complement the work being done in Trinidad & Tobago, Necessary Arts began an outreach program in Kenya in April 2014, providing a unique opportunity for participants to develop and enhance life skills, leadership qualities, literacy, and personal character. The projects in both countries promote strong leaders, critical thinkers, and innovators, which ultimately results in positive contributors to our local and global societies.
From 2014-2016, Necessary Arts Global Outreach stretched its arms across Kenya, nearly to the borders of Tanzania, Uganda, and Somalia in order to reach hundreds of students through the Reach the Unreachable project. Phase 1 of the project offered a variety of student workshops, from building the foundation of dramatic skills to creating a final presentation piece. In just a two year time frame, students completed workshops at the following locations:
- Riara Education Center-Varkey GEMS Foundation, Kibera
- Adventist Rehabilitation and Education Center, Kajiado
- John E. Halgrim Orphanage (JEHO), Pipeline, Embakasi
- Port Busia Village, Lake Victoria
- Bofa Village, Kilifi
- Sud Academy (seeking partnership with UNHCR), Kawangware
- AMREF “Child in Need Project”, Dagoretti, Waithaka
- Secondary Girls School, Lamu Island
Developing relationships with each site in order to offer workshops was not an easy task, but this was part of our challenge. In fact, Suzzanne Pautler, one of our teacher volunteers, made the initial arrangements for Naima to offer workshops at a school where her friend Patrick was Principal. A few years previous, Suzzanne had “couch surfed” at his house, visited his school, and commissioned his students to sew several traditional African dresses for her. It made sense that Naima could begin offering her workshops at his school, while staying at his house. The reality is that Patrick did not pick her up at the airport as scheduled, she did not stay at his home as planned, and he ended up touring her around a vacant school building when they finally did meet. In addition, we have confirmed scheduled site visits, made our travel arrangements, and then with just a week’s notice, schools have cancelled our visit. Other times we’ve made the arrangements, arrived at the site, and learned that only half of the students were available due to other commitments. It has not been easy. Throughout the planning stage of our Nairobi visits, we have learned that the key to success is flexibility.
During our journey of offering student workshops around Kenya, we were also invited to offer teacher training workshops. We offered professional development to a combination of certified teachers and student teachers in training. It is a huge honor anytime a group of colleagues, international or local, asks for help to advance professional learning and improve professional knowledge. We are so appreciative to have received the following analogy from one of the teacher participants: “The teaching staff is like a machine. We work together and make progress. Necessary Arts is the oil that comes in to keep us working our best.”
We are not so vain and egotistic to suggest that we have all the answers and know exactly the direction in which our efforts should move. The Reach the Unreachable project has been a great opportunity not only for our teaching, but also for our learning. We took it upon ourselves to attend the annual Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Conference to better understand from the experts how to best achieve success through our outreach program.
One key take away from the DIHAD 2015 conference was the following parable: We do NOT give fish to those in need, NOR do we teach them to fish. Instead, we tap into their own innovation and creativity. We realize that we cannot act as heroes coming to rescue Kenyan children in need. When we first arrived here, we were constantly bombarded with pleas of “give me this” and “send me that.” Donations, or fish, are of course always welcome, but they are simply short term solutions, often causing dependency. To find long term, sustainable solutions, we must work with and listen to the affected populations. They are the ones with the voices to share their true needs and with the innovation to create the solutions.
Necessary Arts Global Outreach had a vision in mind in 2014. The end result of Phase 1 of the Reach the Unreachable project may not look exactly like what we expected or anticipated; however, it was a privilege to see the project develop organically. DIHAD taught us that shared communication among the donor organization (Necessary Arts), the humanitarian actors (teacher volunteers), and the affected communities (student workshop participants and their adult caretakers) is necessary to guide all humanitarian projects. Otherwise, the project will not be holistic, but rather will develop from just one perspective. We have learned that we should never begin a conversation with “We want to...”, but rather “How can we…?”
Additionally, DIHAD taught us that it is foolish to act on our own as one single organization. It is only through a collaborative approach with other NGOs and aid agencies that complete, sustainable solutions will materialize. With this in mind, Necessary Arts has had the privilege of working with the GEMS Varkey Foundation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), and the Art of Confidence (AOC). The ideas, brainstorming, and motivation that we share with one another push us to collectively offer the best support we can.
Student participants have come from a variety of cultural, linguistic, socio-economic, educational, and family backgrounds. We have worked with refugees from Sudan, street children in rehabilitation, economic orphans, children from single family homes, the impoverished living in slums, and those rescued from tribes to avoid early childhood marriage and female genital mutilation. Rather than focusing on the negative plights that have brought the children to this point in their lives, it is essential for us to focus on how to move forward, to empower, to educate, to reach the unreachable. As one student from JEHO reminds us, “If you have strength in your heart, you will be determined to achieve anything you want.” We live in hope and do everything we can in order to help even one of the children to realize his or her dreams.
Throughout this project, all parties involved agree that there is nothing more important in this world than the safety, protection, and rights of the child. We are working our hardest to make this statement come true for all workshop participants. Young refugees from Sud Academy identified for us the six most important rights in their lives: “the right to an education, the right to health care, the right to security, the right to move, the right to play, the right to a family.” In addition, a personal goal of ours is to balance the scales of education as best we can with the tools we have. We realize what a true disadvantage many of these students face within the competitive global community, simply by being born who they are, where they are. As Naima blogged in April 2014, “Because of time, place, and circumstances, many of these amazing talented gems will never see their true potential come to fruition.”
One of the sites dearest to our hearts is the JEHO orphanage. In March 2015, one volunteer commented, “It is apparent that 43 children go to sleep each night knowing they are loved. By growing up on a home full of goodness, imagine the positive impact they will make upon community, society, and humanity.” They are ambassadors for their generation, and will develop into dynamic global citizens who truly make a difference. Necessary Arts is proud to be a part of the family, “walking in the tracks of compassion, dignity, responsibility, tolerance, diversity, good temperance and the like, to show up for each other, ready to overcome life's challenges through a collective mindedness.” The Necessary Arts team paid the full tuition and incidentals for the 2016 academic year for all twenty secondary school students at JEHO to demonstrate our commitment to and belief in the rights of education for all.
While in Bofa Village, the students reiterated that "having a good education" makes them happy. One student added that his "nearness to school" makes him happy, while another suggested that "being sponsored for education" would make anyone happy. Obviously great value is placed on an education. In addition, the students identified the following as being a high priority in their lives: "the whole village living in harmony," "living in peace in our country," and "to live happily with neighbors". Peace and education. Simple and straightforward.
We have documented our project’s journey through The International Educator (TIE) newspaper to educate, inspire, and share with other educators teaching around the world. Teacher volunteer Teresa Cantu published “Necessary Arts Reaches the Unreachable in Kilifi, Kenya” in the December 2015 issue, while Naima published “Balancing the Scales of Education” in the April 2016. Both articles speak of the necessity of reaching out and helping children who are motivated, talented, and deserving, but may lack resources and/or do not have access to demonstrate to the world how much they have to offer.
To reach the unreachable with such a successful and effective result, Necessary Arts recognizes that a team effort was essential. To that end, Necessary Arts is full of gratitude for the collective efforts made from site managers, local transportation guides, teacher volunteers from around the world, tech gurus who share our word through social media, student workshop participants, private financial contributors, our Kenyan friends, and the Necessary Arts team who started the organization in Trinidad & Tobago nearly 15 years ago! Necessary Arts Global Outreach has just completed Phase 1 of the Reach the Unreachable project. What and where will Phase 2 bring us?
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