Our teammate, Sedona Keenan, recently described her experiences starting an art class for the children at the Living Positive Kenya Daycare Center. Here's what she had to say:
| "The LPK Daycare Center is such a happy, energetic and loving place. You would never guess that it's located in the heart of Ngong's slum. Our team loves visiting the center any and every chance we get, the kids never fail to put us in a great mood! I noticed that the school was missing something though, a place for the students to learn and practice arts and crafts. I knew that these kids were full of creativity, all of their handmade toys and inventions scattered all over the school made that abundantly clear, from the cars made of juice boxes with bottle caps for wheels, to the tiny planes made from lollipop sticks and old soda bottles. |  |
I grew up surrounded by art. I was always taking extra classes throughout the summer and visiting different galleries and studios with my mom. I can’t begin to imagine growing up without art.
Last year we finished constructing a new classroom for the center, which left one of the older classrooms available for something new. The room wasn’t in great shape, the ceiling was falling down and the walls were covered in mud and torn posters, but I knew that I could turn the space into an art room, I just needed a hammer, some nails, and a few buckets of paint!
Last year we finished constructing a new classroom for the center, which left one of the older classrooms available for something new. The room wasn’t in great shape, the ceiling was falling down and the walls were covered in mud and torn posters, but I knew that I could turn the space into an art room, I just needed a hammer, some nails, and a few buckets of paint!
 Before |  After |
It took a week and a lot of work, but I managed to turn the old classroom into a bright and colorful art room – the kids were absolutely thrilled!
 | It's been so fun (and challenging) coming up with inexpensive project ideas with the things we can find locally. We recently traced their hands and colored them in, turning them into flowers. The kids love seeing their work displayed around classroom and get really excited when they get to take their work home with them to show their families. I’ve got a ton of ideas for future projects, but I would also love to hear some ideas from you! If you have an idea for an inexpensive and fun art project for kids between the ages of 3-5 please let me know at sedona@longonoteducation.org. |
If you would like to donate towards art supplies and materials for the class, the kids and I would really appreciate it! There are so many projects I would like to do with them, but it's hard when you have so many kids and very limited resources. You can donate here. Thanks so much and stay tuned for more updates and pictures of the art class!"
