random photos

Kids brigade

This is something I had to write up for Peace Corps about the kids group and art class that I do in my town.

The Kids Brigade is a part of our Youth Group, Neo Juventud that is directed towards children ages 5- 12. The goal is to employ the use of non-formal education to create a creative learning environment that focuses on teaching values, critical thinking, developing leadership skills, increasing self-esteem and environmental consciousness. The children are split into two groups based on age and each group meets once a week for an hour and a half to two hours. Currently there are about 50 active participants.

My personal goal for the Kids Brigade is to provide a safe place for children to learn and express themselves without fear of making a mistake or embarrassment.
Our educational activities follow several themes: health, the environment, self-esteem and human values. We discuss the subject and do a follow-up hands on activity, the children have time to ask questions or share: the Kids Brigade is not school and our meetings are an open conversation. Afterwards we always play: we go outside and run around, play games and sing songs.
After about six months of running the Kids Brigade I started an experimental art class that meets once a week. At first no one came and I was really confused: what kid doesn’t love glitter, glue and colored paper? Then I realized that the children had never had art class before and simply didn’t know what I was talking about but after I clearly explained what art class was, attendance began to grow. The art class is open to anyone, so I have children as old as 13 and as young as 4 (sometimes even teenagers). When we first began, the children were horrified at the idea of drawing without an eraser and a ruler, they kept asking, “What if I make a mistake?”. They had learned that art meant copying whatever their teacher had drawn and the concept of mistakes being a catalyst for beautiful art rather than a source of shame was scary at first.

Since the beginning of the Kids Brigade and art class I have seen some amazing changes in these children. There were children who were too shy to speak but now they are confident enough to greet adults and when we pass in the street, they run up and give me a hug. There were kids who simply wouldn’t participate for fear of screwing up and now they are active members who share ideas and help me plan activities. Specifically I have witnessed a complete turnaround in some of my pre-teen girls. I had several young girls who would come but would never participate. They would just turn in blank papers or the materials for the art project without having even tried to complete it. When I asked them why, they told me they didn’t know how or they were just bad at drawing. It took awhile but everyone participates now. This seemingly small effort is a big step and I am so proud of them. Also one of my newest participants is 13 and mute. When he first started coming to art class the rest of the children kept trying to do his work for him and kept informing that Jhony couldn’t do the project. They really wanted to protect him but I insisted that Jhony was responsible and capable of participating in the class and that my expectations were no different for Jhony than any other kid. Jhony rose to the occasion. Last week we made hemp bracelets and Jhony’s was by far the best and he was so proud and the rest of the kids kept asking to see his and he was helping them with their bracelets. The Jhony I met four months earlier followed the others and last week he was leading.