artists who inspire me

by Opio Geoffrey

by Okeche Brian

by Okeche Oscar

by Opio Geoffrey

by Okeche Brian

While the team is on its way to Uganda - and we are waiting for blog posts and photos - I thought I'd share some more of the artwork made by the kids. One of the things I'll miss most about not being at SMK is the time spent hanging out in the art room with these - and other - really talented young artists. They inspire me on so many levels. Here are a few reasons why:

They paint until it's way past dark, even when the light bulb won't turn on due to (common) power outages. In other words, they have to be dragged out of that dark place, paintbrushes still in hand.

They use a pencil until it has reached "nub" status.

They work on a piece, then turn the paper over to work on the other side.

They talk and laugh while they are drawing, sharing ideas without the least bit of jealously or fear of having their ideas stolen.

If they have no idea for a drawing in mind, they look through old, tattered magazines and always find something, even if it is a lipstick or beer ad.

They mix colors as naturally and easily as they breathe.

They improvise, because they often do not have the tools or supplies they need and well, because they do this in practically every aspect of their lives anyway.

They do not gloat or boast when they have finished something they're really proud of. They might smile broadly for a few moments while they admire it, but then they just move on.

They reach into their imaginations for scenes they can only dream of ever actually seeing or experiencing, and they don't feel sorry for themselves that this is the way it is.

They instinctively help the younger or less experienced artists in the room.

They give the artwork to me to bring back for our CTT fundraisers or as gifts to team members, pen pals or sponsors without any hesitation whatsoever, even if the painting has taken several days to complete. They take pleasure in sharing.

They take the time to teach me things about shading and perspective and such. And I mean time: a whole day if that's how long it takes for me to finally understand. Time seems to take on a new meaning in the art room. It stretches on forever. I love that.

I'll miss my art club friends and the congenial time spent with them, especially Willy, Oscar, Brian, Issy and Nicky.

[Please note: these pieces will be included in the silent auction at the Change the Truth 6th Annual Friendraiser/Fundraiser on March 14th.]

team 7: meet max and sam

Max

Sam

Eighteen-year-old fraternal twins Max and Sam will undoubtedly turn some heads in Kajjansi. These guys are tall and handsome - and very sweet.

Both young men are seniors at Kansas City's Hyman Brand Academy, a Jewish day school they have attended since kindergarten. Max's interests include sports, while Sam's are more focused on the arts.

Just as soon as they complete their last final exam for the semester, they'll be winging their way toward Uganda with their parents and younger sister. What an amazing experience this will be for the Sosland family!

team 7: meet dawn and emily

Dawn Taylor is very excited to be making her second trip to Uganda and St. Mary Kevin.  She was a member of Team 5 in 2011 and knew she would return to visit her many new friends at SMK.

This visit is special because she is bringing her daughter, Emily, with her.  It will be Emily’s first trip to Uganda.  

Dawn loves staying connected to Change the Truth and to the children of SMK.  Her teammates have become friends, and she is looking forward to making new friends with Team 7.

Dawn’s trip to Uganda in 2011 was part of the inspiration to start a social impact business with a friend in Kansas City.  Their products are designed by artists, and each purchase helps support access to clean water in countries like Uganda, Haiti, India, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh.  Dawn’s company, called Red Dirt (named in honor of the red dirt of Africa), works with Water.org, which is based in Kansas City but works in many developing countries to create healthy, easily accessible water that helps build healthy communities.

Dawn also has an 18-year-old daughter, Sarah, who is a college freshman. 

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Emily Biegelsen is a 16-year-old high school student from Prairie Village, KS.  She goes to Shawnee Mission East High School (the same high school where Team 4 volunteers David Muhammad teaches and Emily Collins attended).  This is Emily’s first trip to Uganda and she is excited to join her mom on Team 7.

Emily is a good student, and her favorite school subjects are English, Spanish, and Choir.  This year she is a photographer for her school’s yearbook.  She works very hard on her classes and her activities.  She is part of a community service club called SHARE.  She really enjoys being with her friends and is looking forward to making many new friends at St. Mary Kevin. 

team 7: meet jane

Jane has been working with young people throughout her adult life. She decided to pursue her PhD in child and developmental psychology at the University of Kansas after working with children with developmental disabilities at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Jane stayed home and raised her three children while they were young, but decided to return to work once the youngest started kindergarten.  While she was working to earn clinical accreditation, Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. In connection with her illness and treatment, Jane became a founding board member of a nonprofit organization in Kansas City -- Turning Point: Center for Hope and Healing -- which helps families cope with a chronic illness.  In addition to serving as president of the board, Jane helped develop a curriculum for the children’s program.

When Jane has free time, she likes to spend it with her family. She also enjoys her two Corgis, and tries to get exercise.

In her own words:

"My husband Josh and daughter Leah embarked on a journey to SMK this time last year, fueled primarily by Leah's unending desire to help the children she had seen in a video years prior. Even though Josh and Leah each shared lengthy journals, what happened there was in many ways hard for them to describe. But it was transformative, as they returned to KC determined for the 5 of us taking this venture this year. 

As we have watched the letters written and received with their pen pals back in Uganda throughout the year, it is obvious that special friendships have been formed. The boys and I are unsure what to expect, but we know we will meet some amazing young people. We hope we will find ways to be helpful and look forward to becoming part of the CTT Team Tradition."   

gallery artists

Brian made this sign to hang next to the group of paintings

It's official. A small group of our most talented young artists from St. Mary Kevin Orphanage now have their work hanging in a gallery.

The gallery is called AidChild. It's located at the equator,  so it's not one you can hop on over to for a good time on First Friday.

I first discovered AidChild Gallery back in 2006 when Thatcher, my photo workshop leader, took us there for refreshing fruit smoothies and some very tasty guacamole. All of the work exhibited there is by African artists. My guess is most clients are tourists, stopping in the area to take pictures at the equator sign, have lunch and shop at the many craft shops that line that section of the road. AidChild donates a huge chunk of their sales to organizations that assist some of the 2.2 million orphans living in Uganda.

When I was there last August, I suggested to the very nice manager that she take a look at the work being made by some of our artists from SMK.

Fast forward (well, nothing happens FAST in Uganda) to December, and some of that very work has been stretched, delivered and now installed on the walls on the AidChild Gallery. I felt like a proud Mama when I received word (and pics) from Melissa that this had finally come to pass.

Willy, Brian, gallery manager Sylvia, Nicky

Nicky, Willy and Brian (there are others… time will tell if we get to replenish the current inventory) deserve this recognition and exposure. I am so happy for them!

another small fundraiser

Tonight was CTT's annual fundraiser at 10,000 Villages. Here are a few pics from the evening. Always lots of wonderful shopping and some truly devoted CTT friends. Thanks to those of you who attended. It was great to see you!

team 7: meet leah

"I am14 years old and attend school at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, where I have been a student since kindergarten. I am currently in the 9^th grade. Every summer, I go to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin for two months. I have made some lifelong friends there, and the camp has also helped me expand my interests and education. I enjoy art, music, and especially literature and books. I have been playing piano since a young age, and I love to read. I also plays sports such as basketball, tennis, and soccer.

I first learned of Gloria’s work when I was 8 at a CTT fundraiser. I became very interested in CTT and was moved by Lynne Melcher’s beautiful film and the wonderful work of Gloria and many others. I decorated one of the banana dolls for the CTT fundraiser, and for my Bat Mitzvah project last February, I decided to raise money for Change The Truth Foundation. 
           

Inspired by everything Change The Truth does, I became interested in going on one of the teams to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage in Uganda. Along with my father, Josh, we decided together to volunteer to serve as a members of Team 6. I fell in love with many of the children, and after the trip, I could not imagine not going back to SMK. This year, I am returning not only with Josh but with the rest of my family as well. I am very excited to share this incredible experience once again."

team 7: meet cynthia

I am thrilled that another photographer is going to SMK this year! The photo students I worked with in August will get to take up where they left off and continue to explore their passion for the medium. Many others who are also interested will get to try their hand at it, too.

Cynthia Bittenfield is a professional fine art photographer whose current projects explore issues related to the human cost of war. She received her Masters degree in photography in 2009 from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She also has a Masters degree in Education and developed training for Arthur Andersen & Co. and Microsoft Corp.  Her work has been widely exhibited. She serves on the board of the Camera Club of New York.

Cynthia has a passion for travel, biking, yoga, art and photography. She lives and works in New York City. 

I actually knew Cynthia back in the day when we were both studying photography at the University of Wisconsin. I was in graduate school, and she was a much younger woman as an undergrad! We lost track of each other until many years later when she lived in Seattle and joined a women’s artist salon. My sister just so happened to be in the group. It didn’t take Cynthia long to figure out the connection, and soon she and I were in touch once again. I’m so grateful she has become such a huge fan of Change the Truth and that she is going to now have a chance to meet the children about whom she has heard so much. Cynthia has so many terrific ideas for the photography project, and she is also going to teach yoga! I think a love fest is just around the corner...

team 7: leaders jennifer and jeff

It's always with tremendous pleasure and pride that I introduce members of Change the Truth's teams -  groups of adventurous and generous volunteers who travel to Uganda to give their time, energy and love to the children at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. This year is no exception. In fact, of the ten people who make up Team 7, four are returning for their second time, and two will be making their third trip!

This is a repeat post, but one definitely worth sharing again. Please meet the leaders of Team 7: Jennifer Smith and Jeff Mildner.

Jennifer is in her 19th year of teaching (and was recently in the running for Kansas' "Teacher of the Year"). She currently teaches 8th graders American history. Jeff works for a business solutions company in Lenexa, Kansas. He is a former social studies teacher, coach, and school district IT director. Jenn and Jeff are avid sports fans cheering on the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff has completed several marathons (including a 100K - yes you read that right...100!) Jennifer enjoys reading and cooking. They will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary in December.

Not only have these two humanitarians traveled to SMK twice already, they are actively involved in practically everything CTT does. They are the volunteers behind the successful silent auctions we've had at our past two annual fundraisers and at two events we've held at Gordon Biersch Brewery. They have spoken about CTT at their church, they have rounded up laptops galore for the SMK computer lab and they even sponsor one of our secondary school students. These two are committed to the children at the orphanage in very big ways. CTT is lucky to call Jenn and Jeff very good friends.

In their own words:

"We first learned about Change The Truth when Gloria visited our church in Olathe. Having traveled to South Africa and Lesotho, we were interested in an organization that was committed to building relationships and providing educational support for children.  As members of Team 4 in 2010, we led computer classes and education around HIV-AIDS, drugs and alcohol, and healthy relationships. More importantly, we began building relationships with the children. We returned to Saint Mary Kevin in July 2012 and participated in the school day observing classes, organizing the library, and even teaching a few lessons. We traveled to several secondary schools to see CTT sponsored students and tour their dormitories, classrooms and college campuses.

The children of Saint Mary Kevin have imprinted our hearts as the red soil of Uganda marks our shoes and clothes. We are honored to lead Team 7 and can’t wait to see our friends in Kajjansi again. Tubagala nyo! (We love you!)"

Tomorrow you'll meet team member Cynthia.

change the truth team 7: guest post by melissa

It's almost time! Team 7 will be at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage two weeks from now, and everyone involved is getting very excited. Soon, I'll feature bios and pictures of the team members. For now, though, enjoy this post by Melissa about the excitement that's building at the orphanage.

Melissa and Antwain, 2013

The Team is Coming! The Team is Coming!

"In two short weeks from now, Change The Truth’s Team 7 will be arriving at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood. Over the years, this annual visit is one of anticipation and excitement for the orphans, staff, and Administration alike. It becomes the pinnacle event of the long holiday break and joyous occasion to welcome back old friends, as well as make new friends!

This year, Team 7 will be mainly a family affair. The team leaders, Jeff and Jennifer, are a dynamic husband-wife duo. This trip will make their 3rd visit to SMK. Previous, they were a part of Team 4, as well as an independent visit. Then, there is an entire family. Josh and his daughter, Leah, were members of Team 6. Their time at SMK was so meaningful that the whole family wants to return together. Joining this year will be Josh’s wife, Jane, and twin sons, Max and Sam. Also, Dawn was a member of Team 5. She is returning this year with her youngest daughter, Emily. Finally, Cynthia, a photographer and CTT supporter, will be rounding out this year’s team.

Personally, one of the most meaningful visits to SMK was Team 3. It was that year Antwain was also a member of the CTT team. Being able to introduce two important components of my life to one another was really an incredible experience. I was profoundly proud to watch Antwain experience SMK for the first time. While I shared countless stories and photos, nothing could compare to the reality of Antwain hanging out with special friends like Henry or Saka. I will enjoy witnessing a similar experience for Josh and Dawn.

Each team member will arrive with their bags packed to capacity with arts and craft materials, medical supplies, Christmas gifts, pen pal letters, digital cameras, few computers and software, and lots of other goodies. The days will be jammed packed with individual projects (like photography classes, computer classes, counseling sessions, arts/craft time, book clubs, recreation activities), group projects (installing new mattresses in dormitories, hosting Spirit Day), holiday celebration on Christmas, showcase of entertainment, a few fieldtrips, and endless hugs/walks/talks/holding hands.

The calendar to countdown the days until CTT Team 7’s arrival will go up this week, as there is a daily onslaught of inquiries about their arrivals. The decorations will be prepared to welcome our friends both returning and new as they once again share a memorable holiday season at SMKOM."

a 3-year-old's point of view

Here are some new photos by grandson Henry.

watch this

This is powerful and true and scary and real and amazing and lovely and disheartening and relevant and lyrical and it fits into a space I can relate to on many different levels. Brava, Lily Myers.

k


Lily Myers performed this piece for Wesleyan University at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam invitational. It was awarded Best Love Poem at the tournament. It went viral this past fall, thanks to a post on Upworthy entitled "Watch a Student Totally Nail Something About Women That I've Been trying to Articulate for 37 Years." My friend Emily turned me onto it today on Facebook.

i shot a wedding

Sometimes I never know where my camera and I might land. This past weekend it was at a wedding. I usually turn down weddings if asked to shoot them, but I did this one because it was for two members of the Change the Truth family: Nick and Lindsey, aka "Strings for Uganda."

Shooting weddings is stressful. Let's say, for example, that you have to go to the bathroom. While there, the couple decides it's time to cut the cake. When you emerge, the whole three minute activity has taken place. There is already icing on the groom's nose. Oops. You'd be out of luck. No do-over there.

This wedding had a cool vibe to it, and I actually had a lot of fun taking pictures. After I finished the throwing-of-the-bouquet photos and the first-dance photos, etc. I set about taking portraits of guests who wanted to come to my "photo booth." Of course, then I was totally in my element and having a blast.

Lindsey and Nick took me on, even after I reminded them I am not a wedding photographer. I hope they like what I did. I'd like to think I kinda put my own mark on the work, while also capturing the energy of the evening.  Here are a few of my favorites.

it takes a village: tony

Tony, 2006

Tony, 2013

I have known many of the children at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage since 2006. I've watched them grow stronger, smarter, faster, more creative, more confident, more determined, more accomplished and more appreciative of what Change the Truth is providing them. I feel like a proud mom when I consider how much positive change has taken place in the lives of these young people.

Tony is one of these kids. He barely spoke a word when I finally corralled him into a classroom during my first trip to Uganda in October, 2006. He only looked at me when he thought I wasn't watching. He seemed dejected and forlorn. His clothes were always ripped. He didn't seem to have many friends. He didn't say much.

One day I saw him playing football (soccer) with some other boys. He was quick and agile, his long legs stretching out underneath his small frame as he made his way up and down the hard dirt field. The ball he was kicking was homemade -- a bunch of wadded up plastic bags wrapped in twine. His unbuttoned shirt flapped furiously as he maneuvered that ball between and around the other players. All the while he was playing, a smile stretched across his face.

I liked Tony from the moment I first saw him. He was creeping around the building I was using to record the children's music. He'd peer in through the window, then quickly scoot away if I looked in his direction. He intrigued me. I wanted to know his story, and I wanted to get to know him.

I made it my business that October to meet Tony and spend a little time hanging out with him. He was clearly a very smart kid. But he was guarded, cautious and fiercely independent -- so not in need of an old white woman or anything she might be offering up.

I kept working on Tony, and over the years, he has become my very dear friend/son. We take long walks together when I'm at SMK so we can talk about all sorts of things - family, goals, friends, education, disappointments, loss, fears, what makes us happy, where we'd like to go, who we'd like to meet, what makes us laugh. Now Tony is a budding saxophone player, a true leader among his peers, a good student, a helpful and loyal friend and someone who aspires/works hard to make his dreams come true. I love this kid.

Last year Tony graduated from primary school. I had always told him that if his grades were good enough, and if he fulfilled all the requirements for a CTT secondary school sponsorship, that Papa Eddie and I would pay his school fees. He and I just had that kind of a relationship. It seemed like the natural thing to do to make that offer. He nodded, became quite serious and then told me he would try his best.

Tony has just completed his first year of secondary school. He attends Turkish Light Academy. He is a day scholar, which means he comes back to SMK at the end of each school day to do his homework, his chores, to see some fiends, but mostly to practice saxophone. He is a member of the "Five Stars," a self-named group of young sax players who are coached and nurtured (both long distance and in person) by their beloved Dutch music teacher, Monique (who was a member of CTT Team 5).

Eddie and I split Tony's school fees with his pen pal's family. Tony and James (a boy his age from Chicago who happens to be very smart, loves playing soccer and truly rocks the trumpet!) have been writing letters back and forth for several years now. James' family wanted to help with the school fees, too. So we are a consortium, I guess you'd say.

Between his music mentor Monique, our CTT social worker Melissa, SMK administrators Rosemary, Joseph and Joan Faith, James, James' family and Eddie and me, Tony has quite a few people in his corner. We are forever cheering him on. He is doing well. He is happy and confident, sweet natured, polite, funny, artistic, one heck of a dancer, a mighty horn player, athletic and handsome. He is doing well in school. He dreams of becoming a professional musician and music teacher. Or maybe even a doctor.

Sponsoring a child from the orphanage in Uganda is a commitment. I am here to tell you, though, that the rewards and the satisfactions and the pleasures and the feelings of pride trump any feelings of slight financial sacrifice. Tony tells me he loves me when we see one another and when he writes me letters. I tell him I love him, too. We can be together for hours, walking the red dirt roads of Kajjansi saying absolutely nothing if we don't' feel like talking. We just walk in step, enjoying the sun on our faces and feeling safe and complete in one another's company.

You can't put a price on that.

If you would like to consider sponsoring one of the children at the orphanage, please get in touch with me. I'll answer any questions you might have.

I'm pretty sure you'd like the experience!