artwork by the kids

Thanks to those of you who sent in pics of your artwork by the kids from St. Mary Kevin. The pieces look great hanging in your homes, and I know the young artists will be thrilled to see these photos.

art teacher: michael

Have you ever wondered who teaches and encourages the talented young artists year round at St. Mary Kevin? His name is Michael. He is humble and gentle, so very sweet and kind. He teaches the children important skills and techniques, but he knows when it's time to step back and let them blossom on their own. He is like a big brother/father to all of them.

When young Brian was injured in a terrible accident a few years back, Michael immediately made his way to the hospital to sit by his side. When I looked over one time to see the Okecha brothers and Michael huddled around Brian, it was a beautiful thing. Like a family, he told me.

Michael is a talented artist, but he never flaunts that fact to the children… or to anyone for that matter. He is easy-going and polite. He is respectful of the kids. He takes his time with them, allowing them to make important discoveries about their own artistic possibilities - and about themselves as human beings, too. A better role model would be hard to find.

drawing alongside Oscar on a CTT field trip to Lake Victoria

I am proud to call Michael my friend. I have loved and admired him for many years now. The fact that he comes to SMK on a weekly basis to teach - and receives only transport money in return - says volumes about the size of this man's heart.

Here's Michael's story in his own words:

Michael Stanley Kolulye is my name. I was born from a family of 13 and am the fourth but the 1^st born of my Mum. I grew up in a simple home in Ngogwe my beloved grandmother. This SPECIAL lady nurtured me since my mum was always on the move for her business ventures. After completing secondary school, in August 2005 I joined Kyambogo University for a Diploma in Education Secondary (Art & Design), it was a fun because I was doing some thing I liked from childhood. If I didn’t do Art & Design, I dreamt of doing Engineering/Architecture. I started teaching 2008 after my last school practice, I continued with my students and some graduated last year. 

I came to know about the existence of St. Mary Kevin through a friend, Peter Damba. He used to talk about the place with great pleasure that I wanted to know more about the place myself. I called Mummy Rosemary and we met at her office in Kajjansi in 2008. She was a busy lady but gave me a chance after listening to my proposals. She took me to the school and introduced me to some people. I remember it was in the afternoon, she told me to start straight away if I could. Our first class used to be at the verandah of the Guest house near Mummy’s office. My first day went well though I left without seeing/reporting to Mummy because it was getting late & I could not find her. To my surprise, Mummy called to find out where I was only to tell her that I had left thinking that she was off campus. She tried to explain as she was busy with the kids at school. I remember asking me if I could come back to fetch transport money. This (phone call from Mummy) gave me much joy & determination to come back. I decided to come every Wednesday for the young kids & Saturday for bigger boys projects. There were a lot of difficulties but I believe the spirit I had in me & the fire I saw in the young kids kept me alive. I myself I never got a chance to try out the talent in me at an early age, & whenever I thought of this it renewed my interest in sharing with the young lads. Now I feel proud whenever I look at them all grown up with their talents & skills. 

Right now I am devoting much time into promoting my small business of Graphics Design, printing & commercial/advertising publications. I have two kids Ryan & Renah. Ryan now goes to school & he is doing well in Nursery/Pre-Primary.

smk kids' artwork

Top: painting by Oscar. Bottom: pastel by Issy

Have you ever purchased or been given a drawing or painting made by Brian, Willy, Issy, Nicky, Oscar, Ivan, Petra or any of the other talented young artists from St. Mary Kevin? Has the artwork found a place in your home or office? If so, please send me your photos, so I can share them with the artists themselves. They will be thrilled to see their masterpieces hanging on various walls here in America.

The above shot is from my own home. Drawings, paintings and dolls made by the kids are everywhere! These are two I recently purchased from our 6th Annual Friendraiser/Fundraiser.

Please send your photos to me at gbfeinstein[at]gmail[dot]com. I'd love to share them on the blog, as well as with the kids.

spring suite

I made these pictures at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City, Missouri. I wish I could include the sounds along with the sights. There was a lot of honking going on.

Witnessing this glorious snippet of the migration of these snow geese was, dare I say it? kind of like a religious experience. Amazing, awesome, inspiring, hopeful.

6th annual friendraiser/fundraiser

It was great!!! Thanks to those of you who came to the event this past Friday night. What a wonderful and warm group of CTT friends. We are so lucky to have such a fantastic team on our side. Bravo, everyone! We raised a good amount of money and had a great time doing it!

photos by Michael Spillers

Here are the remarks I made:

Sometimes the kids at the orphanage ask me: “Are we famous in America?” I smile and laugh. Tonight, as I look around this place, I can honestly say that for a few hours in Kansas City, Missouri – on this particular night - the children from St. Mary Kevin are indeed famous.

Welcome to the 6^th annual Change the Truth Friendraiser Fundraiser.  Thank you so much for coming. I see a lot of new faces tonight, which is wonderful! You may have come for the pizza and beer, but I do hope you’ll leave with just a small place in your heart for the kids at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood.

I’d like to thank the volunteers who helped put this event together, especially our friends at the best pizza place in town – SPIN! Often, we are asked: Why Africa? Why not help people right here in your own backyard? Lord knows, there is so much need. I did a quick survey of some of the people volunteering tonight. In Kansas City alone, they also give their time, energy and money to - and these are just a few! : Operation Breakthrough, Jewish Family Services Food Pantry, Bridging the Gap, Rose Brooks Shelter for Abused Women, Crittenton and Newborns in Need at Truman Medical Center. The world is getting to be a smaller place. I believe, if we are able, we all can and SHOULD reach out to help here AND a few oceans away. As human beings, we are all connected.

Tonight we celebrate the progress we have made, and acknowledge that there is more to do. As you will learn in the upcoming film by Lynne Melcher and Cara Myers, providing the children at St. Mary Kevin’s a shot at higher education is our main goal. I’m happy to report that CTT is now sponsoring 33 students, some in secondary school, some in vocational school and some at University level. We’ve come a long way from sponsoring just five students in 2007. Without exception, these kids are working hard and are grateful beyond measure for the assistance we provide them. We can feel really good about the young men and women they are becoming. They are lovely people, determined to succeed and make us proud, and they do not, for one moment, take our help for granted.

Besides education, CTT helps with food, medical care and various special projects like a huge new vegetable garden that was planted this year. And unbelievably, our social worker/liaison Melissa Mosher is going on her fourth year living at the orphanage. The daily love and support she provides the children is nothing short of miraculous.

You can see by the artwork that’s here tonight that the kids are making great strides. Not only in art, but in music, too. We’ve got many incredible marching band members, and some of our kids have started playing the violin. These children never cease to amaze me with their natural talent and their hard work – a winning combination. Once we give these kids wings, they really do fly. Purchasing a doll or painting tonite will allow us to continue sponsoring these beautiful children and will put us in a position to offer assistance to even more. Nothing would make me happier tonite then seeing all of this artwork find homes.

The most recent team to go to Uganda was Team 7. It was led by Jennifer Smith and Jeff Mildner (please wave!). Among others, Dawn Taylor and her daughter Emily were part of the team (please wave, too!). The group did some wonderful work while at the orphanage, including a project about HOPE. I’m happy to tell you we’ve got four more groups in the works. Three women from Tennessee are going over in May to teach photography and dance; a student from McGill University will be there for the month of July, four CTT friends from Portland, Oregon are going in September and Team 8 will go for the Christmas holiday. It looks as if Team 8 will be made up of adults and their teenagers. If you have an interest in being part of that, please let me know.

One of the adults who plans to return to SMK in December is Suzanne Garr (please come up!). If she does indeed go, it will be her fourth team trip. Lucky for us, this woman decided back in 2010, she wanted to get involved with CTT. It didn’t take long to find out that she really meant it! She lives in Wisconsin and has assembled a strong network of support for us there. She comes up with creative ways to raise money, she tells everyone she meets about our kids, she sponsors a couple students, she led Team 6, she travels to KC for our fundraisers, she Skypes with the children on a regular basis and she writes more pen pal letters than anyone I’ve ever met. Suzanne, you are one of our greatest cheerleaders and strongest supporters. Thank you for all you do. (Please accept this gift. It’s a painting by Brian.)

OK. The movie… it will take you directly to the grounds of the orphanage. You’ll see what St. Mary Kevin looks like, meet some of the kids and hear what it means to them that we care so much. I won’t keep you much longer, because I know you’d like to watch it. But I do want to touch briefly on a topic that’s been in the news recently and is possibly on your mind. The president of Uganda recently signed legislation that will make penalties for gays and lesbians much harsher than ever before.

It is true that children in Uganda, including ours, will be raised in an environment that is homophobic. They will be taught that being gay is wrong. That is nothing new, actually. Homosexuality has been illegal in Uganda – and in most other African countries - for years. But the new law makes outside exposure for the children that much more important. CTT provides the kids the opportunity to get to know people from different races, religions, backgrounds and lifestyles… stereotypes have, and will continue to be, shattered.  Unfortunately, there is no follow-up test, no absolute indicator that minds have been changed… but the seed of celebrating differences has been planted.  CTT advocates an environment of tolerance, respect and acceptance. When our young people mature into adults, they will have had a larger scope of life experiences, thanks to the work we’re doing.  And so… we shall continue.

After the film, the young dancers and drummers from the Traditional Music Society will perform for us. They are regulars at our events, and we’re really happy to see them again this year.

I’d like to acknowledge those who came in from out of town to be here tonight: Therese McGuire from Chicago, Suzanne Garr and Libby Protz from Milwaukee, Holly Cobb from Topeka and my good friend and CTT board member Carol Joseph from New York.

To everyone here: Your friendship and support means more than I can really say. Together we are helping children blossom – children who face incredible odds. So, thank you for caring for them. If they could be here tonight, you would each get at least a million hugs. We always have a love fest when we’re in Uganda, and I can’t wait to tell the kids that we had a love fest here tonight in their honor.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: THE NEW CTT FILM BY LYNNE MELCHER which we showed.  Feel free to share this with, well... EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!