Linda Ohama, award winning director & producer, and mom of Yorkie alum Caitlin Ohama-Darcus, like many, was deeply affected by the earthquake in Japan.
Many of the areas destroyed and damaged were not unlike the farming village she grew up in southern Alberta. She thought about the young people in Japan, and how we could help them know that there are other youth in part of the world that are thinking of them.
Working with her daughters, she started the Kids for Kids Quilt Project. The idea was to have children draw on cloth and embroider these drawings. “Cloth because it is more durable to travel. Embroidery because it makes the drawing colorful and more permanent. One does not need to know Japanese or English. They can share their feelings through their drawings”.
The project slowly grow, from one community to the next. There are schools from all across Canada that have joined in. Ms. Sobieski‘s Gr. 3 class and Ms. Webb‘s Gr. 4 class both participated, and were very excited to be part of this wonderful project.
For more about the Japan-Canada Quilt Project, visit:
The Gr. 6’s participated in an art exchange with a school in Kenya. The exchange was facilitated by Mrs. Addison (Gr. 6 Teacher) and Yorkie Alum Grace Ling, who just started a teaching internship at a primary school called Indupa in the town of Mile 46 in the Kajiado District (southern Kenya).
Grace made the following suggestions: “…the students could draw/paint scenes of where they live – this could be a picture of their neighbourhood, the forest, the beach, their favourite park, and could include pictures of themselves, friends, or family in these places. If your class feels that they want to create images of anything else that they feel is representative of life in Vancouver/Canada, they should feel free to go ahead and be creative!”
Mrs. Addison is very excited about this project: “we are truly living in a Global Village – 6Y has had 1,000 cranes delivered to Japan after the earthquake, and now 6Y artwork is off to Kenya!” Before sending the art off to Kenya, she photographed the pieces. See the slideshow by clicking on the image above. It is truly amazing what the girls have done!
Here is a little bit of background from Grace, on this area of Kenya:
The majority of students in this area of Kenya are from Maasai families. In the past, no Maasai children went to school but now, more and more children are going. Maasai have traditionally lived off cattle herding alone but this is becoming a more difficult livelihood to maintain because the government is encouraging land subdivision and privatization (which often means fencing as well) and so there is less grazing land available for cattle. Many Maasai today are diversifying their livelihoods – they still keep cattle because they are of huge cultural value (a man’s wealth is measured in cattle) but they are also taking up jobs in tourism, unskilled labour, or professional jobs in the urban centres.
Parents recognize that their children now need education to have a good future and to get work outside of pastoralism, so they are sending their children to school. Unfortunately, schools are incredibly underfunded and have few school supplies (let alone art supplies!) They learn similar subjects as kids in Canada – Science, Math, Social Studies, English and Swahili (their first language is Maa), but they do not have PE or Art. For most of them, the art exchange would be the first time that they are encouraged to express themselves creatively, so to share their art with Canadian students and to see what kind of art Canadians their age make is an exciting opportunity!
Linda Ohama, award winning director & producer, and mom of Yorkie alum Caitlin Ohama-Darcus, like many, was deeply affected by the earthquake in Japan.