By Alaina Cronkright, Buildabridge Leader, Disapora of Hope Guatemala, 2009
Drama Teacher Transformed
Luisa was excited from the first day I met her at the orientation for all the teachers and artists. At the orientation, the Saturday before we left for Camp El Faro, she was trying to piece together objectives from the unity curriculum into her lesson plans. How do I connect theatre technique objectives to objectives of unity? She asked good questions as she attempted to wrap her mind around giving the children the experience of unity through their drama class in the upcoming week. She was apprehensive, and wanted to do things correctly as this was the first time she had done something of this nature.
On the first day of her class she taught the kids how to express themselves through mini dramas and exercises. For example, in one of their exercises they had to act like members of their family. This was just to get them warmed up. On the second day they developed a story together. The main question posed to the kids was: What is important for your families to hear about unity in La Limonada? From this question Luisa helped guide the students in weaving together a story. The morning class and afternoon class developed their own plays; each one involving gang activity, violence, drunkenness, and family. In one story they focused on a family coming together when a son is injured by violence. In another story a community is united through people in the church.
I not only saw the kids in this drama class grow as they learned how to put on stage makeup, how to express themselves through drama, and how to lead; I also saw Luisa grow. At first Luisa didn’t want to speak much English, nervous that she wasn’t very good at it. While she continued to be nervous about her English, I asked her to translate for our Artist Meeting; she didn’t hesitate to say yes. The artists put together a show to say thank you to the children of Limonada after our dress rehearsal on Thursday night. When asked if she would write or perform a piece, she hesitated. She followed through and wrote the following thank you to be shared during the artists’ presentation:
Esta semana, Izabal se ha iluminado por completo porque 107 niños han venido a llenarlo de sonrisas, canciones, pinturas y dramas. Se ha iluminado porque 107 corazones han aprendido lo importante que es estar unidos. Y, ¿saben algo, chicos? No solo Izabal se ha iluminado; también cada uno de nuestros corazones: el de Bethany, Gina, Geovani, Suti, Katy y el mio. Estamos aquí para decirles de todo corazón que los amamos, y que les damos las gracias por todo lo que ustedes nos han enseñado. Gracias por demostrar lo hermosos que son los niños de La Limonada. Los amamos.
Translated: This week, Izabal has been lit by 107 children who have come and filled it with smiles, songs, paintings, and dramas. It has been illuminated by 107 hearts that have learned how important it is to be united. And guess what? Not only is Izabal lit, each one of our hearts is as well; that of Bethany, Gina, Geovani, Suti, Katy, and mine. We’re here to tell you wholeheartedly that we love you and thank you all for what you have taught us. Thanks for showing how beautiful the children of Limonada are; we love you.
Luisa fell in love with the children of Limonada and expressed thankfulness for the opportunity to work them. She recognized the healing power of the arts and encompassed Buildbaridge’s heart and mission this week. She deeply desired that the students would learn how to express themselves in healthy ways. Her classes became unified groups with a story to share. While at first the Buildabridge Model and Curriculum seemed difficult to grasp, at the final celebration Luisa’s class proudly shared their stories and dramas with their families, expressing their desire for unity in their community.
It was incredible to see this young artist walk her students through an experience they will always remember. Yet, despite the sacrifices Luisa had made, she said was thankful for the opportunity to work with an organization dedicated to serving those in need. The week was filled with people giving of their time and selves to the children of La Limonada; and the impact of this didn’t just affect the children, it changed the lives of those serving as well. Luisa, myself, and others will not be the same.
Teaching Assistant: Leadership Development
Adriana took on a leadership role in the camp. This was her third time working with Buildabridge and she was working hard to keep the Buildabridge Classroom at the forefront of the graffiti class (where we had a new lead art teacher). It was apparent that over the years of her work with Buildabridge she has picked up some wonderful teaching skills and abilities. She also knew that the model worked and was dedicated to making sure things happened in the correct order. I watched her excel as an assistant and leader in the classroom, alongside our new Buildabridge Lead Artist.
Visual Arts Class: Two Way Street
One of the art projects that the Visual Arts Class did was create a large painting together on a piece of canvas. The center of the canvas was a road, and the sides were sectioned into small squares. Each student in the class painted a picture of something that would represent unity to them in Limonada. Originally, the lead artist planned to have the kids dip their feet into paint and walk down the road in one direction, leaving their footprints walking down the road together. In class though it came up that the students, from two different communities, weren’t allowed to cross from one neighborhood into the other. They decided to change the visual on the road, some of the kids walked in one direction, and the others walked the opposite direction. To them, this symbolized unity because it showed the freedom to walk into one another’s communities both ways.
Visual Arts & Music Class: Student Transformation
One of the students in the Visual Arts & Music Class didn’t seem super engaged throughout the week. The lead artist continued to try to encourage and engage her in the class, with some successes. The last day they took a photograph together, and shared some smiles. Then on Saturday, the lead artist was surprised when the student gave her a letter. The letter shared how glad she was to have met the lead artist, and how much she enjoyed being in the class. The lead artist shed some tears. She realized that even though she felt as though this student hadn’t been engaged, she had gotten something from the class and it had meant a lot to her.
Graffiti Class: Modeling Inclusion
One of the Assistant teachers in the Graffiti Class (Adriana) told a story about a student, Rosa, who doesn’t have the ability to speak. Adriana said that in the beginning of the week the other students were saying “she can’t do it” when it came to things they were doing in class, or elsewhere. The teachers treated Rosita with the same expectation as the other students, believing that she could do the work they had given her. She was in the Graffiti Class and the Visual Arts and Music Class. The Graffiti lead artist noticed she had a steady hand, and did a great job painting. When writing their names, she did one of the best jobs. In the Visual Arts and Music class, she followed along with the beat and rhythm with the others. Adriana noticed that by the end of the week the kids were including her in new ways, whereas in the past they would of dismissed her. They started to pull her along with them, now that they had seen that she could do the things they did, they wanted to make sure she was included. The Visual Arts & Music Teacher wrote, “The students were surprisingly patient with each other, especially with Rosa because she is deaf. They were very sympathetic with her… there was a genuine understanding.”
Transformation Stories, By Sutie Madison
There are two elements to my transformation that took place last week at camp Al Faro. The first was with Rosita, one of my students, and the second had to do with my own personal spiritual growth.
At first, Rosita was not very enthused about being in class. I did consider that maybe she was interested but feeling overly self-conscience. The last day of class I had the students paint a “road of unity” on canvas. Part of the road’s creation was the students dipping their feet in paint and leaving their footprints behind on the canvas. Rosita did not want to be apart of this. She was afraid of getting her feet messy. The transformation with her took place when she saw all of the other students participating and having so much fun. She walked up to me with bare feet and a smile. Rosita dipped her feet in red and proudly walked down the “road of unity” with her classmates.
The impact of my personal transformation is still unfolding in my mind and I think it will be for quite some time. I’ve never done charity work like this before, throwing myself into a completely different country and culture to help bring hope to these children through the arts. The camp leaders and organizers were also deeply inspiring to me. I’ve never before worked with people who are so steadfast, committed and big hearted. Being in the camp environment really pushed me to work my hardest and I truly did. I threw my heart into teaching the students about painting and music. In turn, the students taught me a lot about their culture and also about myself. I hadn’t realized that I was a natural teacher! I became filled up with a satisfaction of knowing I was doing something bigger than myself. I felt I had a real purpose while I was there. It was liberating to step outside of myself for a week and experience the gift of hard work and giving. Working with underprivileged children from an underdeveloped country was a huge reality check. Now I want to continue volunteering and reaching out to those in greatest need. I think that is what feels so satisfying. I finally realize, understand and appreciate the meaning of deeper satisfaction with myself which could only be obtained through giving.
Transformation Story by Gina Stickney, Voice & Movement Instructor
“Be flexible” is the mantra that Nathan and Vivian have reminded me of over and over since 2006, when I first started working with BuildaBridge. Since I love planning, this element can be somewhat of a struggle with my upside being that I also live to improvise. This trip in Guatemala was a perfect example of how being flexible has deepened my faith in my own ability as a teacher and innovator.
Since teaching in Guatemala last year with BuildaBridge, my dream has been to pilot a short yoga program while working with the children of La Escuelita (the name given to the first school in Plantio do Jovah, the organization founded by Tita Evertz which teaches over 300 children in the largest urban slum in Guatemala City), but in a country where Yoga is thought of by many as a religion, I knew bringing Yoga into their community could take a long time to be accepted. Fueled with the whole-hearted belief that Yoga is a healing art and a great supplement to any person’s life regardless of religion, I held fast in my hope that this year, Yoga would make a presence. After getting the OK to incorporate Yoga within my teaching from both BuildaBridge and Plantio de Jehova, I teamed up with BuildaBridge for year three of Diaspora of Hope.
My goal was to teach without disguising the Yoga, but rather enhancing the creative and performative aspects of what I was going to be teaching with Yoga. Confident of the complimentary aspects of creative dance and yoga poses, my desire to teach the integral breathing practices and chanting became my next consideration.
I love chanting and truly believe the results of its practice have made a profound impact on my life. After speaking with my friend Jean-Jaques about a simple English mantra for children, he taught me” We are hallow bamboo, open up your heart and let the light shine through.” Excited by the rhythm and how short the mantra was, I though it was perfect! He also mentioned it lent itself to beat-boxing, which at the time I thought was cool (little did I know I would later use beat-boxing as a way to teach rhythm and use of the breath!). I thought about translating the song into Spanish, but it would not have been the same rhyme or rhythm, so I stuck with English, which given the tempo, ended up being quite a challenge for my students to speak as well as consider conceptually. Mantras are like positive commercials that play over and over in our mind and connecting us more deeply with our spirit and the spirit of the Universe. Just like a catchy jingle gets stuck in your head, so does a mantra.
Singing provides opportunity for us to breathe deeply which sends positive messages to the brain encouraging our body to relax. This is why breathing patterns have such a profound effect on our general and mental health. “Breathing interacts with and affects the cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, and muscular systems. It also has general effects on sleep patters, memory, energy levels and concentration.” (Gillian & Gillian 2007). Along with counting the length of their breath, I used blowing bubbles as a way to teach students to focus on their breath, slow down their thoughts and become more comfortable facing someone in close proximity.
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