Every Tuesday and Thursday, I visit Redcross. There are about 20 students aged 17-26 years who can’t speak. Most of them are either orphans or from families with poor economic condition. These kids are amazingly intelligent and disciplined.
I help these students learn about Arts and Crafts. Having said that, I prefer not to train them but rather encourage them to portrait their imagination for I believe creativity breeds within our own mind. With crayons and a sheet of drawing paper, I give them freedom to draw whatever they have in their mind, and this works better than confining students in a particular subject. I try to motivate them to let their imagination fly and bring the images back on the drawing paper. In the end, when the drawing is over, each paper holds an incredible piece of art. I love to see them drawing, it’s indeed a pleasure.
In previous two classes, they had filled colors in color book, but I thought to try something new in the last class and gave them crayons and drawing sheets asking them to draw their favorite things, whatever they like most. Surprisingly, ninety percent of them drew ‘house’ while rest ten percent drew flowers. They all have ‘house’ in their mind; sadly, their houses are without family members. One of the students drew a beautiful house with just him alone. And, I can feel, it’s the portrayal of their real life.
Arts and Crafts class indeed helps me learn more about these kids and feel the way they experience the world; how creativity cannot be hampered by any level of disability; how beautiful and special each mind is.
XOXO
Jo_tee
gr8 to see you having fun....
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