Childhood Now: The Big Little Caravan of Joy Visits Burkina Faso 2014!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

The Big Little Caravan of Joy Visits Burkina Faso 2014!

This fall SEMAFO Foundation invited the Big Little Caravan of Joy back to visit their rural communities in Burkina Faso. Once again, we had the privilege of implementing our highly dynamic arts based program for over 1640 children. Our last visit, back in 2012, was such a tremendous success that the children and artists asked monthly for our return! What a joy it was to finally go back to the communities a second time, so that we could reunite with our cherished team, friends and the beautiful children.

Our vision was simple. We wanted to deliver and share, with the children from these small rural communities, the rapturous joy, inherent intelligence and healing power of the arts. For many children, the exploration of the arts was a place where they felt safe and off the hook for a moment, from being caregivers and laborers in their communities. From the child’s perspective, this arts based program was not only a simple solution in creating a safe platform to express and explore their individuality, but it was also a place where they had the chance to celebrate their childhood in the spirit of creativity and play.

Creative problem solving was yet another aspect to our program while implementing our arts based curriculum. We as facilitators see the arts as a place where children have the chance to constantly grapple with solving problem skills. These challenges unfold naturally in the process of art making.This in fact, lays down the groundwork for the acquisition of new found knowledge. Our methodology this time around included cooperative games, dances from around the world, song and chants, a theatre performance by the children, drama games and a handful of fabulous visual arts projects too!

A big bouquet of gratitude goes out to all of our supporters who made this venture possible. Thank you to Chantal Guerin at SEMAFO Foundation for believing in the program. Our Team Joy Burkina Faso was on fire and without their expertise and the guidance, love, energy and devotion of Damarise Ste. Marie and Bailey Davis this project would not have been possible!

Communities

August 27-29 - COMMUNITY: Dangouna - 275
August 31-September 2-COMMUNITY: Wona A- 400
September 3-5- COMMUNITY: Wona B - 325
September 7-9- COMMUNITY: Bana A - 200
September 10-12- COMMUNITY: Bana B - 240
September 13-15-COMMUNITY: Bissa - 115
September 16-18- COMMUNITY: Somana - 85

TOTAL 1640 children

Each community listed above has now received 15-17 hours of arts based programming.

A community show for each school was also included. Each community did 3-7 art projects. Curriculum was translated from French to Local languages by the team. Drama, dance, art and songs were focused and taught for approximately one hour for each subject. Cooperative games took up the other hour.

The Burkina Faso Team: Sarina Condello, Bailey Davis, Damarise Ste. Marie, Dao La Sunni, Amada, Aruna, Musa, Aruna (petite), Modu, Ibrihim, Amidou, Dao Yacuba, Konete Sema, Unosa and Boubacar.

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Who is the founder and director of these programs?

For over 25 years, Sarina (B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.) has traveled the planet, studying how communities and cultures express themselves through the performing arts. By combining dance, story, music and theatre elements from around the world, Sarina has invented a teaching methodology that inspires and galvanizes children, adults and international artists everywhere and anywhere she teaches and directs. Completing two undergrad degrees in Fine Arts and in Education, Sarina continued with her search for knowledge of the importance and relevance of the performing arts in education and completed her Teacher Certification, Masters and PhD course work at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Sarina’s projects in television have included the 13 one hour episodes of Bravo’s Way Off Broadway, 65 episodes of The Barefoot Dancer, as well as being a movement coach on the Canadian national television series Pop Stars, Big Voice and Battle of the Blades. Her award winning documentary Thank You Tanzania, profiled her first art camp that she facilitated alongside her three teenagers, at an orphanage for hundreds of heroic and inspirational Tanzanian orphans affected by HIV and AIDS. Sarina is the founder and director of Learning by Heart Studio, a performing arts school for artists, teachers and students, that has been operating in Toronto for the last 16 years. Since 2006, Sarina’s arts-based programming, The Big Little Caravan of Joy and the Painted Turtle Arts Camp, has reached over 10,000 vulnerable and orphaned children in 8 countries in Africa and 20 remote Northern communities in Ontario. Sarina has also trained over 1,000 international artists and educators with her child-centric arts-based methodology in the hope that her program becomes a sustainable cornerstone for education programs in communities of need.

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. Khalil Gibran

A Thank You!

"From the bottom of our hearts, Noah sends a big thank you for the incredible work that you did here on your visit to us- for all the preparation leading up to the trip, the activities with the children at our Arks and most importantly at our magical Empowered Noah Child Conference. We have seen the difference you and your amazing team made with our employees, in our communities and with our children, and it is that change that to us is paramount. We are so grateful for dedication and hard work, but of all for your big heart and the love you show to all of us. We have never met someone with as much passion and energy as you, and we are blessed that you share so much of yourself.”

Karen Krakowitzer CEO, Noah, South Africa August, 2011

Halala Sarina Condello

Written by: Everson Mdingwa Sinyolo
Zimbabwe, 2011

Born of Toronto, Canada
Born of humble parents
Love for Africa
Love for Zimbabwe
Halala Sarina Condello

Dreamt of Africa
Dreamt of Zimbabwe
Dreams have come true
Dreams have landed you At Mount Cazalet
Halala Sarina Condello

Your heart is in Africa
Your heart is at Mount Cazalet
Passion for Africa Passion for African Music
Yes, you made them better
Yes, you made them happy
Halala Sarina Condello

Transformed their lives
Transformed their community
Changed their nation
Halala Sarina Condello
Instilled assertive pride
Assertive empowerment

Assertive identity
Unleashed their creative spirit
Halala The Big Little Caravan of Joy!

From Sarina's Speech at The Empowered Noah Child Conference 2011

In Sarina’s own words:

The definition of empowering a child simply means to enable a child to become stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life so that they can make decisions that will lead a healthy life style in all regards; spiritually, socially, cognitively, culturally and physically. We do this by utilizing the arts and tapping into the child’s spirit. The platform to do such work stems from a few golden rules:

1. The children we care for are the most important people in the world. 2. Every child is to be treated with respect and as an important individual.

3. The children we care for are not interruptions of our work; they are the purpose of it.

4. Safety, fun, learning, creativity, adventure, and PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT is the most important value we bring to the children we care for.

5. Child spirit exists within all of us. Tapping into this child spirit is paramount to a child’s over all development.