May
Barefoot Artists
Posted under Art, |
Barefoot Artists Bring Beauty and Healing to Rwandan Village
Artist Lily Yeh describes herself as a spark maker. Barefoot Artists, the organization that Yeh founded in 2003, uses art to light the spark that leads to community empowerment around the world. But the spark is just the first step. In a February 15th interview, Yeh explained, "When you make a fire, you immediately share the warmth. Then you say, this is great, but how do we sustain this?"
The Barefoot Artists' ongoing project in Gisenyi, Rwanda bears witness to the swelling transformations that can occur when international artists, volunteers, and community members work together to sustain the fire of change. Because Yeh puts nearly all her resources toward projects and has little left over for organizational management, she asks everything of her volunteers. With no overarching organizational structure, success depends on the goodwill and diligence of each person involved.
The Rwanda Project began in 2004 when Yeh met Jean Bosco Musana Rukirande, the regional coordinator of the Red Cross in Gisenyi. Compelled by Rukirande's account of the genocide survivor village, Yeh decided to visit. The project has since grown to involve innumerable volunteers, including young doctors from Thomas Jefferson Hospital, artists and students from Temple University, and many Rwandan partners.
"When I went there, I thought that I was just going to work with the villagers to make something beautiful," said Yeh, who believes that beauty heals. Initially, Barefoot Artists taught Gisenyi's children and adults to use paint to brighten their environments. "They began to feel this is a sense of place," said Yeh. "They feel that the world helps Rwanda, but that it doesn't trickle down to them." Seeing that members of the international community cared about their situation inspired the Gisneyi community. The village was swept by an epidemic of color-people painted walls, bibles, motorcycles and even footballs.
As the village swelled with color, Barefoot Artists turned addressed the dismal mass grave of genocide victims nearby and Yeh began working with villagers to design a Genocide Memorial Park. The survivors wanted the remains of their loved ones to be properly interned underground and the design for an underground chamber became so involved that it required the services of trained craftsmen and construction workers, something for which Barefoot Artists had no funding. Yet, with the help of a Chinese construction company working nearby, a skilled local mason, and funds from New Path Foundation, the Memorial became a reality in 2007.
Yeh tells the story of a woman who lost sixty loved ones during the genocide and who spent her days lurking around the mass grave in order to feel close to those she loved. This woman took an active role in the Genocide Memorial's construction and later told Yeh, "Now maybe we can forget about the sadness." That was the Memorial's purpose: to address the pain of death so that the villagers could heal.
Now, the Rwanda Project has taken a new turn, improving the economic and educational situation in Gisenyi. Barefoot Artists recently provided each family with a goat and devised a rainwater harvesting system that provides villagers with fresh water year-round. Volunteers have also helped villagers launch a sunflower seed oil production business, a venture meant to improve Gisenyi's long-term economic situation.
Yeh likens the Rwanda Project to a Banyan Tree. "You have the branches," she said. "When I went to Rwanda, I set out the branches. And they were nurtured by us, the people who need to make meaning out of our lives." Barefoot Artists is not a charitable or sacrificial organization. Instead, the volunteers are people who need to make meaning as badly as the genocide survivors in Rwanda. Together, Barefoot Artists and the villagers work together to explore the healing power of beauty.
-Catherine G. Wagley
Sources:
Personal Interview with Lily Yeh, February 15, 2007.
Barefoot Artists website: http://barefootartists.org/barefootartists_rwanda.html
Lily Yeh's Methodology: http://barefootartists.org/Lilys_Warrior_Angel_11_2.pdf
