Do Something!

We just found out we got a $1000 grant from Do Something, an organization that aims to inspire, support, and celebrate teenagers to "do something" and become active volunteers. They support those who believe in a cause and have taken action to help their cause by giving them tools and resources--in this case, we got a grant!

We are all very excited about our Do Something grant. It is great to see something like this happen after all our hard work. We plan to use the money to fund more art projects, like picture frames, and continue the program. Have ideas on art projects? Let us know and email us @ paintinghope@gmail.com or post!

More Pictures

The kids with their new blankets, given by a local school, Kings College. Kings College helps donate food and other necessities to Raglan Road. We took a picture for Thembakazi so she could show the college that the kids got the blankets.

Playing around in the backyard.

A group of girls pose for the camera!

Holiday Cards!

Right now we are in the process of making holiday cards with the kids! We plan to send some of these back home to various members of our group and Katie S. plans to bring some back to Oregon when she gets back in December. We then plan to sell them to our friends and family, so get ready!

Learn More About Katie & Our Volunteers Currently Working at Raglan Road

Katie Siedel, our project manager in Grahamstown, has been studying abroad in Grahamstown since August and will continue to stay until December. She is originally from Kalispell, MT and goes to Williamette University in Salem, OR. She is a Psychology/Sociology double major and hopes to go into the foster care system as a child psychologist when all is said and done.

Katie has done a lot of work with kids over the years through summer camps and a day care program, which is a main reason why she chose Grahamstown as her study abraod location. She was incredibly ambitious from her first day in Grahamstown, as she contacted Painting Hope within her first few days in Grahamstown. She is a great new addition to our team!

New Members Join Our Team!

We would like to recognize and welcome Katie Seidel, a junior at Williamette University in Salem, OR, to our Painting Hope team! Katie is studying abroad at Rhodes University in Grahamstown from August to December and expressed interest in taking our project up while she was in Grahamstown.

Katie has now been a crucial member to our project, as she heads up the program in Grahamstown by buying the art supplies, going to Raglan Road, and organizing volunteers at Rhodes University. We contact her through email and hear about all the great projects the kids are doing through her!

Along with Katie, Rhodes University students have also joined our project by putting in their time and efforts into volunteering at Raglan Road. Thank you to all the volunteers that have continued to make our project a successful and sustainable one!

September 18 Art Class

Today we made place mats with the kids by weaving colored paper. The kids had so much fun doing it!

Videos and Pictures

In the process of tie-dying our t-shirts! One of the kids dips his shirt in red dye.

Some of the kids show their finished products.

Watch the kids sing one of the many songs they learned!

How did Kholwa: Painting Hope begin?

Kholwa: Painting Hope began through a Global PACT training intensive summer program in Grahamstown, South Africa. Global PACT teaches individuals to identify and solve problems in their communities through "hands-on trainings that use real-life challenges to teach personal, project, and organizational development skills."

Through Global PACT's workshops, we learned how to breakdown issues, see where we can make an impact, work as a group, and implement and publicize our ideas. To learn more about Global PACT, go to www.globalpact.org or blog on our website!

Exhibition at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George

Today we had our exhibition at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George located on High Street in Grahamstown, South Africa.( ">http://scifac.ru.ac.za/cathedral/)

Approximately 100 people visited after the church services and we were able to answer lots of questions about ourselves and what we were all about. We also began our sales of bookmarks and tie-dye t-shirts.

Thank you to all who visited us today and we hope to be in contact with you soon!

Learn more about the creators of Kholwa: Painting Hope!

Michelle Goldberg is from Potomac, Maryland and goes to school at Northeastern University in Boston. She is a sign language interpreting and communications major. She is also an aerobics instructor and loves cookies!

Michelle has always wanted to come to South Africa, as she loves to travel the world. She loves to explore and meet new people. In particular, she was interested in seeing what everyday life was like for most South Africans.

Kate Strangfeld is from Bernardsville, New Jersey and goes to school at Middlebury in Vermont. She plans to be an international studies major, focusing on political science and Latin America, and a biology minor. She loves to work out and plays water polo at Middlebury and cooks whenever she can!

Kate wanted to come to South Africa to have a life experience by seeing how an individual can make a big impact in a community. She loved seeing the many different cultures and languages in South Africa. She believes that many of South Africa's problems, like crime and poverty, can be solved through youth empowerment.

Katie Guffin is from Freeport, Maine and goes to school at Northeastern University in Boston. She is a marketing and psychology major. She recently spent 3 months in Costa Rica, living with a host family and having the time of her life!

Katie joined Global Pact to learn how to create social change. She also loves to travel and took lots of pictures on our safari ride (look at her albums!). Being super organized, Katie helped our group through its logistical problems. She loved playing with the kids at Raglan Road and wants to bring one, or probably all if she could, home!

Farai Mhaka is from Harare, Zimbabwe. He is pharmacy major at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. While school work takes up most of his time, Farai loves to watch football. He is always quite the ladies man, saying he spends a lot of time asking girls out!

Living in Grahamstown for the past three years, Farai has seen its beauty and problems and really wanted to do something for the community. He was passionate about making an impact in Grahamstown and thought that working with kids would be the best way to do so. He said, "Life is too short and if you want to change it, you better to do now!"

Isabella Morreo is from Caracas, Venezuela and goes to school at Northeastern University in Boston. She is majoring in International Affairs and two minors in Business and Leadersip Studies. She loves to play tennis and swim. Being proud of her culture, she was more than happy to help out other group members in bettering their spanish!

She has a lot of experience working with kids because of social work she has done back home inVenezuela. Isabella was eager to help out children in South Africa. She is very passionate about art and believes that it can open many opportunities for kids. Having led youth groups at her church in Venezuela, Isabella was great in playing games with the kids.