Someone Sees

Every week volunteers from the community partner with CDI to interact with these kids one-on-one. Art projects have ranged from leaf impressions to funky pipe-cleaner glasses and glittery self-portraits.

In the last months we’ve seen little steps of improvement artistically and more self-confidence from the children. Most encouraging is the relationships that are starting to form between the children and volunteers. They see us coming and run to get a hug or shake our hands. They look into our eyes and know that someone sees them.

*This is the word used for children with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan.

Can “Invalids”* do art? That’s the question we set out to answer with a new project: Art in the local Children’s Home.

It was never about these kids creating masterpieces, it’s a good day when they can actually hold a marker. But the goal is to engage their brains, boost their hand-eye coordination and help them see that they can create something.