What is the most valuable part of our program?

I was going through all the artwork from this last quarter, and I thought, what is the most valuable part of our program?

Is it the warm lunch and healthy snack we offer? We know children come to school without food, and focusing with an empty belly is difficult. Knowing that you will have a warm lunch, and can even have seconds is something all  children look forward to.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if they would even like my cooking. They did, and often came for more.

In a country where poverty unfortunately still exists, food is important. Still, I don’t think it is the most valuable part of our program.

Arts and crafts.

How about the arts and crafts we do? Every theme offers new insights and prompts discussion. Our bespoke Breadfruit House song invites us to dance, sing, and go all out with burning energy. The song often goes on repeat a few times. Ms. one more time, please!

Looking at all of them jumping, dancing, and going all out is amazing. It warms my heart to see them feeling safe and having fun. Life can be serious if your home situation is difficult. Escaping that for a few hours can be so helpful, if nothing else.

The opportunity to express yourself through creativity is something every child should have. I try to introduce new materials every week, and I am impressed by the focus with which they work. Regardless of their situation, every child loves arts and crafts. The outcome is the least important, the process of working with paper, glue, crayons, coloring pencils, etc. is key.

I enjoy preparing all the materials, making sure all markers have a top, and are not dried out as yet. I wrote a Blog about the importance of those small gestures you can read it here.

Knowing you are free and safe to express yourself is invaluable. Of course, none of the children that attend the program are aware of that. They just know, we are going to the Breadfruit House, will have lunch and do arts and crafts.

Building their self-confidence.

What is self-confidence? I looked up the definition, and these are some of the words I found.

• The belief that you can do things well and that other people respect you;
• Confidence in oneself and one’s powers and abilities;
• Behaving calmly because you have no doubts about your talents and knowledge;
•  A feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment.
• Self-confidence provides you with the belief in your skills to overcome different kinds of challenges.

All these different definitions come down to the same message, that you believe in yourself! And that solid belief gives you courage, and confidence to tackle challenges, etc. You know your worth, and you are aware of your value to the world.

That is what makes our program invaluable. Making every child feel seen and heard, affirming that they are worthy and that they matter. That is what builds self-confidence.

Building the future together.

The Breadfruit House program uses creativity to help build a better future. Creativity is an easy tool to express yourself. It can be anything, writing, dancing, singing, and arts and crafts. And it is something you can use throughout the rest of your life.

When posted on social media I often use the hashtag ‘building the future together’. I truly believe that is what we are doing, building a better future for the children in Dominica.

Even in my children’s book, Oliver and his bowl of feelings, I wrote about the importance of having a way to cope with adversities. Oliver learns that being creative is a great way to do that. A personal copy is easy to get, you can order it here.

An easy way to support Breadfruit House, as all proceeds go the foundation.

Making a difference is so rewarding.

Measuring our impact is not solely based on numbers. I can tell you that so far, we have worked with 4 different schools, and I have hosted 137 children. However, those numbers don’t say anything about the impact of the program.

Seeing a young man who always kept to himself, stand in front of a group of his peers reading what he wrote about how Hurricane Maria affected him. This was two (2) years after he was part of the program.

His teacher told me it is because of you, your attention and encouragement made him come out of his shell.

A lovely non-verbal little boy with autism, who cried every time his group came to the Breadfruit House, and almost seemed unconsolable. And a few weeks into the program he came in and never shed a tear. The attention from our volunteers and I, and the safe and inviting atmosphere we have created are surely the reason for that.

I ran a program at a school and after only one session four (4) of the students literally jumped at me, saying we missed you Ms.

The smile on a little girl’s face after I sat down with her and discussed she is not bad at all. She must have been told this so many times, she started to believe it. How can you be bad when you are only 8. In fact, after our little sit down, she knew she was smart, and a good friend, and kind.

These are only a few of the stories about how invaluable our program is.

Your support is invaluable too.

It might seem obvious, and I still going to say it. Thank you to everyone who supports us, we are immeasurably grateful for all of you!

Together with you, we are building the future. One donation at a time, one program at a time, one child at a time. Self-confidence is built with attention, nourishment, care, paper, paint, and crayons.

Can we continue to count on you to build the future together with us?

Warm and sunny regards from the Nature Island, see you at my next Blog.