Ποιειν Και Πραττειν - create and do

Costa Rica

 




Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011
Coordinator: Jose Rojas

Hello from Costa Rica!!

It's been an experience to do this project not only for the project
itself , but also for the connection with you all.  For me and the
kids, it has been something different and nice.  They never thought you
would answer back and much less to be so full of details.  Thank you
for contacting us and make my kids happy.

About our Guernica here let me tell you how it went.  This is my first
time with this project and wow, it was really something.  After the
kids and I read about you and the Kid’s Guernica they wanted to do
one, so they started brainstorming to get ideas to paint. They realized
that we couldn’t paint about a place in our country that suffered a
war or so because we really haven’t had any wars.  We have a Nobel
Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias, a former president of the country;
however, they wanted to talk about something different.  Then, we read
about Wangari Maathai, the woman that created the Green Belt in Kenya
and that got a Peace award also based on preserving  the natural
resources in Kenya and by changing the mentality about planting trees.
When we read about her she had recently died, so they wanted to make the
Guernica as a tribute to her and what she represented.  Costa Rica is
known for its peace and the efforts on preservation of the natural
resources and since we are little children we are taught to preserve
nature and live in peace.  This was a perfect combination of topics for
the kids to paint.

 


The only problem we had was that we didn’t have a space big enough
where to make such project. We had to cut the fabric in sections and
then sewed it together, but still it worked out pretty well. It was made
in 4 sections and 4 kids worked on each section, but they all worked
with the same theme.  They painted things that are very common in Costa
Rica like the Arenal Volcano (very active), fruit  trees, rivers with
rafting, bungee jumping, canopies, and a lot of sun.  They wanted to
show the world that nature was created for us to enjoy it and not to
destroy it, and by keeping it untouched we can enjoy peace, which was
Wangari’s dream too.  They placed Wangari in the heart of the tree
where she belongs. They had such a nice time even though the school they
are in is not a big or spacious one, they felt free and relaxed. They
all worked hard at designing, drawing, painting and cleaning.  All I
did was to sew it together.  Then they put it as the backdrop of the
stage for the Family Day and they explained the project to all the
parents.  Parents were impressed by it and they took a lot of pictures
with their families. My kids were so proud of their effort and final
outcome, and so was I.
I just want to thank you again for your idea to make the world a
better place for all of us.  I am attaching some pictures and videos of
the project and the Family Day.

Thanks again
Ricardo Rojas
ESL Teacher

--
Ricardo Rojas
Profesor de inglés
New Way High School

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