The children from the City Primary School "special unit" took a field trip to the RaMoMa Museum of Modern Art, where their paintings and sculptures will be exhibited next month. These children continue to amaze me with their extraordinary creativity and loving compassion toward one another.

View All City Primary "Special" Posts >> View Photo Gallery of City Primary "Special" Students >> It was a marvelous day painting with my “special needs” friends at the City Primary School. They have each really developed a painting style, which continues to astonish me. The one tricky moment was when Simon (my favorite) was painting one of the most exquisite paintings I’ve seen anywhere…and it was changing…and he was painting…and I was watching nervously. I didn’t want the painting to change anymore and so I did something that is completely wrong and bad…I grabbed the painting from him and […]

View All City Primary "Special" Posts >> View Photo Gallery of City Primary "Special" Students >> The City Primary School, located in Ngara (a bad neighborhood teeming with hawkers and thieves), is home to a very special group of students known as the “Special Unit.” The group currently consists of twelve boys and girls who deal with the challenges of downs syndrome, autism and other neurological problems and the associated stigmas. They are fortunate because the program’s director, teacher Margaret, is an extraordinary woman who believes in each child’s inherent worth and beauty. With her love and assistance, the children […]

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View Photo Album of City Primary "Special" School >> This is Simon, my favorite (very bad of me!). When I first distributed art materials, one of the teachers said to me (about Simon), "I have to draw for him and then he can color in the shapes." Of course I was appalled, and I said, "How about today we try it another way, and just let him do whatever he would like to do?" The teacher was skeptical, but agreed. Simon's art work is out of this world and now several of his paintings hang in the classroom. View Photo […]

View Photo Album of City Primary "Special" School >> The children in this group are fortunate to have a marvelous and devoted teacher…teacher Margaret. While many children in Kenya who are challenged by special circumstances are still hidden away in a back room, she treats the children in her class with dignity and love and sees them as capable human beings. Margaret managed to write a proposal and get a donation of sewing machines so that she could teach them life skills. Although they are intellectually slow, they are still creative and skilled in other areas. Margaret is teaching her […]

View Photo Album of City Primary "Special" School >> Marvin is a sweet, sweet boy. I was photographing him as he painted, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the boy sitting behind him (autistic) was eating his palette. I jumped up to grab it out of his hands…but I was a little late. View Photo Album of City Primary "Special" School >>

This is Mihrein when I first met him….. ….and then a photo of him after we had painted together for hours. He painted and painted. At one point I looked at him and said, "I love your smile" and he said, "I know". This is Mihrein with his pal, Congon (who is more severely autistic than he is). Mihrein protects and takes such sweet care of him. When we were drawing, Congon sat quietly staring into space. Mihrein would gently take his hand and help him draw as he said, "INSIDE the lines!!!". Then Mihrein looked at me, shaking his […]