Island Encounters – I Can, St Maarten

As the old saying goes, once you get the ball rolling downhill, it can sometimes be hard to stop.  With that in mind, I wanted to share another brief story from staffer T-Lynn about their recent trip to St. Maarten.

“My husband and I had been on the beautiful island of St Maarten for three days and I
could hardly wait until Saturday! That was the day we had made an appointment to
visit I CAN Children’s Home, a foster home that offers living accommodations to
children between the ages of 0 to 13 years, who have been victims of neglect, abuse or
other social issues.

We had made arrangements to come and do artwork with the children, with the intentions of using one or more of the drawings to create a fundraising product that would be sold in local gift shops. My Island Art already contributes annual proceeds to I CAN, but is looking for ways to do more to raise awareness, and much-needed funding, for this amazing foundation.

At first, most of the kids were shy and withdrawn, especially one girl I’ll call “Nancy”.
Nancy didn’t seem to be too interested in drawing, she was one of the older girls, and
probably thought this activity was a little childish. When she did begin to color, it was
obvious she was just doing her “due diligence”. Nancy wouldn’t smile, listen, or even
look at me, and I was tempted to just leave her completely alone.  Then the turning point happened.

Nancy’s picture was developing into a colorful beach scene. “I love the colors you chose”, I commented to her. “Keep going. You are a very good artist!” Did I just see a smile? Then I began to see her cutting her eyes over my way to see if I was watching the masterpiece being created. I was, and yes, I did see her smile!

When it was time to go, Nancy threw her arms around me and asked when we were
coming back. Whether she had ever heard it before, she knew that day, that someone
thought she was good at something – and she wanted more! Don’t we all?”

T-Lynn

Thanks T-Lynn for another great slice of Caribbean life.  And yes, we do all want to be appreciated.  To learn more about this great organization, please check out their website at I Can Children’s Home.  And be sure to watch for more more updates about a coming My Island Art product line featuring artwork provided by the children of this beautiful home.  With this new product unveiling, 100% of the profits will be directed to support the home.

Live the Life,
JVbytheSea

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