Short documentary about the Watoto wa Kwetu Trust

This short documentary introduces the Watoto wa Kwetu Trust, a Kenyan NGO that teaches art skills to children in the Mathare slum in Nairobi. ("Watoto wa Kwetu" means "our children of the neighborhood.") Founded in 2004, the Watoto wa Kwetu Trust has to date taught more than 4,000 children to draw and paint. In this video, Watoto wa Kwetu Trust founders, instructors and participants talk about the importance of the program in their lives. In particular, the children talk about how making art has helped them deal with tough issues, like the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya, as well as HIV and AIDS. In June 2009, Nairobi's RaMoma Museum of Modern Art exhibited paintings by children participating in the Watoto wa Kwetu Trust program. Most of the paintings in the RaMoma show dealt with Kenyan eleectoral issues and the post-2007 election violence To buy art by the Watoto wa Kwetu Trust, or to make a donation, contact: watotowakwetu@yahoo.com, fmuruka@yahoo.com or ramoma@africaonline.co.ke. This short documentary was directed, shot, edited and produced by Maya Alexandri. For more of her work, please see www.mayaalexandri.com.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Watoto wa Kwetu Trust
• art
• painting
• drawing
• children
• Kenya
• Nairobi
• Mathare
• slum
• NGO
• post-election violence
• HIV and AIDS
• RaMoma Museum of Modern Art
• Maya Alexandri