Children keeping us together
Dear Friends,
It has been five months without seeing one another as a group at the New Mexico Story Gardens. To stay in touch with the families we usually meet there, our facilitation team, made up of Erick, Inga, Esther, Karen and Nathalie, has been using text messages, phone calls, packages sent through mail, and family visits. But how could we experience coming together in the exciting way we used to through Story Garden?
Tapori, the children's branch of ATD Fourth World, connects children with the motto: “We want all children to have the same chances.” So in May, we offered some 20 Story Garden families a Tapori project, which consisted of drawing a bird, decorating one side, and writing a message on the other side. It prompted four children from the Gamerco Story Garden to make us a card saying, “We hope you like the birds we made you.” We put these birds together, with another from New Mexico and three more from the ATD Fourth World New York team, in one colorful poster. Even though we had only a few birds, we thought there was plenty of optimism to give back to families who could find pride in their children's messages: “Always smile, be positive.” “I hope you're safe.” “The world is a nice place.” “I hope, I hope you are okay.”
In June we sent another package with craft activities. The mother of four children in Gamerco texted, “The children appreciate the supplies so much! They always get excited when you send something. Being quarantined at home isn't easy for them.” So we planned the next package as a way to create links between children who cannot be together. This time we sent the bird poster and offered another Tapori project, asking children to draw their hands and to tell us their dreams for the future.
At first we did not get much feedback, but in mid-July Inga took a picture of Vera, her 7-year old daughter, holding the hands she had drawn with the sentence, “For tomorrow, I dream of going to school.” Vera thought we should send the picture to other children, along with the message: “Send us your hands picture! It will help other people think about all that is happening to us.”
On receiving this new message, a vendor from the flea market where one of our Story Gardens takes place sent us four pictures of her grandchildren holding their hands drawings, just like Vera! Another vendor did the same with her daughter; the picture came with no words yet it seemed to be saying, “We want to be part of this chain of children.” From Gamerco, we got pictures from Esther's granddaughters. One added the message, “Always be nice and kind with love with friends” and the other one drew a person in each of her hands because she misses people. We are now making another poster to show children and their families what they created and what they wanted to share with others.
We might not be able to meet in large groups yet but we still care for one another a great deal and children are showing us how to express that. A 7-year old girl helped us reopen dialogues with many families. In addressing other children, she came up with the words and wisdom that, in spite of the pandemic, can keep us together!
Nathalie Artignan
Story Garden Facilitator, New Mexico