Color My Dreams Africa: an Organization Spreading Literacy and Hope

by | Jul 15, 2022 | Heartivist Of The Week

Edith Cherotich Ndiwa was born in a small village in Kenya to parents who both attended school and it is their education that would come to play a major role in charting the course of her life. Her father, a fan of Stephen King and other authors, invited her to expand her perspective while visiting the incredible worlds found in books and movies. Edith grew to love stories such as Akeelah and the Bee and Matilda; each character was a friend that helped her to become the person she is today. Literacy and education is what protected Edith from forced marriage and Female Genital Mutilation which is considered mandatory in her community and ultimately, inspired her to create Color My Dreams Africa and the Library Manyatta Project.

After high school, she volunteered with a local organization that was fighting FGM and forced marriages when a volunteer using a model of the female genitalia illustrated the different stages of FGM and its effects. Edith was shocked beyond words and began to cry. All her life she knew about FGM but nothing prepared her for what she learned.

“I was literate and I saw that illiteracy was the cause of most social ills in the society. If the girls and women in my community could read and write, they would be empowered and make empowered choices in their lives,” she said.

The next day, Edith gave a powerful presentation – everyone was in tears as most had no idea about FGM – and Color My Dreams Africa and the Library Manyatta Project was born.

“It was born from a place of pain but also from a place of hope, hope for the future. Hope for that small girl somewhere in a village far away who hopes that the world still holds a place for her, a place full of opportunities to chase her dreams. That day, I became a bridge of hope,” she shared.

Color My Dreams Africa is a grassroot organization that promotes literacy and built a library in West Pokot county to ensure that every disadvantaged child has access to the books and information they need to reach their full potential. The library, which was built by the local women, lives in the heart of Lokna, a small village occupied by the Pokot Tribe. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, illiteracy in West Pokot stands at 67 percent and knowing that she needed to change that, Edith reached out to The Pollination Project.

“In communities where there are only two or three schools, one toilet between multiple families, where people are illiterate, girls are dropping out of school due to FGM and boys leaving school for initiation ceremonies, books are not a luxury. In this situation, books are even more essential and critical. In order to change the status of the next generation of children in West Pokot, they have to be literate, they have to be educated and learn how to read and write. For this to happen they need to have access to books and information. We need to bring books to children. They need to be nothing less than best friends,” said Edith.

Though they only have one library, they were committed to reaching nearby villages, so Edith and her team created a mobile library which provides services on weekends. Moving from one village and herding field to the other, they set up reading hubs. Using drums and songs in the local language, they inspire the children to join in and conduct read-aloud sessions, along with drawing, coloring, spelling bees and storytelling. On average, 100 children and teenagers gather to take part in the activities.

Imagine that just like borrowing a book from the library, you could borrow a person and learn from them. That is what Edith has created with The Human Library sessions which are designed to engage parents and local leaders in gender sensitization sessions and create a safe space for discussions. The goal is to use literacy as a weapon to fight FGM and forced marriages.

Now, they are working to create little tree libraries. These small hut-like structures will be built in schools and nearby villages. As Edith wants to assure that books will be readily available and the reading culture will continue without having people have to come to the library, these will serve as the dropping and collecting points for the teachers and children.

As Edith looks to the future, she imagines having a dog and a house truck that allows her to  spend her life on the road moving from one village to the other, one grazing field to the other, promoting literacy, sharing information, and raising the next cohort of young leaders from West Pokot County.

Visit Color My Dreams Africa’s website to more and get in touch.

Instagram

In the heart of Nkwen Bamenda III Sub Division, Northwest region of Cameroon, the pilot project "Youth and Visual Arts Activism for Social Change" unfolded at Teken Quarter Youth Community Hall. This initiative, running from January to April 2023, targeted fifteen disadvantaged youths—including school dropouts, drug addicts, and other vulnerable groups. The project, supported by a seed grant, was launched by the Collective Arts Development Association (CADA), which provided six art facilitators. These experts delivered extensive training in various artistic skills, from sketching and drawing on canvas boards to graphic design and T-shirt printing.

Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of colors, composition, and proportions, along with practical applications in screen printing on diverse materials like jeans, nylon, and polyester. The primary goal of the project was to leverage art and social entrepreneurship as viable alternatives to drug use, abuse, crime, and poverty in the local community. Furthermore, the project included an outreach program involving sixth-grade pupils from the Government Primary School in Teken Quarter.

The success of this pilot paved the way for a flagship initiative titled "Empowering Marginalized Youths through Life Skill Education Art and Entrepreneurship Skill Development." This ongoing program offers six-month intensive training sessions to thirty disadvantaged youths, teaching them not only visual and graphic arts but also audio-visual skills and crafts essential for economic independence and social inclusion. Moreover, the program includes mental health education, counseling, rehabilitation strategies, and connects participants with mental health professionals as needed, continuing to transform lives thanks to the foundational support of The Pollination Project grant.

#art #socialchange #activism #youthempowerment #mentalhealtheducation #cameroon #heartivism #grants #thepollinationproject
WINNERS!!
Our grantees Manjushree Abhinav and Aanchal Raturi won the Swarnali Roy Vegan Advocacy Awards 2024 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 

Manjushree received a grant for her project "My planet and my plate", inspiring students to become climate activists themselves, to plant the seed of change into the hearts and minds of students, hoping that these seeds will sprout into far-reaching effects. 

Aanchal founded Project Re-Learn, conducting workshops in Uttaranchal colleges to sensitize future agriculturists about ethical practices. 

Join us in congratulating these two incredible heartivists! 🧡 

@hsi_india 
@hsiglobal 
@manjushreeabhinav 
@earthling_anna_raturi 

#animalrights #animalwelfare #vegan #plantbased #veganlifestyle #nocruelty #crueltyfree #heartivism #grants #animaladvocacy #india
🌟 Volunteer Week 🌟  Celebrating our family of Grant Advisors!

Today we celebrate our grant advisors dedicated to #animalprotection .

🔸 April King (Montenegro/United States) 
🔸 Elphas Ongongo (Kenya) 
🔸 Mohini Sharma (India) 
🔸 Evans Okumu (Kenya) 
🔸 Fernanda García Naranjo Ortega (Mexico)
🔸 Leandro Franz (Brazil) 
🔸 Jeremy Gregory (United States)
🔸 Kate Luke (Australia)
🔸 Andrew Alexander (United States) 

@granjitatyh 
@kotorkitties 
@littleoaksanctuary 

#volunteerweek 
#animalrights  #animalwelfare  #heartivism  #grants  #animaladvocacy #advisors