Art therapy with first-graders from Port-au-Prince

While in Petit-Trou, we all (including the first grade teachers from St Paul's school there) helped Lauri to run an art therapy session with the first grade kids. A lot of them are "new arrivals" - coming to St Paul's since the earthquakes for various reasons. Some are orphans, some had their house destroyed and now live with relatives in or near Petit-Trou, etc. The first-graders are the ones with the most behavioral problems, so we singled them out.

The first picture is the response to the question, "How many of you lost a loved one in the earthquakes"? You can see that many of the kids drew houses in the first project, "Draw something that makes you feel good." We all thought it was really telling that many of the kids also drew a picture of the school.

The teachers thought it was such a success that they plan on doing this with the kids every Friday!

-Mike