I think that murals created and painted by students from that community will not only convey the message but it will also serve as a beneficial opportunity for the students.
After I mentioned to one of the volunteers of the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice how I organized students to paint a mural against female genital mutilation as a Peace Corps Volunteers in Mali, we were then making plans for the Gideon Foundation to do a mural project with students. The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice is currently located within a secondary school in Soroti, Uganda. We then explained that drawing contest at the end of a session that the Gideon Foundation held with students about human sacrifice.
Of course, the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I consulted with the art teacher at the school, who also happens to be the head schoolmaster, Madame Teddie Namakula. We consulted with her about the needed supplies, where the murals should be painted and asked for her support. The Advocacy Project was generous enough to give all of the needed funds to paint 2 murals, which amounted to $40.
We received 11 drawings from students:
The volunteers of the Gideon Foundation along with Madame Teddie Namakula, headmaster of the school who also happens to be an art teacher, picked 2 winning drawings:
Photo: Drawing winner 1
Photo: Drawing winner 2
In the beginning of this project there was a lot of skepticism about whether students could paint a mural well. Some asked why I wasn’t hiring a professional painter. But in the end, after the murals were finished, all of that skepticism went away and everyone was very happy with the students and the murals. In fact, when the students began painting the first mural crowds would sometimes form to watch them paint:
Photo: Crowd watching students paint mural 1
What really stood out about this project for me was the support the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I received from Madame Namakula. She was instantly very supportive of the project and spent an entire day guiding students on drawing and mixing paints. She used this as an opportunity to teach her students. She also knew exactly when to offer guidance and also when to let the students work on their own. Madame Namakula also expressed that this was the first time that these students had ever worked with paints and that they really enjoyed it:
Photo: Madame Teddie Namakula, Head Schoolmaster and Art Teacher at Soroti Central Secondary School
Photo: Students and Madame Namakula working on mural 1
Photo: Students working on mural 2
After about 2 days, both of the murals were completed:
Photo: Mural 1 (is on the front outside walls of an office building)
Photo: Mural 2 (located within the main hall for students)
The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice would very much like to continue holding these mural painting contests against child sacrifice but with schools throughout Uganda. They would first like to start with schools in Soroti, both primary and secondary, and then spread to other districts. These mural painting contests would of course be tied into a session with students about human sacrifice by the volunteers of the Gideon Foundation. The issue is then becomes funding as the Gideon Foundation currently has no funding source.
Tags: gideon foundation against child sacrifice, human sacrifice, soroti, uganda
Wow Jamyel the artwork looks wonderful! I can’t believe it took only two days to draw the mural. I think it would be great if you could post a photo of the two students who contributed the artwork!
keep up the great work