reflection

Ever since I took a human course here at RISD my life and the things that I care about completely changed. For the first time I really chose to take a hard look at what’s outside of myself and what I’m used to. It was a starting point. I had grown up comfortably in the U.S. and didn’t necessarily know what my role was going to be on any kind of international level, but it put it on the table, and it’s been there ever since. The reasons why I chose to work with the International Institute are mixture of timing and just that they really needed help. I started working with the daycare there, kids ranging in age from about 6 month to 3 yrs. The kids l got to work with are children of refugees and in some cases refugees themselves. I’ve done some work as a babysitter and a nanny in the past so I was fairly comfortable with these kids, but with that said, they amazed me. They were warm and welcoming, and just excited to have someone new to play with. The room was always a mixture of cultures, and the children were just beautiful. I didn’t have any trouble getting to know them, or fitting in, they made it easy.
When I decided I wanted to really look at the daycare program, and in essence create one, I went to the man who had first interviewed me and surprisingly he had been hoping for opportunity like this. He was thrilled that I was going to be able to put time and effort into making something worthwhile for the kids, so that exactly what I tried to do. He warned me that the directors might not be willing to hop on board, but with a little persuasion they were willing to take a look at what I was doing. The project has been in full swing every since.
The problems that I have come across in designing something for these kids, has been to understand that I can do something outside of just provided things for them. And to understand that there is a bigger picture, and something that these kids can provide us and their families.
The Institute made it clear from the start that they were placing this task on my shoulders, and that they didn’t have the resources to make my dreams come true, I would have produce my own project on my own. But with that said they were helpful and grateful for what I was doing, which made it easier to do my work, it was motivating to see the dialogue about the daycare start to ignite around the facility.
All in all, I’m glad I got involved, I think the kids really need an advocate. And I’m doing my best to make changes for them, and then some.