In March 08, 14 muralists responded to an Artist on Call invitation to work at a shelter for young women who had been involved in the sex trade industry as part of a team from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. Barbara Price Davis, Executive Director of YouthCAN! in Arkansas, also a psychologist and artist, along with Karen Lyngdoh, an after-school program specialist from New Jersey accompanied
the team from Enon. Here are their reports.
Karen Lyngdoh
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of the team to South Africa. It was an amazing time of transformation. Through painting the mural and redecorating the Home of Home we, as three different groups, were all able to come together to create something beautiful.
We met the young women of the Home of Hope on Sunday afternoon and discussed with them the plans for the mural. We all decided that it would be divided into two parts, showing their past on the left and their present and future on the right. The left side of the mural shows many different roads representing many different choices they have had to make. They all have now chosen hope by coming to the Home. They look forward to many good things to come, including family, education, employment, love, and beauty.
Some of the young women were more eager to help with the mural, but eventually all added something to it. We had them paint butterflies throughout the mural to symbolize transformation. Each butterfly is different and beautiful in its own way. We talked about how they are being transformed each day into beautiful women by being at the Home of Hope and by making the right choices with their lives now.
The girls' bedrooms were painted and redecorated on Monday and the mural was finished on Tuesday. The girls took it upon themselves to paint their kitchen and dining room on Tuesday with the leftover paint. Because of the very generous support of Enon Tabernacle we were able to purchase new furniture for the Home's lounge. In the end the Home of Hope was transformed into a much more welcoming and comfortable place to live and call home.
Barbara Price Davis
I'm not sure how to explain the week we worked at the Home of Hope in Cape Town, South Africa. The spirit of love was present the entire week, and so thick at times you could amost cut it with a knife.
These 20 young women, ages 14 to 30, all shared a common past, having come out of the sex trade and many of whom had issues of substance abuse as well. Many of the young women are separated from children whilethey are trying to better themselves, and many of them are infected with HIV/AIDs. Their lives have been hard and full of pain, but their faces are full of hope and love. In so many ways, they are just your typical young woman, but in others, their experiences leave a shadow that crosses their eyes occassionally and can be quite haunting.
We came in with the understanding that the team from Philadelphia was going to paint 3 rooms, and Karen and I would be working on a mural. By the time the team left, the entire house had been cleaned, scraped, puttied, primed, and painted. In addition, all the beds recieved new linens and comforters, and new living room furniture, drapes, and accessories had been purchased giving the home an entire transformation. Finally, each young woman received a new outfit, some candy, and a journal. There were speeches of thanks, lots of hugs, and many tears, and lives forever touched.
When we sat down to begin brainstorming about the mural, the girls were adamant about the fact that "the man" must be in it somewhere--the man that represents the drug dealer, the pimp, the client, the abuser, all things bad that they had experienced. When I asked if one of the girls wanted to draw the man for me, they all said, "oh, no ma'am. We can't do that." I said, well, ok, but I don't know what the man looks like. When I began painting the mural, and the silhouette of "the man" was painted, one of the women gasped, "you did know what he looked like!" I said, "well, I really don't, and I put a goofy hat on him." She responded, "but ma'am, he wears that hat--that's him!" The finished mural represents their journey. Prior to this moment, they were traveling in a myriad of directions, none taking them anywhere positive. When we were brainstorming, the idea of a bridge came up and then what was on the two sides. They wanted a computer to represent success, a house to represent family and a home, they wanted a river or waterfall to represent the washing away of their past lives, and a tree symbolizing growth. We filled the background with
little swirls, a symbol that represents the journey, and then on the far right side, we did a design with circles which represent wholeness.
The final addition was when each of the girls painted themselves as a butterfly somewhere on the mural. They then had to choose a word to incorporate into their butterfly that represented something they wanted for their life. And then finally, they got to write their names on the bridge. Future girls who come through will be able to add their names on the bridge as well.
At the men's shelter, they too wanted something that represented their journey, something they could write their names in as well. Their facility was called the Valley of Grace, so they wanted mountainsl, and valleys. They wanted the Teen Challege logo and the Tiger that comes from their school based prevention programs that they assist with. The men jumped in and helped, and that mural was finshed in less than 8 hours total.
I loved my experiece working with these wonderful young people and would love to go back someday and do more. I went there thinking I was helping others, and left there feeling that I myself was the one helped the most. I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this trip.
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