Israh Mohammed Capstone

Every Wednesday, I volunteer at a refugee after school program that takes place at Spruance Elementary School. The kids I work with range from kindergarten to 6th grade and are all refugees! I collaborated with the kids and the beautification club led by one of the most amazing and dedicated teachers I’ve ever met, Ms. Pileggi. Together we created a series of artwork that is hung at the main showcase of the school. The purpose of this was to celebrate diversity and to create a positive representation of refugees to anyone who comes to Spruance and happens to pass by the showcase. The kids I work with painted the flags of their native countries, we installed different artifacts from around the world, and in the center is a huge atlas with various stickers signifying the different parts of the world all the kids are from. Also, it allowed the kids to destress and stimulate their brains when creating art which is great method for healing trauma amongst children. The kids enjoyed creating the different projects and are so happy to see it at the most focal point of their school! This was all possible due to the help of Ms. Pileggi, Ms. Marty and Valeri Harteg. Thank you all so much!