Upendo Art Camp

We were honored to be invited to lead an Art Camp at the Upendo Children’s Home in Kenya in partnership with Beyond Our Door Global! On January 18-22, Artist Mentors Yvonne Asunnah, Seth Luchemo and Kevin Fraji led classes in fashion, music and photography and the students presented their creative work at a Showcase on the final night. Artist Mentors also helped purchase and transport new equipment for Upendo such as audio gear, musical instruments, sewing machines and cameras. Special thanks to Upendo Director Evelyne Ingosi, transportation support from Upendo driver Godwin, and Beyond our Door Global Director Al Schuck for making it all possible!

From Yvonne Asunnah – Fashion Design

“The art camp was amazing and so very inspiring! We travelled on Wednesday January 18th. The journey was long (6.5 hours from Nairobi), but we arrived in Kakamega safely. We were allocated rooms to rest and the food was plenty and amazing. We started our Art Camp the following day on 19th. Personally I had 21 students in fashion class. The other classes music and photography also had over 20 students each. I was amazed with how my students were sharp and determined to learn. We designed circular skirts, head wraps and Kitenge bangles. I had an assistant which made our work slightly easier. Our main challenge was stitching. The students were very young so they couldn’t handle the machine so I had to every stitch with them. The Upendo family was very welcoming. Madam Evelyne and her team made sure we had an easy time from coordinating with the students and the staff to making sure we had enough food and water. The students presented their creative work at a Showcase on Saturday night and it was an incredible celebration! We made the long journey back to Nairobi on Sunday afternoon.”