Skip to main content

Refugee Project by the Numbers, April 2014



Natalie Hoffmann & Bethany Stiltner show students the art experience


Artist on Call Liz Green assists students with their paint supplies
Since October 2013, 21 Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience clients have attended BuildaBridge art groups. 

BuildaBridge held focus groups in March 2014 with a new refugee population to determine if art-making experiences and groups are of interest to this population. 
18 attended the groups and voiced their interest in attending BuildaBridge groups this summer.

Out of the 10 total groups offered to Bhutanese children this year to date:
2 children have had perfect attendance
8 children attended at least 6 groups
3 new children joined this group last Fall


During the Fall 2013 6-week term offered to Burmese children:
2 children had perfect attendance
12 children attended four or more groups
The Spring term just re-started on April 10 and 6 new children joined this group!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why is art important for refugee children?

For refugee children, art-making experiences within the BuildaBridge Classroom model have helped them identify adjustment strategies, build on their personal strengths and build resiliency in a new culture. S is a 10-year old Bhutanese refugee girl who has been attending BuildaBridge groups since they started in August 2011 with almost near perfect attendance. In the almost three years of her attending groups, through art-making, S has made significant progress in all of the BuildaBridge outcome areas (social, character development, artistic and academic). As an illustration of the development of her social skills, S has improved relations with her younger brother with whom she is often competitive. This has been an ongoing growth area the therapists have been addressing. During the past two years, S has physically participated less in the movement experiences when other girls are not in attendance. During this third year of programming and as an illustration of her increased character...

Japanese Shoji Lanterns

A discussion surrounding the word “rebuild” emerged. Is it to build again with new materials or does it suggest rebuilding again from the pieces that have fallen? On a quiet Sunday afternoon five individuals gathered around a table from four different countries, representing three different languages (4 if you’re counting dialect), and spanning three different generations. Through our partnership with the Nationalities Service Center/Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (NSC/PPR) collaborative, art therapists have facilitated groups for about nine months that explore the past, present, and future for individuals who are immigrants. The past few weeks have been devoted to constructing Japanese Shoji lanterns, with a culminating tea ceremony. Patience, focus, and creative problem solving were just a few virtues challenged by this 3 dimensional project that prompted a lively discussion about selfless rebuilding for the sake of younger generations. The question initially posed about the...

Cocoons of Paper Mache

Check out photos from our latest Bhutanese children's group this past Sunday.  Children started working on their cocoons out of paper mache...an extension of the lesson on Monarch butterflies, their transitions from a caterpillar to a butterfly and how we go through changes in life just like the butterflies.