Here’s how one teacher introduced the KTKI program to her students:

Justine Zollo from the Logan School in Denver, CO shares this informative and inspiring article.

It began with a small article in Teaching Tolerance magazine, a little description of a program – children making books for children as a gift of friendship and peace. Initially I was intrigued and excited, until other thoughts came to mind – these kids are in refugee camps, war torn cities, famine-stricken communities, orphans, in need of food, medical care. I laid aside the article. As I watched my students and son over the course of several days, with their minds set free by stories that revel in the color and magic of pictures, feeling nurtured to imagine through books, new and deeper thoughts made to my mind. I came to realize the “essentialness” of nurturing the spirit, the power of the gift of a book and the power of creating something that these children across the planet might need. Over 75 of our books and supply packets are now in the hands of children at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Yet each time I speak with Pat at Kids to Kids, I feel as though I am recelebrating my students’ compassion, the pride they had in their involvement and creations, the power they felt in knowing they have made a difference and in feeling the beauty of putting their imaginations and heart into the service of reaching out, making a friend and letting that friend know they care. For this reason, I would like to share some of the ways Kids to Kids has been incorporated into the Logan School.

Before the first picture is drawn; before the first word is written, we…

• Talked about the program: why it is special and why the children can do this better than anyone else.

• Asked the children to bring in their favorite book, and had them share with the class why it is so special, bringing attention to the why’s.

• Talked about what a gift is, guiding past the materials aspect and getting to the feelings gifts bring up. We discussed what is a “good” gift and what helps them choose one. Inevitably they will get to … a good gift takes into account the receiver.

Getting to know the recipient of the gift, we…

• Obtained information about Kakuma from Kids to Kids, e.g. statistics, camp maps and population.

• Researched Kenya and the political and cultural reasons these children were caught up in that necessitated flight from their home country.

• Obtained books on refugees, e.g. from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, Sudan and Kakuma camp.

• Read folktales from the tribes to which the children at Kakuma belong and discussed what they might find funny, familiar and important.

• Found pictures from a UNICEF book of some children at Kakuma.

• Used maps to show the childrens’ journey from Sudan to Kenya.
During this stage, the age of the student was important in determining which material to present. The younger children did not need to know the statistics or be burdened with the sad and frightening information. The older students wanted more depth. I created several imaginary letters from a boy in Kakuma and the camp itself, using Sudanese names, customs, cultural references, descriptions of the camp, etc., tailoring them to each age group. I read these stories to each group, as they lay on the floor, with lights low, and soft African music playing in the background.

I asked them to close their eyes and listen to my voice reading the letter and imagine the scenes being described. At the close of the letter our imaginary friend described a gift he had gotten that day, a book and packet of drawing supplies. He described the hope and joy he felt at receiving such a gift and knowing someone knew he was at Kakuma and cared. I then asked my students to watch our friend as he turned the pages of the book. I asked them to see the words and drawings and describe them to me. What was in the book that made him feel so loved. From these descriptions, many of their books began.

Over the next few weeks, I read books in progress, gave encouragement, praise and guidance so that the books remained appropriate as gifts to our friends at Kakuma. Guidance was a large part of our learning – to bear in mind language barriers, explore universal images, and have the student ask himself if he were in the same circumstance, what would be helpful to see, know, feel.

Supply Packets
Some of the younger classes relied on donations from home; others raised money, pooled it and purchased materials as a class. We put and article in the school newspaper to raise money, and placed a donation jar at school functions.

And at the end…
Our books were on display in the school. We read them to each other and shared them with friends and parents, and then we packed them in boxes, put them in the front hall, with a sign hanging above, proclaiming the start of their special journey.

Our involvement was joyous, enlightening and most of all engaging – engaging our minds, our hearts and our spirits. In order to do a good job, we had to work a little more, imagine another place, and feel another’s circumstances. But most of all, we thought of someone else more than ourselves. And in the larger picture of life, that is training we all need. For me, the finest moments were after the boxes left. While walking in the halls, children would ask if I thought the books were in Kakuma yet, and then, most beautiful of all, they would describe for me the child who they just knew was holding their book at that very moment.