=cfoto reports.....


Though it has been some time since we did any Journals or submissions on The Living Brush, our work for the cause has not been at a standstill. Even though my personal life changes did have an impact on the amount of work that get completed and it seemed that the project would wither away, we hope that my recent visit to Mbandaka, DRC will change this and that we can get some main stream people to donate for TLB. The registration of Raven Imaging Studios is nearly completed and formalizing the legal requirements for the registration of the NGO will then soon be put into gear.

I do wish to voice the request for any stationary donations – no matter how small it may be – to any Deviants who are interested in the program. We do have a system in order to get the stationary to the various sites where the children are located, even though I don’t know if I will be able to visit the DRC again soon. I see myself as very fortunate to have visited Mbandaka twice in such a short period of time, and I will always treasure my memories of Africa and the children.

We handed over some crayons and coloring books to the children in various locations in Mbandaka. It still stays an amazing experience to witness the children accepting these small tokens. Sometimes we lose appreciation for all these small little things that we just accept as being part of our lives – like having the tools to write and draw with, not even mentioning the ability to read and write. Due to the vastness of the market we dealing with ~ The Children of Africa, we have to limit ourselves and the project too establishments that are already teaching some children the basic fundamentals of reading and writing. We did however, notice that there is for example very little “en control” in the way the children utilizes the crayons, i.e. the pressure that they apply stays consistent (no variation in lighter / darker) and the will turn the page, not the pen.

No person can stand watching these children accepting the books and not notice their awe. Here they are given a whole packet of crayons for their own keepsakes. Most of the children would only stand and page through the books that we give them at first and it is with some form of resentment that they start writing in these books with their brand new crayons. I figured that some of them would much rather just hide these away from jealous adult eyes and keep it as a small remembrance of the wonderful day they were part of something so much bigger than their small existence in a small hut somewhere in a jungle.

The team in the DRC is growing and “we” now include various other nationalities i.e. Philippines. Please take some time too view some of our newest submissions that details some of the events when we handed over the stationary. I would like to use this to thank every person that was involved in my staying over in DRC. Though it seems very insignificant, I know that a lot of people are involved with my travelling and my safety … and I wish to sincerely thank them.

I hope that The Living Brush will grow in 2009 and that our team will grow. Much love and hugs to everyone that has watched us, or faved some of our work or the Deviants that submit work on our behalf.


Cfoto