Wanted: Passionate People

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

-Howard Thurman

For me, art therapy has always intrigued me. In college, I desperately wanted to learn more about expressing your emotions through creative arts. But I quickly found out that it’s almost impossible to have a full-time job as an art therapist. So instead I found myself expressing myself through scrapbooking, journaling or just doodling during meetings and classes. This is what makes me come alive. It’s a passion I have and I think it’s a great way for people to express themselves if they don’t feel comfortable through other ways. It's also a great and creative way to present material. After a traumatic event or even just after a long day at work, there's nothing better than just sitting down and coloring. No matter if you're 5 or 95. And after walking around Opuwo my first couple of weeks, I stumbled upon Ombetja Yehinga (OYO), an organization that uses art to teach people about various social issues. I might have already talked about this organization a little bit, but I just can’t help but feel excited about it. They educate youth on social issues through creative arts, such as dance, drama and other visual arts.

Art/drama + HIV/AIDS awareness? Yes please! And it just so happens that what makes me come alive and what I’m passionate about is also what the world needs right now. The world, especially Namibia, needs passionate people. And I am so excited to be a part of this initiative. If you present the material to learners (students) by just talking at them, they’re not going to learn much. But if you find a creative way to do it, then there’s a better chance that they might actually absorb what you’re talking about.

Have you ever been in a class or heard a speaker just talk on and on like Charlie Brown’s teacher? Meh, meh meh meh meh meh meh…..The speaker’s not having fun and clearly not interested in what they’re doing and the people in the audience can’t help but check their watch every five minutes. Who wants to do that?! And how will you ever learn that way?? But if you make the material fun and you get excited about it even if you are the speaker, then it’s a success.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go with Lucia, who works at OYO, to an upper primary school in town to give presentations on HIV/AIDS and also to distribute the latest OYO magazine. (You can check out the past issues of the OYO magazine here: http://ombetja.org/OYO%20Magazine.html ) When we first walked into the school, the kids saw that we were carrying copies of the OYO magazine and scrambled to us and begged us for copies. This was incredible to see! I have never seen children want educational magazines this badly! It was awesome!! After finding out where the life skills classes were and what class was free, we made our way to one of the 5^th grade classrooms to distribute the magazine and to give a brief presentation. When Lucia started to talk about HIV/AIDS and about the magazine though, she didn’t just talk at them, she made it fun and interactive. And it was like this throughout the entire presentation. Needless to say, I left the school feeling excited for what the future could bring and so happy at what we had accomplished. I can’t wait to accompany OYO staff on more presentations and work out in the community. When I saw the passion in the eyes of the OYO staff and learners (students), it made me excited too. And that’s just what this world needs.