Dirty Wall Project

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Paintings on display at Lost + Found Cafe. ( 33 West Hastings st, Vancouver )

Cindy and Todd Ryan (Dirty Wall Project), visited Colombia in March/April as one part vacation and one part DWP mission. Wanting to dedicate at least part of the trip to finding ways that DWP could help in Colombia, we researched charities and NGO’s in the country. The following post is about our success at finding a charity DWP was excited by and happy to support in a barrio in the city of Cartagena.

Dodging the equatorial sun,  visitors and citizens of Cartagena, Colombia zig-zag down cobblestone streets, seeking shade under carved wood balconies draped with vines and pots of flowering plants shedding petals with the slightest breath of air.  Like watching a romantic movie that transports you to another time and place dazzling with possibilities, Cartagena seduces visitors with historic buildings, their original colour faded into soft shades of turquoise, amber, gold and coral. Loosing ourselves in this splendid city, walled and protected from ancient marauders and modern beggars is easy. We lose hours sitting in squares shaded by large trees harbouring lazy lizards, drinking sugary thimble sized cups of cafe tinto sold by vendors from carafes. We watch beautiful, abundant creole women dressed in bright colours and flowing skirts, their hair hidden under neon turbans, slice fruit into delicate spears to sell. Horses pulling sleek, black, open carriages stuffed with happy tourists prance by, the sound of their hooves making quick melodies on the hard cobblestone. Cameras click and whir while the fruit ladies pose for pesos.This version of Cartagena is exceptional, tourist brochure worthy and ready for a close-up with a camera.

Getsemani, a neighbourhood a short walk away is a shabbier, bohemian version of the walled city, a neighbourhood with numerous hostels, less splashy hotels and streets where people live and work. The sheen is different here. Graffiti becomes art, bar patrons spill out on to the street, children run barefoot while parents sit on plastic chairs in spots of shade near crumbling doorways. As the area widens  the poverty becomes more apparent. Eyes are adjusted to the reality of the living conditions for most of the population. Most Colombians are poor and live in communities where violence is normal, where housing is makeshift and education is not available for everyone. But here in Getsemani we found a couple who are making a huge difference to one community a 30 minute taxi ride from the fabled walled part of the city.

Nathalie Rietman came to Colombia from her home in the Netherlands years ago to continue her environmental studies. The poverty that surrounded her, the children who were not in school, who were begging and not being cared for littered the streets of Cartagena. Devastated by the sight of children in circumstances that would keep them poor, undernourished and uneducated like their parents, Nathalie decided she needed to do something about it. In 2005, she left her studies and her Environmental Career behind and with funds from the Netherlands and a committed partner in her friend Gerard van der Haas,  the duo embarked on a mission to address the lack of education available to the poor living in barrios surrounding the city. Their devotion to this educational initiative in Cartagena has resulted in a school in La Boquilla, a barrio where men fish for a living and women sell trinkets or massages to tourists 45 minutes away on the beaches of Boca Grande, where their children receive a solid education from kindergarten to Grade 8 and a nutritious daily meal.

Gerard gave us a tour of the school in April. The daily meal comes from a clean, well equipped kitchen run by mothers from the community who follow meal plans set up by a nutritionist. Over the years, the school has grown to two buildings. Run with expert efficiency by Nathalie and her paid staff and occasional volunteers, the children, in full uniform, are expected to come to classes daily. There is a curriculum, tests, a nutritious meal for each student, and expectations to be met by the parents and the children.  This no-nonsense approach to education, discipline and mandatory compliance from parents to see that their children attend school has resulted in a school that gets results and is a stable influence in an otherwise bereft community.

Leaving the school, Gerard led us on a walking tour of the surrounding community. Located in a fishing village, the houses are a shamble of wood, tin, cardboard and plastic. This community is not serviced by the city, leaving no place for garbage disposal, no potable water, no serviced roads and unlike the heavily policed tourist area of Cartagena, there are no police to solve problems in this community or keep the area safe. “La Vecina,” the name Nathalie and Gerard gave the school,  means “the neighbour”, and stands alone as a positive influence in this community of poor fishermen and their families.

Nathalie and Gerard operate this school with incredible efficiency and a thorough awareness of the problems of the community. A psychologist is on staff to deal with personal problems brought on by poverty, abuse and despair. While the focus is on education up to grade 8, there is always time for outings and physical fitness with an emphasis on fun. The students are happy to have a place to go and the families, for the first time in this community have a place where their kids might find a future full of possibilities. Once regarded as foreigners with a crazy idea, Nathalie and Gerard are now well regarded and respected members of the community. Living in Cartagena full-time and depending on the fund-raising efforts of a team of dedicated professionals in the Netherlands, their devotion to the school and the children is steadfast and honest and compelling. This is their home and they have given up a life in the Netherlands to assure the school is successful and the students have a permanent place to access a quality education. Their devotion to this community is a testament to Dirty Wall Project’s mandate of “see a need and fill it”.

The Dirty Wall Project donated $600,000 COP ($330 CAD) to La Vecina on April 1, 2013. Check out their website: www.fundacionlavecina.com where you can read about the school, donate and be inspired.

***We brought back four beautiful mixed media paintings on canvas mounted on wood stretcher frames (16.5″ x 16.5″) created by four of the children of La Vecina. A minimum $200 donation that goes right back to La Vecina, will get you a beautiful painting that makes you feel good every time you look at it knowing your cash is buying school supplies, food, paying hard-working teachers or fixing the generator. Muchas Gracias from Nathalie, Gerard and the incredible children of La Vecina.The paintings are on display at: lost + found cafe/33 W. Hastings St. Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1G4/604-559-7444 All proceeds from the sale of these paintings will be donated to La Vecina.

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I climb up an unsteady pile of rocks just off the side of the road. Before me, hundreds of colours swirl, and voices fight to be heard. I change my lens and and bring my camera to my face snapping off a few quick bursts of photos, trying to capture the frenetic market scene in a still photograph. Unsatisfied, I look for a better vantage point and spot a small brick wall, fifty feet away and head for it. I attempt to hop up onto the wall, sweat from the humid desert air glues my new green shorts to my leg, (my girlfriend Salomeh  had just purchased these for me with strict instructions not to wear them to work) and as I stretch to make the jump, the pen in my pocket bursts through, cutting a hole in my shorts. I hear the noise and look down at a three-inch gap exposing my pasty white thighs, and see the pen from a hotel, through the newly formed hole, mocking me.  S**t…! I hear a giggle, and look behind the wall to see a young boy of about ten years old, sitting bare-assed and shitting, while pointing to the hole in my shorts and laughing…

A week ago I arrived in Jaipur (dubbed the Pink city), Rajasthan after a nearly two year absence. It was over three years ago that I arrived in Jaipur, having travelled overland from Mumbai, weary from the train journey but excited about my new adventure, The Dirty Wall Project. DWP was just three weeks old and I was wide-eyed, but excited at the prospect of helping. Previous to my initial trip to Jaipur, DWP had delivered food to hospital patients, given rations to a blind community, funded kidney dialysis for a patient in Mumbai, and handed out umbrellas for shade, to poor street vendors. I was fresh and naive, but wanted more . A friend of mine had told me about Vatsalya and I was eager to see their work first-hand. It was clear from the start that Vatsalya was one of the good guys in the NGO world and was truly helping. Over the next week or so, I visited their programs, donated some DWP funds, and helped set up a health clinic in a slum community in Jaipur. It was my first time being in a slum community and after two hours, I knew that’s where I wanted to work. I wanted to find a community where I could bring joy and a helping hand too. In the end, that community was 1200 km’s to the south in one of the biggest cities in the world, Mumbai.

Fast forward 3 years and DWP has become a recognized NGO in India, and has had the chance to help thousands of people. DWP has continued to stay in contact with Vatsalya (run by Jaimala  & Hitesh Gupta) and over the last few years has joined with Vatsalya to work on several projects, including health camps and selling Vatsalya’s womens’ products in Canada. Just recently, Vatsalya opened up a school just off campus from the orphanage located just outside of Jaipur, and I was eager to visit and see what other new initiatives Vatsalya had started since my last visit.

Vatsalya is always busy and this time was no different. I spent the first few days being Vatsalya’s photographer, taking event photos at several of their vocational training graduations around Jaipur. I continued to lend a hand and used DWP’s photography to capture their new school,  their programs and the new womens’ products, for use on their website and for fundraisers. During my time I also had several meetings with them, trying to get a handle on what DWP could do financially for their organization. DWP has been blessed with some very generous donations as of late and I wanted to help Vatsalya with some of their programs.

One of the main problems I have encountered during my time raising funds for DWP and watching other organizations battle for funds, is that certain stuff is easier to raise funds for and some things are damn near impossible. Everyone wants to have their money go towards the building of a school or the sponsorship of a child, but funding the repair work for a fence or a teacher’s salary is not quite as “sexy” to be a part of. It’s understandable, but also a difficulty for all NGO’s trying to keep their programs running with the high cost of maintenance and upkeep. DWP has raised money on the mandate “to see a need and fill it” and it requires a great amount of trust from our donors. Supporters donate funds to DWP not for a specific cause, but with the knowledge that I am on the ground, in the thick of a situation, witnessing things first-hand, and making decisions that we all hope will have the greatest benefit and reach.

After a week visiting and photographing Vatsalya’s work, I crunched some numbers and worked out what I believe to be a generous donation to Vatsalya from DWP.  Like all honest NGO’s, Vatsalya was interested in knowing what I hoped the money would be used for. I replied that the reason DWP was donating at all was because I trusted their work and integrity and that they know best as to where their funds are needed. They spoke to me about repairs around the school and orphanage and parts for their tractor to which I’m excited to be able to help with. There are a million things that go on to keep an amazing NGO like Vatsalya running and I am humbled that DWP’s supporters and friends have put me in a position to fund the small things that will keep Vatsalya looking good and creating possibilities for children across Rajasthan.

*DWP donated 80,000 INR – $1600 CAD to help Vatslaya make repairs to their school and orphanage grounds.

*DWP also sold 20,000 INR – $400 CAD worth of Anoothi products in Canada on behalf of Vatsalya.

To read about some of the projects DWP has worked on with Vatsalya check out the links below:

1. http://dirtywallproject.com/blog/?p=274

2.http://dirtywallproject.com/blog/?p=390

3.http://dirtywallproject.com/blog/?p=222

To learn more about their work in Jaipur check out: 

http://www.vatsalya.org/

Cheers,

Kane Ryan

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My shoulder rubs against the pale green wall of the school, and crumbling bits of paint fall to the ground behind me. I squeeze past a row of teen age kids, who are eager to get a look at the foreigner amongst them, and I smile, prompting laughter and giggles. I pass classroom after classroom, filled with row upon row of children, sitting at old wooden desks, surrounded by damp walls covered in flaking paint. The boys jet black hair is oiled tight to their head, the girls hair is braided and looped and tied with floppy, pressed, ribbons. Maybe, in these classrooms, sits a handful of India’s next generation of doctors and engineers.

I reach the main gate, which is a rusted metal door. Twenty women stand on the other side, clutching the bars. The scene resembles a women’s prison, and I hesitantly reach for the gate and slowly swing it open. A swirl of colourful sari’s part, and I move through the group of waiting mothers, and then I feel a hand on my arm. I turn around to see a Muslim woman in a full black burka. She releases the piece of fabric covering her face and smiles quietly. I recognize her as Javed’s mother. (Javed is one of her four children, and just last year had open heart surgery which nearly ruined the family financially).  I reach to shake her hand, which she offers to me, shyly. I tell her in broken Hindi that I have paid for her son’s yearly school fees, and she smiles and thanks me. Then I begin to tell her, that as a surprise, I have also paid her youngest daughter, Yasmine’s, school fees. She looks confused for a moment, and then her eyes well up with tears and she offers her hand again.  I clasp her hand in both of mine, and tell her, “You are most welcome”. I am humbled to be of help, and as I turn to walk away, she thanks me once more, and dabs at her eye with a piece of fabric.

June is the start of the new school year in Mumbai, and a very busy time for families, and all NGO’s working in the education sector across the city. DWP currently has nearly 60 sponsor children, from grade one to college, in about 15 different schools, throughout the area. Each June, parents looking for help, crowd the doors of Janvi’s centre, bombarding Ashley with stories of hardship and financial woes in a bid to get their child sponsored.  Discover Urjaa, (run by Vanessa and Vignesh Manjeshwar) runs an amazing sponsorship program through Janvi’s centre, with Ashley at the helm, sponsoring over 200 children.  In slum communities, almost everyone requires some help, but determining who needs the most help, is the difficult , strenuous and a frustrating part of the work. As Discover Urjaa reaches their threshold of children that they can sponsor for the school year, DWP steps in and takes on some of the cases that they could not.

Every day, for the past week, I have set out from the community, my notebook in hand and back pocket filled with worn Indian rupees, into the soaking wet streets of Saki Naka. Although I have visited these schools several times over the last few years, navigating the small network of alleys, jumping over huge puddles and dodging traffic is forever difficult and time consuming. When heavy rains fall suddenly, and without warning, I find myself huddled in shop doorways with groups of strangers, all quietly and happily waiting for whom ever is in charge, to turn off the tap, so we can all resume our lives and get back to the hustle of the maximum city.

I arrive to each school, find the fee counter, and lineup behind mothers and fathers, also waiting to pay. I encounter stares and intense curiosity where ever I go; a white spec in a brown landscape.

I practice my Hindi in my head as I wait in line, and finally it’s my turn. The rehearsed line is ready, sitting on my tongue. My mouth opens, and the practiced Hindi words that sounded so good in my head, come out garbled and backwards. I smile embarrassingly, and feel awkward as the grumpy woman behind the counter looks up for the first time and sees my white face and smiles condescendingly. I repeat the child’s name over and over till she tells me to stop, and then she quickly flips the pages of my damp notebook, looking for the records, feeling the burning stares of impatient mothers behind me. Five more minutes pass, and finally I reach for the rupees in my pocket and count out the full years fees. I’m handed my receipt, and I feel a sense of accomplishment and excitement. I turn around and realize, no one cares, or is particularly happy, that the guy with the “golden” hair and the speech impediment, has managed to do something right. I smile awkwardly for the hundredth time that day, and head for the exit. I immediately get lost again in the labyrinth of water-clogged alleyways, until a small girl takes pity on me, and walks me to the main road. I turn to thank her but she is gone, quickly disappearing into a row of tin shacks. A large truck thunders past, smashing a three-inch deep puddle, covering me in brown water and mud. I pull at my shirt, and wipe my face,  but it doesn’t matter. The sky opens up, and soon I’m soaked again, searching for cover and the next school….

In the past week, DWP has paid the full year fees for 18 children at 6 different schools across the Saki Naka area. I am working hard at reviewing last years sponsor children, and paying their fees, and I have also added three new cases this week. I’m a sucker for a heartbreaking story, and I find myself nodding and committing to new cases before I’m ready, adding to my workload, and the overall cost.

While DWP has been busy attending to the educational needs of individual cases, I have also purchased 250 school books (nursery rhyme, picture, and notebooks) for Janvi’s kindergarten class in Saki Naka. Each child has been given 3 books, and pencils, to help reduce the cost for their parents, and to encourage more parents to enrol their children in kindergarten to give them the chance at an education.

* I would also like to thank DWP’s friend, Jaita Guha, from Mumbai, who, last year, arranged for 11 students to be sponsored via friends and colleagues. This year she has doubled her efforts, adding another 13 cases. She’s personally responsible for filling an entire classroom!

Cheers,

Kane Ryan

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