East Harlem Dreamers: Global Citizens

This July nine Dreamers from the East Harlem program, ranging in age from 7-11, had the opportunity to take the Children’s Tour at the United Nations. Academic Director Angela Wyche and After School Instructor Kausik Misrah chaperoned the Dreamers on their trip to 1 United Nations Plaza.  Ushered into international territory by our outstanding tour guide, the journey began with a discussion of the many flags surrounding the UN.  The tour guide took a little time to dispel some myths (Africa is in fact a continent), however our Dreamers were able to name quite a few countries including Afghanistan and Zimbabwe and a few in between!

The highlight of the tour, however, was the time spent in the Security Council Chamber.  In order to bring geopolitics into scope for students, Dreamers William and Jakob, were selected to act as countries in conflict.  Dreamers were dumbfounded when the tour guide asked them to act like they were fighting, but after a moment they really got into it!  This is when a third Dreamer was called in to play the role of the UN.  Lourdes excitedly volunteered to intervene in the conflict.  She stood between the two “countries” in conflict and the tour guide led the Dreamers through some conflict resolution. 

In the end peace was restored and the tour continued to several pieces of art related to human rights and conflict in the world.  Dreamers were genuinely moved by the gun-guitar sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd and responded with compassion to questions about how the artwork made them feel. Sadly, many Dreamers are familiar with violence in their own communities. After viewing the revolver twisted into an instrument of peace they expressed feeling connected to the rest of the world and a few expressed hope for an end to violence everywhere. 

There were many more fascinating elements to the tour, but most impressive were the Dreamers themselves. They were not only respectful of the place itself and the people around them, but they were fully engaged with each part of the discussion the entire time.  They asked thoughtful questions and were able to give equally thoughtful answers to questions about a deeply complex topic.  And who knows, one of these nine may just end up welcoming a new crop of Dreamers to the United Nations one day! Thanks so much to Board Member Mansi Mehan for opening a door on the world for our Dreamers.

Free Arts Day with Intent Media

By Free Arts NYC

On April 25th, 2015, employees from Intent Media joined Free Arts NYC for a special volunteer opportunity held at I Have a Dream Foundation. Employees were paired with children from the afterschool program at the sites and mentored them through a Saturday morning of hands-on art activities. The day was centered on the theme Finding My Superpowers. Employees helped their buddies to create Community Dioramas, Alter Ego Masks, Model Magic Sidekicks, and Superhero Emblems. They ended the day with a pizza lunch and theater performance.

Thank you to the employees who participated; their generosity made it possible for a group of low-income children to receive personalized attention, a creative outlet and the support of positive adult role models. Days like this will help these youth to develop the resiliency needed to rise above their disadvantage and succeed.

Each year, Free Arts NYC engages over 1,600 at-risk children and families in high-quality arts mentoring programs. Incredible partnerships, like the one they have with Intent Media, are what allow them to continue to bring the joys of art-making into underserved communities across New York City.

East Harlem Girls Group

By Petra Vega

Last year, as a first year MSW student with a concentration in Community Organizing, Planning and Development, I had the opportunity to demonstrate my dedication to girl empowerment at the “I Have a Dream” Foundation in East Harlem, NY. This commitment manifested into the creation of a Girls Group for third and fourth grade girls as a way to provide a rare opportunity to discuss, experience and celebrate the different facets of girlhood by learning and supporting one another throughout the process. Given the progress made in the first year, and the need to provide this opportunity once again to the new third and fourth grade girls, I decided to volunteer once a week to continue re-imagining, facilitating, encouraging girls in their own development. 

This year, Ms. Nancy (Program Director) advised me that the purpose for Girls Group would be very different than last year because the need would be much greater. Over time, a group of six girls were chosen for this group because they were having a very hard time getting along with others, acting like their true selves, as well as learning how to make friends. Given this, the purpose for this 10 session Girls Group (December 2014 – April 2015) was to provide the girls with an opportunity to learn about their own inner-qualities, strength and power, how to form strong relationships, and to make sure their behaviors show who they really are inside. Throughout this process, girls were asked to share their experiences, support one another, and to try new behaviors/forms of thinking.

Initially, the girls were eager to be part of this group to learn about the in’s and out’s of being a true friend, yet none of them anticipated how difficult this process would be; it required for them to challenge themselves. With the girls we learned about friendship qualities, how to get along with others by focusing on commonalities, and learning how to work through conflict by constantly assessing the progress of the group, re-focusing away from the silly giggles, as well as providing girls with the space to recover in a supportive environment.

Although the journey for the girls and I had sometimes been filled with frustration and tears, there were also times of camaraderie and laughter. Looking back, I can identify many memories of transformation and progress for each of the girls. In the beginning, one of the girls (M), would always repeat whatever another girl would say as if it was her own original thought. M was one of the quieter girls who was often overlooked.  As time went on, M continued to become more comfortable in the space, and began taking risks in sharing her original thoughts with the group; in return, we all appreciated her honest perspective and her willingness to share her wisdom. Another girl (MJ) was consistently irritated and sensitive to the girls’ actions and behaviors because she felt excluded by the group. Over time, with constant re-direction and the “recovery seat” (where girls sat to think about how to return to the group re-focused), MJ began self-regulating without anyone asking. When MJ became upset and emotional, she would get up, walk to the recovery seat nearby, and would return back to the group better able to process her emotions. Another highlight, is the way the group was able to accept one of the girls just the way she was (A), who has a learning/developmental disability and often would move around nervously or just naturally. In the beginning, the other girls would yell at her to stop, but I encouraged the group to focus on what they can control which is their own actions, and to simply let others be how they are. As it relates to A, we learned that this is simply how A is, and if her moving around is an issue, all we need to do is push our seats back so we give her some space to be. This acceptance also allowed all of us to listen to A’s brilliance as she constantly grounded the group to remember why we were together and what it means to be a true friend.

Although I have only mentioned a few examples, they are meant to highlight how far these girls have come over 5 months. Like the girls, I learned about the importance of friendships in childhood, and the potential for people (even for 8 and 9 year olds) to transform their behaviors. I for one, feel so honored that the “I Have a Dream” NY – East Harlem program has allowed me to be part of this process, and has trusted me with the responsibility to support these girls as they trusted their inner voice, built a network of support, and challenged themselves in becoming the kind of people they want to be.   

Petra Vega will receive her Master degree in Social Work this May 2015 from Hunter College School of Social Work.

East Harlem Dreamer Clubs

By Irene Lee

Fridays are especially exciting for the East Harlem Dreamers because they have Clubs! Every six weeks Dreamers have four clubs to choose from: Conservation, Knitting, Chess, and Art. The second round of clubs just started on April 17th. Girls and Boys Groups also meet during this time -these are long-term commitments meant to develop social and personal strength for the young women and men participating.

Boys (Brotherhood) Group recently finished a collaborative (communication skills building) volcano island project, which will soon erupt in the cafeteria in front of all the Dreamers. The Boys Group is led by Tristan Wilson who has extensive experience in after schools and is currently the East Harlem Program Assistant. Tristan holds a B.A in Psychology.  The Girls Group is facilitated by Petra Vega, former East Harlem Social Work Graduate level Intern from Hunter College. Petra has shared a blog on her experiences as a volunteer group facilitator.

My fellow After School Instructors/Group Leaders and I each volunteered to teach a subject that interests us and, as a result, wonderful energy has been flowing through P.S. 7’s halls each Friday afternoon when the Dreamers split for their groups. Dreamers engage with children they may not often spend time with and learn new skills. 

Bruni Moraza heads the Knitting Club and patiently teaches her Dreamers knitting techniques for hats and scarves. Though frustrating at first, many of the Dreamers break through their insecurities about not making perfect work, and grow into true knitters.  We have not seen a finished scarf yet, but once autumn comes, I know one young girl who will be wearing a knit wardrobe she made herself. Bruni who last year was an AmeriCorp Vista Intern at the IHDF Miami site, has a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology.

Chess Club led with popcorn and a giant chessboard by Quantil Jones. Dreamers are fascinated by this game of tact. The matches often continue for a long time and Dreamers congregate around the chessboard during Choice Time to see whose king will be taken first. Quantil joined the East Harlem team after successfully completing his internship from the Boys Club of NY.

Arts Club is headed off by Kausik Mishra and differs greatly from the typical ‘Art Club’ where painting and drawing are central. Kausik encourages the children to play with different media and design techniques by exposing them to artists and art movements. The students design their own projects that range from soccer t-shirt design to feature films and roller coasters. Kausik is a senior at Eugene Lang College and invites guest artists from the college and elsewhere to talk about their professions and practices with the Dreamers.

Lakia Garner (pictured) and I (Irene Lee) are the co-heads of Conservation Club, a conglomeration of wilderness awareness and conservationist lessons that are a natural outcome of its leaders. Lakia has worked in after school programs before, doing conservationist activities with children in New York City; she holds a B.A. in Forensic Psychology. Besides being a writer and bookbinder, I have studied and taught wilderness awareness skills upstate in the Hudson River Valley at Omi International Arts Center. Despite lack of extensive forests in Harlem, we have had time to tell stories and watch plants grow from seeds and butterflies hatch in our own little gardens in the classroom. We also aid the community by safely picking up trash out in the school’s yard.

Clubs Culmination with a Field Trip:

On May 29th and June 5th Dreamers will be taking a tour of art installations in Central Park, a field trip inspired by the Friday clubs. Creative Time, a nonprofit organization that arranges for public art around the city (most recently a towering piece in the Domino Sugar Refinery conceived of by Kara Walker), is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Central Park Conservancy in the northern end of the park with its Drifting in Daylight show http://creativetime.org/projects/drifting-in-daylight/.

The Dreamers will be wandering through the trails, considering the works of art through the lens of their clubs, sending letters to people who have no earthly addresses, and engaging in the history of the community living in the location of the park before Olmsted. They will be contemplating the colors of sunset in ice cream and looking at birds' nests twined with sticks and parts of basketballs.

As the Dreamers are getting older, almost three years after opening the East Harlem Program, this is our first offering of clubs led by our own After School Instructors and it has been a great success! The immense amount of talent, passion and patience brought in by the Instructors is solidified in activities that offer the children a wide range of new abilities and perspectives. Let the trips on May 29th and June 5th to Central Park be a tradition for years to come with many more clubs.   

Irene Lee is a Lang College graduate who has worked with the college to curate the history of Eugene Lang in 2013.