Wet Paint

Another volunteer came to join me at Llevando Luz this week, so I was finally able to paint the mural Dona Karen had requested when I started my placement. It only took me two days, which is a good thing since the kids couldn't play outside while I was painting, and having them cooped up inside makes them restless.

Most of the time I was working, they all crowded around the gate to the patio and watched, asking me to add different animals. I had them come out one by one to add their hand prints, which made up the flowers. Karen's son, Sami, who was my assistant through the whole project, left his mark as well.

Hand prints are pretty much a universal theme in volunteer work, and it's no wonder. They say, quite literally, "I was here, I helped, I got my hands dirty."

Banner in the Library of Hope at the school where I volunteered in Sohag, Egypt in 2009.

Hand print leaves at Llevando Luz.

I had really wanted to paint the mural inside the house, where there is a bare concrete wall, but during the green season it's just too damp to paint inside (and somehow I doubt that even the dry season is really that dry). I think it turned out pretty well, though. Eventually I'm going to add some paintings on the floor, with hopscotch or four square patterns that the kids can use when they play outside.