When we first met Vanessa, she was only 14 years old.
However, she was already leading a gaggle of 20 young people and organizing programs for her community in hopes of rebuilding after Typhoon Haiyan.
Haiyan, which hit in November 2013, destroyed 90% of Tacloban city, leaving many families devastated.
Six months later, we at Artsolute were presenting certainly one of our local arts programs, Puppets and Passages, to 3 youth groups there.
We noticed one group that looked as if it would need more help.
Over time, we learned more in regards to the youth of the Abucay Bunkhouse Youth Organization (ABUYO) and the challenges that Vanessa and her peers faced, reminiscent of the conditions of their barracks, lack of support within the bunker, and lack of economic resources.
Despite being at a greater drawback than other young people of their neighborhood, ABUYO young people have a robust sense of purpose and are committed to creating a difference for those around them.
With few resources, they run workshops to assist other young people address post-disaster trauma through art and sharing personal stories. They also encourage other young people to do the identical.
It has been an awesome privilege for us at Artsolute to mentor Vanessa and the ABUYO youth along their journey.
With continued support, they’ll proceed to grow and reach more children and youth in need of social and emotional support within the communities around Tacloban.
You will help ABUYO via transfer of funds for transportation costs to conduct workshops for other communities in Tacloban. The funds can be managed by an organization based in Singapore Artsolutewhich supports ABUYO and prompts young people to steer and take part in community development projects, cultural exchange and psychosocial intervention.
– More information might be found at: http://www.ourbetterworld.org/en/story/devastated-not-destroyed#sthash.3gFHlHCI.dpuf
