With cameras flashing across their eyes and microphones being stuck under their noses, it’s a wonder the kids were at all able to focus on their mini works of art.
The group of 16 or so six to 12-year-olds — all from Syrian refugee families being temporarily housed in a Richmond hotel — were working on drawing with pastels and baby oil.
Drawing whatever their imagination could think of, the children, the majority of whom wore broad smiles, hurried around the room, excitedly showing off their creations.
All of this was much to the chagrin of the CBC cameraman trying to capture a still moment with some of the kids as they drew.
Accompanied by some of their parents, the kids’ “day out” at the Arts Connection in Steveston was proving to be a huge success.
“This, I think, is very therapeutic for them; it’s wonderful to see them smiling and enjoying themselves,” said Amal Ballu, an Immigration Services of BC (ISBC) resettlement assistant, who has been working with the families since they arrived in Canada in the middle of February.
Ballu said the families also have an ISBC life skills facilitator to help with transportation and taking them to the stores and such.
“There’s also a garden park near the hotel that they’ve been getting out and about to,” added Ballu.
“And a pop-up library also came to the hotel and many of them have been using their passes for the City Centre Community Centre for fitness and playgroups.”
While attending an advisory committee meeting at Richmond City Hall in January, the Arts Connection’s founder and director, Linda Shirley, heard about the families staying at a local hotel and asked the city to put her in touch with ISBC so she could invite the kids to her school.
“I thought, ‘gosh, these kids must be absolutely bored out of their minds,’” said Shirley.
“We’ve had lots of experience with our Reach to Teach program and we thought this was a great opportunity to bring the kids down here for a couple of hours and get them engaging in something.”
Shirley then sent the proposal to ISBC, which thought it was a great idea.
“So, our bus went along to the hotel to pick them up and (ISBC) arranged a translator,” explained Shirley.
“We had 15 teenagers yesterday. They worked on a collage project; we gave them magazines and samples and they put together a collage.
“It was amazing to see how engaged they were, especially the boys; there were only two girls. The boys looked more like men, even though they were only 16 or 17.”
Not just wanting them to walk away with a painting on a paper, which might end up in the garbage, the teenagers and the younger kids all had their artwork framed.
“They were thrilled,” added Shirley. “Hopefully, they can hang them up in their new homes, when they finally get in there.”
Shirley said she’s already opened up discussions with ISBC to host another day out for the refugee children this month.
Ballu said many Syrian families that have been staying at the hotel since landing in Canada in January have since moved to the Fraser Valley to cities such as Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
