In a celebration of life and hope, Ryerson University, George Brown
College and Pueblito (Little Village), a Canadian Early
Childhood Development Agency working in Latin America and based in Toronto,
hosted a public
art exhibit of ¡ART WORKS! at the Sally Horsfall Eaton Centre.
Special
Presentation
Christine Alden, Program Coordinator, from Pueblito
made a special presentation offering rare insight about the
program and the children benefiting from it on Monday,
December 1st. Children from the
Scotia Plaza Child Care Centre participated in the
presentation and had an opportunity to take a look at the exhibit.
View photos.
Extreme poverty robs young children of their right
to survive and thrive. Creating a foundation for
life through Early Childhood Development, Pueblito
works with families and communities
in Latin America, to support the growth of healthy
and happy children.
¡ART WORKS!, Creative Preschool Art Program is Pueblito's
innovative approach to Early Childhood Development that uses an artistic
process to develop self-esteem, social and cognitive skills in preschool
age children.
The ¡ART WORKS! collection features a selection of 35 pieces of
original art created by children under the age of five from Phase I of
the ¡ART WORKS!, Creative Preschool Art Program located in rural
Esteli, Nicaragua.
¡ART WORKS! has been on tour across the GTA since early September
appearing at several major events, schools, colleges,
universities and community centers and the tour will culminate early
December.
Pueblito's Castaneda says that. "Without the ¡ART
WORKS! and other Early Child Development Programs,
young children from very
poor families would be left at home usually unsupervised
because their mothers or caregivers do not have the
resources to provide them with
appropriate care and attention as they struggle to
help their family survive."
(CIDA) the Canadian International Development Agency,
calls Pueblito, "... a serious, dynamic, responsible, experienced
organization with all the means at its disposal to obtain the best results
in the field of Early Childhood Development. It deserves to be supported
by the public and adequately backed by Canada's official development
assistance funds."
Pueblito - Backgrounder
About Pueblito:
Currently operating in Brazil, the Dominican Republic,
Mexico and Nicaragua, Pueblito Canada is a non-governmental organization
committed to the well-being
of children in Latin America. Working in partnership
with local organizations, Pueblito has long and successful history of
working with Latin America's
poorest children.
A leader in the care and development of young children
in poor communities, Pueblito's work has been inspired
for the past 25 years by the need to continuously advocate for the rights
of the child.
Pueblito is not a relief agency; we aim for the long-term.
We support the development of local health care, childcare and education
programs
that will remain in the community long after we leave.
Pueblito sees the child not in isolation but as an integral part of the
entire community.
More detailed information on Pueblito can be found
at - www.pueblito.org.
Luis and Lili's story:
Luis and Lili are four-year-old twins who
are now benefiting from ¡ART
WORKS! Creative Preschool Art Program in rural Esteli,
Nicaragua. They were abandoned by their mother when they were two years
old! From that
time, their grandmother, Dona Eloisa Perez, has taken
care of them because her son, their father, must work long hours toiling
in the fields, 7
days a week. They live in extreme poverty. The home
is constructed of rotting wood and a ragged plastic tarp that barely
protects them from
cold. This is not atypical of the living conditions
the children must endure in these rural communities of Nicaragua. Some
live under even
worse conditions some somewhat better. The root cause
is always poverty and the absence of parents during the early yeas of
life because they
are at work so that their families can survive.
There are a total of 17 children including Luis and Lili who attend
the preschool. The availability of the ¡ART WORKS! Preschool is
vital for these children because they are not only being cared for during
the day, but they are also developing physically and emotionally through
the innovative arts-focuses activities that were not part of the previous "traditional" preschool
curriculum. As a result, they will be better prepared to attend grade
1 when they are six years old and their chances of staying in school,
when the typical school drop out occurs before grade 5, will have increased
significantly.
Luis and Lili's grandmother Dona Eloisa is the educator at the
preschool they attend. Eloisa has been a preschool educator for six years.
She too has had a hard and difficult life. Almost fifteen years ago,
her eldest son committed suicide as a result of political oppression
and poverty. Eloisa was depressed following her loss and began working
at the preschool as a janitor. When the educator at the preschool left
it six years ago, Eloisa took over those responsibilities although she
was not properly trained to teach. Through Pueblito's ¡ART
WORKS! Program, Eloisa has received proper training to effectively administer
the curriculum. This program has helped Eloisa become more confident
in her teaching abilities. In turn, the children including Luis and Lili
feel the self-confidence of their educator and the time they spend at
the preschool is positive and rewarding for them.
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PROGRAMS AND COURSES 
