The Lion’s Club from Bolivia organized a few weeks ago the “Peace Poster” contest throughout the country, to reach out especially to boys and girls. With this contest they were interested in reaching institutionalized children, deprived of parental care, who reside in various centers, victims of violence, abandonment and street situations. One of the objectives was for these children to receive a message of peace, love and hope, generating resilience to overcome the adverse circumstances they have suffered in their lives.
The adolescents from our Casa San José participated in the contest held at the Cochabamba level for a subsequent national selection. The educators of the center helped and accompanied them to develop their artistic skills in drawing and painting, so that they could express what peace means to them.
We were pleasantly surprised when we learned that our teenagers' drawings had been selected for a showing throughout Bolivia. In this way, and with events like this, the different skills and artistic abilities of all the children and adolescents welcomed at Casa San José are reinforced, and they discover many skills that so far, perhaps due to the type of lives they experienced with their families, had not been stimulated. And, of course, they were awarded for their art and creativity. We rejoice with them!
