To Teach The Children Who Do Not Know Love, How To Love Themselves.

I live in an extremely rough neighborhood where the sound of gunshots has become a normal part of our every day lives. In my apartment complex it is not uncommon to see yellow police crime tape blocking off an area while the police investigate yet another homicide. Drug dealers and drug addicts, gang bangers and ex-cons make up the majority of the people who live here. It is not safe for anyone no matter day or night to be outside. Caught up in the middle of this mess are the children who roam around freely with no parental supervision what so ever. No one cares enough to protect these poor little kids from any of the dangers that we all face. They all clearly exhibit signs of neglect and some even abuse. They run around and have complete disrespect for everyone including their own family and friends. Most of them use the most offensive language and they do not care who is around to hear them. They throw trash all over the place and destroy everything they can get their hands on including the playground the complex built for them. I have seen 3 year olds outside alone walking around aimlessly with no one following them. Sometimes the older kids will be outside screaming and beating on each other until 3 or 4am. They are becoming products of this environment and not a soul loves or cares about them enough to teach them that this is not the way to live. No one tells them that guns and violence are not "cool". They need to be taught that they can rise above this craziness and they can become what ever they want to be. At least more than what they are being raised around, after all they are the future of this country. If no one shows them positivity then I fear for what the future will be like for everyone.

These parents do not love their own children and I can only assume it is because no one ever showed them any love. Somewhere, somehow, some way, there has got to be something that can be done to stop this cycle from repeating itself. I refuse to be the one to call and get our local CPS agency involved for various reasons the main one being the trauma that these children go through when removed from their homes. However, my heart hurts to see these babies all desperate for someone to show them something more than what they are surrounded by every second of every day. Children don't naturally want to be bad they just follow the examples that they are shown and if all the things they are subjected to are bad then how will they ever know anything good? This is why I decided to take my passion for crafting and pass it on to them so that they can both learn new skills that could potentially help them in the future and also bring them a sense of pride that will boost their self esteem. I want to be the positive example for them to show them that there is good in all of them and they deserve to be loved and in return love themselves. If I can reach these children and influence a positive change then I know it will make their futures just a little brighter.

I had to find a way to reach them that would not upset their parents or bring too much attention to myself. I walk a very thin line since these people are so messed up and violent that if they do not like what I am trying to do then they could easily put an end to it or make my life a living hell. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, however I refused to be a coward just like everyone else because these children deserve more. I came up with the idea to create notebooks and journals with motivational sayings on them with matching pens to hand out to them. I used epoxy resin to make the covers and pens. I also started to make bookmarkers, rulers, pencil cases, paperclips and scissors with the top of them made out of resin. I then donated these crafts to any of the children that showed interest in them. Unfortunately this did not go over very well as they showed little to no interest in these items. I had to dig a little deeper into myself to come up with a way to help them. So I put myself in their shoes and thought about what I would like to do if I were them.

The idea finally came to me that I would start an arts and craft class, free of charge, that they can come to and make their own creations to bring home. With their parents permission I would also speak to them about the dangers of drugs, guns, and violence. At the same time build up their self esteem by speaking to them about each one of their abilities and praise them for the items they create. I didn't have a perfect childhood nor did we have a lot of money but I had a family who loved me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I had to struggle and work hard to open my own business but I finally did it eventually. With business ownership comes a sense of pride and accomplishment so I want to share my story with them in hopes that it will inspire them to want to own their own business too no matter what challenges they face.

I use crafting as a means to let the stresses of every day go and get lost in the creative process. I love the way I feel when I finish a project and see the end result and the ego boost I get when people compliment something I made. That was the drive behind my passion to craft until now these children have become the reason. I want them to feel all the good that comes along with arts and crafts. I have invested in a good amount of supplies that I will need to offer them a variety of crafts. I not only use Epoxy Resin but I also make crafts using other materials such as paper crafts, crochet, needle point, oven bake clay, paint, jewelry making, scrap booking, stickers, diamond painting. string art such as bracelet making, greeting cards, stamps, embroidery, and I make my own coloring books and motivational pictures as well. If I offer them a wide variety of items to choose from then I know more children with get involved. I will show them 1 craft idea every class that they can make to take home and then after if they want free time to create more I will let them have free range of the other crafting items.

I have not yet started these classes as it is taking me some time to get the money together to purchase all of the items I will need. I have to have enough supplies for any number of children to attend my classes so that no one gets left out. My hopes are to be ready to start my first class before the holidays this year so that we can make cool holiday crafts. I am sure that I will be able to accomplish this goal hopefully with help from other people or agencies that want to help these children as well. I know that this will make a difference in these childrens lives and I can not wait until I witness the good that comes from that change. Love and kindness are contagious so if I start by showing them that they deserve love and kindness maybe they will pass that on to more children. All I know is that I can't just sit and watch these children who know no love go on this way. To teach the children who do not know love how to love themselves through arts and crafts and a positive example. This is my passion now and I will not give up no matter what challenges I face. If this goes well then hopefully it will inspire more people to do something in their communities to become the positive example for loveless children around them too. Spread the love and watch it grow one child at a time.