Arts therapy

For two days last week I was able to go to a different aftercare home I had not been to before.  I went with the team from the UK and it was such a great time.  They are very specific in their plan and objectives in the homes and spend so much time working on what exactly they do with the girls.  I am beyond thankful to be able to see them in action and to see the impact they had on the girls.  It was a big picture goal they were seeking, all revolving around self image and building confidence and their self esteem.  They all came with different skills, whether that is drama, dance, or voice.  They honed in on those specific categories so well.  The girls really responded well with all the different aspects, it was so cool to see.  I was able to help out with things and have direct contact with the girls which is definitely something that I love to do.  It is awesome to see a team with such skill that can use so many different things, but they all flowed well into one another and nothing seemed forced or like it didn't fit.  They did dance, and singing and crafts that all revolved around their main topics of instilling characteristics like strength, joyfulness, courage, generosity, perserverance, and other things.  In addition to being able to be there with them, I was able to speak to each one of them about their respective talents and how they go about planning and carrying out the services.  They never do crafts or games just for the sake of doing it.  Every single aspect of the day is planned for a purpose and for an overarching objective.  I appreciate that so much because so many teams can come and do random things but its so wonderful to see a team that spent at least 3 hours every night working on making the best use of their time and resources.

Additionally, they left their toolkit and information for every part of their trip so that we could hopefully replicate it with other groups.  It is such an asset to the team.  I was definitely sad to see them go!