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pay art forward

About Me

Pay Art Forward is an outreach program, based off the philosophy "pay it forward," that uses arts education to empower and uplift people living in poverty or conflict.

U.N. aid workers gave video cameras to 30 Somali children who had been uprooted by fighting in Mogadishu and asked them to capture their daily life in settlements for displaced people.

The children talked of food and shelters, of clothes and education. They dreamed of being doctors, teachers and pilots. They spoke of their desire for peace. The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 1 million people have been displaced inside Somalia. The photos in the following video are a result of the children's work...

My Interests

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How can you help Pay Art Forward?

- Keep checking our myspace page for updates. These are just the basics on our new profile and we have much more news to share! So check back to see what we are up to and to see who is working with us!

- Donate items. Basically anything you can think of relating to the arts or sports, we can put to excellent use! One of our greatest demands is for digital cameras so that children in developing countries can document their lives and use their photos to create awareness.

- Want to Pay Art Forward in your own community? Become a PAF facilitator! Send us a message for more information.

- Spread the word and get people involved! Tell your friends and family about Pay Art Forward. Copy and paste the following code into your profile to display our logo and link to this page:

My Blog

Iraqi Children Needing Art to Survive

Raghed Bassam is only 5 years old, but she was depressed for weeks  until Cinderella and Donald Duck came to visit her. Raghed is a long-term leukemia patient. She's shown significant signs of impr...
Posted by on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:37:00 GMT

Why Art is More Powerful than War -- A personal message from Christina, the founder of PAF

Dear Friends,As a young girl, imaginary monsters and wild shadows often kept me wide-eyed and awake with fright, but I never knew a sleepless night due to fear of a rebel army or thoughts of a blood s...
Posted by on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:23:00 GMT

More than just break dancing in Uganda with our Board Member, Abramz Tekya

All Ugandans have grown up with conflicts. The Breakdance Project Uganda is trying to break the chain.By Sidsel Lee Winthrop & Vibeke QuaadeIt's Wednesday at 5pm, loud Hip Hop beats are booming fr...
Posted by on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:33:00 GMT