Project Launch:

In the community of Santa Rita, Costa Rica, there are few opportunities for young people to participate in programs or activities outside of the short school days. Children generally have about three or four hours of school a day and then either go home to do chores or play in the streets. The Arte por la Paz or “Art for Peace” program, funded with $500 from World Connect’s Kids to Kids program in 2009 uses poetry, painting and drawing, singing, theatre and other types of art to educate children about violence. Arte por la Paz began in March 2003 by a group of local artists in Costa Rica in response to the war in Iraq. In 2005, Peace Corps Volunteers started bringing the program to their respective communities to carry out educational sessions about violence and communication through art project. The importance of art in the lives of young children cannot be underestimated. Art can help create pride, cooperation, creativity, happiness, discipline, goals, and self-esteem. In addition, in a country such as Costa Rica, where people are not used to expressing their feelings in a group, art can give children a more comfortable outlet to describe how they think and feel.