Last week we caught up with the Thailand art school project, run by Chatchada Kruakaew, for the first time in over 6 months. The travelling art program, which is designed to help children express themselves through art – especially those kids who have suffered a lot in the lives so far – is going from strength to strength.More Art From Kids’ Thai Art School
August 25th, 2011
Last week we caught up with the Thailand art school project, run by Chatchada Kruakaew, for the first time in over 6 months. The travelling art program, which is designed to help children express themselves through art – especially those kids who have suffered a lot in the lives so far – is going from strength to strength.Thailand Art Program Going Strong
August 17th, 2011
It’s been a bit quiet of late on the Thailand art school project with the great Chatchada Kruakaew and her travelling art program. Area 3 last heard from her and her students just after the New Year when we received some great shots of the kids and their art.
You can see those here at Happy Valentines From Thailand.
Now, despite the long break, we have just been sent some more great art shots. Jump now… Read the rest of this entry »
Reading Lunch Success – Chapter 2
August 9th, 2011
Last week, teacher Debbie Valette took us through an interesting lunch date with some of her reading students and how the experience helped them hone their newly gained reading skills in the real world.
It also gave them a chance to discuss the books they are currently reading and also a wide range of topics that those books presented to them. You can catch up on that here – “Reading Lunch A Success – Chapter 1″
Here’s what happened after lunch:
“From there we headed to Boulder’s only local bookstore to find a new read [see photo].
I attached a couple of pictures of the girls looking for books. We finally found one we could all agree on. It’s called Illegal by Bettina Restrepo.
Reading Lunch A Success – Chapter 1
August 2nd, 2011
When teaching kids with reading difficulties how to read, it doesn’t always have to be in a class-related environment. In fact, there are a wealth of skills that budding readers can learn outside of the class, especially how valuable reading can be in a real-world situation.
Our favorite teaching guru, Debbie Valette, in Boulder Colorado, takes time out to bring some of her readers out and about during the summer break, to see how they cope in the real world. She was in contact recently to let us in on how one of her summer lunch trips went.
Hi, I hope all is well with you! We’ve been having a great summer. I met with my two motivated summer readers yesterday. We met at a fancy restaurant called Q’s where we had the tasting menu: chilled pea soup with creme fraiche, trout on a bed of poblano hash with mole sauce, and a variety of yummy desserts. The girls especially liked the creme fraiche! (They said it tasted like ranch dressing!) The pea soup was a little challenging for them, but they loved everything else.
The lunch went splendidly – so many teachable moments. They learned new food-related words, how to calculate…. Read the rest of this entry »
Driving Licence Delivers Brighter Future
July 26th, 2011
The humble driving licence is often taken for granted by teenagers but in Cameroon, a driving licence is a way out of poverty.
Congratulations to Pilate Diangha, a teenager sponsored by GMMAfrica to attend driving school, who has just received his driving licence. That licence opens up a wealth of job opportunities for Pilate, from running a taxi to becoming a driver for a company. Considering Pilate was being worked to death on a cocoa farm not so long ago, passing his driving test has given him a brighter future.
Pilate started the course….. Read the rest of this entry »
Fashion Combats Poverty In Honduras
July 20th, 2011
The fashion industry often gets [sometimes deservedly] a bad rap for having people in underdeveloped countries create their latest clothes lines for pennies while selling them for thousands of dollars in the shops of the developed world.
However, Moda Esperanza – the brilliant charity fashion group that turns the tabs from soda cans into fashionable accessories – is continuing to do the opposite. The group – set up to help single mothers in Honduras, and now Chicago – takes the worthless soda can tabs and turns them into very hip, fashion accessories [see photo on right]. The money earned then goes straight back to the people that really need it.
To put that in perspective, the group gave us some idea of how important the sale of even just one item can be to those women:
Cameroon Says Goodbye to Super Volunteer, Dee Ryan
July 12th, 2011
One of the best volunteers working with GMMAfrica – Dee Ryan – headed home to Ireland last month and we’ve just had some photos of Dee from her leaving party.
Dee – she’s the most colorfully dressed one in the middle – has been there a year and although she will be coming back to check in with the education charity, she will be sorely missed. Rev Teh Francis sent some shots and this message:
“Greetings from this end. Things are pretty going on fine with GMM, Cameroon. We continue to thank you for all the support we have received from you. I just wanted to share with you some photos of a send off party of our Irish volunteer, Dee. She has been here one whole year working on the child sponsorship program and other issues still involving the organization. She has proven just one of the best we ever had. We are so satisfied with her work. We weep to see her go. She left earlier this month and will be coming back often. We forgot to share with you some photos of a send off party we had for her. Thank you again for all your concern. You can check the children still needing sponsors here.”
Goodbye for now to Dee but Rev Francis is on the lookout for other volunteers hoping to make a difference, and to take time out to go to Cameroon and see first-hand the great work being done educating children to help break them out of the poverty trap and give them a better future.
Contact him at: revteh@gmmafrica.org. More shots below


School Holidays Arrive in Cameroon
June 9th, 2011
Our friends at the charity GMM Africa sent over some shots of the kids at the school in Jinkfuin preparing to go on their summer holidays.
The children, for whom education would be impossible without the work of GMM Africa and the schools it sets up, are preparing for a well-deserved break and have just finished their last exams before they break up. Charity director, Teh Francis wrote to us:
“We thank you for your continual intervention in helping the needy people here as evidenced by your providing a means of transportation for us in the past, sponsorship and starting a sustainable project. Most beneficiaries of your support have been pupils at the elementary school Jinkfuin. They have written their final exams and are prepared for the summer holidays.
We wanted to share some photos with you before they go on holidays. Christina [pictured on the left], our partner in the UK, recently visited the institution and donated a lot of school material. Thank you for all the care you’ve been offering to the disadvantaged people of Africa.”
We at Catalyst Exhibits would like to wish all the wonderful kids and those at GMM Africa, the very best for their well-earned summer vacation.
You can read more about Christine’s recent visit in Cameroon Kids Get Special Visitor.
Cameroon Kids Get Special Visitor
June 1st, 2011
Some of Cameroon’s budding education projects, led by charity GMM Africa, had a special visitor in recent weeks. Christina Clover, the founder of Commit2Africa, visited Reverend Teh Francis and the kids in Jinkfuin school to see how things are going and to catch up with Irish volunteer Dee Ryan, before she headed back to Ireland. you can see some photos from the visit.
Established in 2010, the registered Commit2Africa charity is funded entirely by donations from businesses and individuals and has concentrated its initial efforts in Cameroon.
The group’s short term goals involve getting sponsors for children in Africa to attend school – from as little as $16 per month. The group also provides donations of food and clothing to those that need it most.
With GMM, Christina and her small team have been working on getting a photocopier over there, as books cost a lot and photocopying them would allow every child to have the right material.
In addition, they have been collecting old computers and sending them over where they are put to good use. Christina also wants to build two new classrooms as the the current school is filled to capacity and more and more and children want to attend.
All of us here at Catalyst Exhibits just want to send our best wishes to Christina and Teh for the work they are doing on the ground in Cameroon and we’re proud to be helping out.
If you want to help out, visit Commit2Africa here.
Reading Class Needs Funding
May 24th, 2011
In recent posts we have heard from super-teacher Debbie Valette in Boulder, Colorado about how her special reading classes is helping teens with reading difficulties catch back up - and sometimes overtake – their classmates.
Just as importantly, it’s succeeded in instilling in them a life-long love of books and reading.
To continue and improve her reading program, Debbie has laid out her plans for the future goals below.
“In case you are interested, my goals for the future (if I receive another grant from Catalyst) include the following: Read the rest of this entry »
Questions?