I The Parish of Notre Dame de Guadeloupe
Father Ricardo Gomez and Marylyn Mungur are our contacts in working with groups of homeless children whom they assist as part of their social outreach program in Nairobi, Kenya.

II The International School of Kenya
 Liza Mackay, head of the Art Department, collaborating with the above organization and contacts, setup an exchange program between her students and the homeless children, as a result of Unmasking Shadows 2004: Integrating Street Kids through Art.

( a )  TRADITIONAL + DIGITAL STORY WORKSHOPS
The Creation of a MultiMedia Book Telling the Stories of the Children

I Writing and Recording Workshop
Each child and project participant will write and voice-record  a 1-page story concerning their life journey and presence on the streets of Nairobi. These testimonies address social accounts of survival.

II 2D & 3D Illustration Workshop
Furthering image making skills obtained during Unmasking Shadows 04, children will be lead in creating accompanying visuals for their stories. Collecting and recycling materials from environment to produce drawings and sculptures will be emphasized as socially-responsible creation.

III Photography Workshop
Digital and disposable manual cameras are new mediums of expression the children will use to capture individual moments that surround their personal history. Besides affecting how they see themselves, this activity will help to illustrate texts and prepare for the next step of the project: making a documentary.

 ( b)  DOCUMENTARY FILM : STORIES OF SURVIVAL

 A Documentary will be filmed using the following components:

I Integrating narratives from Story workshops into the film narrative

II Interviewing children, community members and partner organizations  to collect different opinions on why child homelessness remains a critical issue in contemporary Nairobi society and how social responsibility can be adressed

IIIIncluding the process of the project activities as they are carried out on-site to give international audiences the feel of how social change through Active Citizenship occurs

IVAllowing the children to work with video cameras will provide audiences with a raw form of cinematography reflecting the reality of the streets. A time-based format creates a far more tangible understanding to audiences who so far have only witnessed still images.

( c ) WEBSITE : www. U n m a s k i n g  S h a d o w s . o r g
Maintaining an up-to-date website featuring our ongoing collaboration with the children and sharing their creations in terms of text, images and video clips.

In 2004, Unmasking Shadows was a powerful catalyst in achieving the following goals:

(i) 55% of street children participating in Unmasking Shadows 2004 integrated a rehabilitation/care center where they were provided with food, shelter and a drug-free environment.

(ii) An exchange between ISK and the Street Children.

(iii) Creation of The Unmasking Shadows Fund through the Guadaloupe Church, an emegency fund for supplying food to children without food and water.

(iv) Raising awareness about the cause for Unmasking Shadows in France, USA, Italy, Mauritius, Spain and Kenya and mobilizing 10 International artists for 2006 session.

Building on to these results we aim this time at:

(i) Increasing community communications and mobilization of resources so that more children find a safe and stable place.

(ii) Internationally propagating Unmasking Shadow’s philosophy of grassroot s International Citizenship as supported by UCCPS by engaging 10 International Visiting Artists. More about University College of Citizenship and Public Service can be learnt at:
http://uccps.tufts.edu

(iii) Posting on Unmasking Shadows, Tufts Univerity, SMFA, Massart Websites the finished stories as a testimony of collaboration between educational institutions and their particpants.
(iv) Screening of the Documentary film in donor schools and international film festivals.

In order to create a long-lasting impact on the lives of the children we also hope that through our exhibitions we would be able to sell prints of the photographs, as well as drawing drawings: creating a fund for them so that they may be able to pay for school and other necessary expensesMany of them are unable to read or write, and school is a neccesary element to enable them to find jobs.

> ENGAGING
active international citizens in a creative and effective program designed in empowering street children in their local communities through art.

>SHARING
program experience with TUFTS UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS and MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF ART communities exposing them to contrasting cultural and social realities, as well as other educational institutes across the world.

> PROMOTING
concept of an effective GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT so as to directly instigate social change and proving that it works.

> CREATING
a space for  human-artistic collaboration and exchange which results in mobilisation of a communities’ resources and communication leading to inner self-sustaining development.

We would like to outreach to the global community with our artwork. We hope to have an array of formal exhibtions of Unmasking Shadows, which would include the childrens artwork, all ranging from the various workshops they participate in. Along with exhibtion of work done by the children, we hope to also host our own collaborative work we make during our stay in Nairobi Kenya. We would also hope to reach mass audiences with our Documentary Film: Finding Light: Stories of Survial. Our documentary film will have screenings along with our exhibtions at both Tufts University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. It is most likely that our film will also reach audiences at film festivals both domestic and international.