Across some rusty train tracks in a second story corner building lies a true gem in the Miami neighborhood of Little Haiti. Through a purple painted door on a worn down building and up an old staircase lies a beautiful safe haven of art and love for the children in this rough neighborhood.

A few months ago, we decided that our Art Basel event would need a nonprofit beneficiary that stood for the beliefs and principles that Lila Nikole and I both aligned ourselves with. The spirit that exists within the walls of Art Studio Miami is one of Love and Spiritual Growth. They believe in the holistic wellness of all of their students and the teachers there are all selfless volunteers. Rachel (the director) believes in integrating art curriculum into academic curriculum and the results have proven more than effective. With art budgets being cut all over the city of Miami, some students will never have the opportunity to experience the arts in schools. Art Studio Miami makes sure that the students in their program will have that enrichment along with a solid knowledge of body health, spiritual health and love for one another.

This past week our team visited the center and donated thousands of dollars worth of art supplies as well as a check to help the center with their operating costs. Each child received a gift bag full of supplies and I was able to interview a few of the older children about their experiences in the center. It was a beautiful experience and I surely won’t forget the looks on the beautiful children’s faces. One of students, Kery Mauvais, even emailed me some of his work (pictured below.) So inspirational!!!!

Art is Necessary!!

Artwork by student, Kery Mauvais:

Hi!

As many of you know, I sponsor an environmental group for school age children. Over the past four years we have collected thousands of pounds of paper as well as TONS (literally) of garbage from the streets in Miami neighborhoods. My goal is to raise environmental awareness to underpriveleged inner city youth.

A few months ago, I took my daughter to a reggae festival and met a great group that donates seeds to schools/groups and teaches children how to grow their own veggies in mini greenhouses. The group is called “A Cup of Green.” I figured that this would be an amazing project to introduce to my club as so many inner city kids live in “food deserts” and never see fresh food or see actual food growing from the Earth.

I brought some of the donated seeds to my group and we had a blast planting them in recycled water bottles, watching them grow and then donating the seedlings to a local community garden. It was so much fun that I then bought more seeds on my own and had over 300 children participate.

“Let your children connect with the earth and gain a new appreciation for their food. Our Edible Garden Workshops for kids will do just that. Here are some of the benefits for participating children and schools.”

•Understand how vegetables and fruits are grown
•Learn where fruits and vegetables come from
•Explore the different smells, textures, and colors of the different herbs, veggies, and fruits
•We bring the workshop to them allowing them to share this experience with their friends and teachers
•They can take their hard work home or leave it at school to nurture it and watch it grow (strengthening their sense of responsibility and self assurance)
•Teachers can participate or watch, allowing for a safe learning environment
•All children & schools will receive a certificate of completion and their photos electronically*
•Schools can choose to keep the seedlingor donate them to community gardens for under privileged children
•All children will receive a Bio-Kit created by us and Bio-Planet, containing seeds, instructions, a recipe , and some fun facts
•Additional Fund Raising options are also available for schools, camps, community centers and sports teams!

Call (305) 610-6265
(954) 662-5003
info@seedingactions.com

“It always amazes me that we can feel sorrow for the abused/neglected child yet contempt for the adult they grow into.”
(paraphrased from a quote of an author I cannot remember!)

One day he will be all grown up..and just as scared...

This quote hits home for me. Working with children in some capacity since I was 17 years old, I have always seen the solution to the problem as relatively simple: Invest in a child today so that they don’t become a problem of tomorrow.

Ask yourself, “Am I doing the most I possibly can to invest into the children of tomorrow?” Whether it be donating money or your time to an after school program, taking the time to mentor children in your neighborhood or even writing letter to your government in support of programs for public schools, it all counts.
If you aren’t doing your best, please don’t complain or be surprised when twenty years from now those same children break into your house and rob you.

It takes a village.

Namaste,

Aisha Thalia

Anyone who knows me knows that I have zero tolerance for people birthing, creating, adopting or fostering children without taking care of them. Look at all the deadbeat parents we have out here in the world! It is beyond sad! The number of neglected and abandoned children is skyrocketing WAY out of control. We need to have a better system of accountability in our communities. The child support system is a JOKE in some states and the community accountability for being a good parent just doesn’t exist as it does in some countries (i.e, take care of your children or be ostracized or hurt.)

We don’t even bother to ask, “Where is the father?” anymore because single mother households have become the norm (especially in our black community.) This is a huge problem.

We are witnessing a dangerous cycle. We have young men being raised solely by women, who then grow up believing the role of a father isn’t an important one. Those young men continue on to adulthood and abandon their children or play a very limited role in their lives. We also have young women growing up without fathers that will continue into adulthood believing that absent fathers are acceptable. These women will also be less likely to find a partner later in life thats sticks around to parent with her. This horrifying cycle just goes on and on. We need to do better.

Let’s start with the community. Why aren’t we talking to our young fathers and encouraging them to be PARENTS? Why do we have so many Baby Boys in our community? Do I need ask why so many mothers allow their adult sons that have children to still live at home, sometimes jobless? Isn’t this enabling our young men to keep having children recklessly? Where is the accountability? By babying our young men who have chosen the route of absentee parent aren’t we simply condoning their behavior? Let your men grow into men! Stop treating them like permanent children. Help them set goals and stick to them! If we teach our young men responsibility early in life we wouldn’t have to have the government interfere and TELL him what to do. By ignoring it, we are part of the problem.

I guess I always have a lot of questions in these posts. :/

Here’s what I do know. Single moms UNFAIRLY get blamed for everything. As an educator I see many teachers blaming the moms for not doing/teaching this or that but my next question always is “Where is the dad?” Often times on the news you will see a single mother snap out from stress and endanger her children. I ask, “Where was the dad when this happened?” It takes more than one person to create a child so why is the blame being unfairly placed on one side? If dads helped out more we could alleviate a lot of stress for mothers.

Am I taking all responsibility away from the mother? Of course not. If you neglect/abandon your child, you SHOULD be punished, but do you not see the double standard here? I know dozens of single mothers that haven’t received child support in months (sometimes YEARS) from the fathers! Are these fathers in jail or being punsihed? Nope. Isn’t that considered abandonment? Neglect? If the custodial mother decides not to buy groceries and the child doesn’t eat for a few days, that’s absolutely neglect that can and should be reported. Why isn’t late payment of child support punished as harshly? Maybe if the punishment was more consistent we would see more active parents. I know a lot of you feel that we shouldn’t “make” a man be a father, but I feel we need to demand that all parents at the very least contribute financially to the well being of their children even if they refuse to be there emotionally or physically.

Of course the ideal situation is to have each parent be there physically, emotionally and financially for their child. I think we need COMMUNITY in order to do this. If you see a man not being the great parent you KNOW he is capable of being, tell him about it. If you know your best friend has money for everything else but his kids, check him. It takes a village to raise a child and we have a lot of work to do!

Dads, your kids NEED YOU! You aren’t optional. Even if your father wasnt there for you as a child, channel that hurt into something positive and let the cycle of neglect end with YOU.

Namaste,

Aisha Thalia