1125 Stop and Linger

 

You may remember me mentioning the Chicago Botanic Gardens as a favorite place of mine to visit.  The water lily gardens are always filled with wide-eyed photographers, both professional and amateurs like me.  We just can't get enough of the many beautiful varieties of water lilies.  There are lily pads of all colors and sizes, even one variety with pads two feet in diameter.  

Water lilies are not easy to paint.  Make a mistake and you've painted pac man.  

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1125-stop-and-linger/969591

1008 Ferris Wheel

 Hello.  As you may know, I've been working on abstraction and there is so much to learn.  There are many abstract formations and in this painting I was working on the circular format.  I see this one alot on Pinterest, so I guess it must be popular.  It isn't as easy to paint as it may look, but I stuck with it because I love the colors, which remind me of sherbet.    This is a 12" square, but I would love a reason to paint this much larger.  

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1008-ferris-wheel/852474

996 Dreams Deferred

 

This young boy is one of many Middle East refugee children who have been served by ANERA. I have painted many of these children in the last few years for "The Innocents Project," my attempt to recognize the children  and to bring recognition to a great non-governmental organization, ANERA.  

I have seen first hand that Lebanon is a beautiful country with the nicest, most giving people in the world.  Unfortunately, she has been plagued with a weak and confusing government for many years.  In addition, the influx of Syrian and Palestinian refugees have pushed Lebanon into an economic collapse.  When you add the COVID-19 pandemic and the horrific explosion at Lebanon's main port to the mix, it is a recipe for disaster.  Many NGOs and foreign governments have come to Lebanon's aid, but there is just too much work to be done.

ANERA is an 50+ year old American organization located in Washington, D.C.  ANERA stands for American Near East Refugee Aid and I am very familiar with the great work they do in the Middle East.  They have stepped up to work with other groups in the region to provide medicines, medical supplies and PPE to the families affected by the explosion.  They are rehabilitating homes, mobilizing volunteers, distributing water and food.  As an unfortunate reminder, almost 200 lives were lost in the avoidable explosion at Lebanon's main port,  6,000 people injured and hundreds of thousands of people  displaced.  Many children have been separated from their parents or are still missing.   

ANERA believes that education is key.  They have built and rebuilt schools in refugee camps and have developed programs for youth, who have been the most underserved, exploited and marginalized age group.  Children are not able to get a good education in Lebanon, as public schools are overcrowded, violent and have a poor reputation.  Not everyone can afford private schools.   The official Lebanese school system is not open to Palestinians.  They attend schools run by the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UMRWA), which are overcrowded and underfunded.  39 percent of Palestinian  teenagers from Lebanon and 64 percent of Palestinian refugees from Syria do not complete their education.  There is so much more to report on the glooming situation, but next I will focus on the positive.

ANERA offers many practical vocational programs which provide cash to the youth employees who graduate.  Young people are taking the skills they have learned from ANERA's programs to help the people of Lebanon.  Their cooking and catering students help to prepare large quantities of food to feed many people.  Their carpentry students are helping to make repairs to homes damaged by the blast.  Other students are participating in nursing, solar installation, plumbing, electricity, and sewing courses---all practical skills which help both students and others.  They have improved water systems in refugee areas, improved electrical hazards, and many other improvements to refugee camps, which is their regular focus.  

There is so much more to write about this great organization, but you can read about them online at ANERA.org.  They are passionate people who have devoted themselves to give dignity to those who live in the worst possible living conditions.  Please consider making a donation, no matter how small, to this fine organization.

ANERA

1111 14th Street NW, #400

Washington, DC 20005

anera.org

978 Powerful Forces

If you have been following my painting journey, you know a few things about me.  Surely you must know that I am not a portrait artist and that I am self taught in that genre.  You also must know that I passionately paint Palestinian refugee children's portraits to bring awareness and attention to a non-profit, non-political organization, ANERA,  American Near East Refugee Aid.  This is my 27th portrait in the series of The Innocence Project.

I was prepared to write about women and girls in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria being a powerful force in their communities as breadwinners, providers, and role models---areas that ANERA serves.

But if we think we have it bad here in the United States, it is absolutely a walk in the park compared to Palestinian refugees in any of these countries, particularly in Lebanon.  Here is a quote from ANERA'S blog about the conditions in Lebanon:

"All of Lebanon is now on two hours of electricity per day. Randomly coming on and off. It used to be more scheduled. Morale is down in the whole country. There continue to be demonstrations in the streets. The army is more visible. The value of the Lebanese pound continues its downward slide. There are shortages in basics, like medicines. Many shops are not even selling items because they don’t know what price to charge. It’s chaotic. People are rushing to buy stuff and stock up in their homes."

The situation is worsening every day for the 1.7 million Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.  Conditions have been terrible, unemployments rates are high and people have very little access to education and health care.  The ANERA Country Director in Lebanon reports that despite the resiliency of the people, there is a sense of despair, fear, and hopelessness.  The World Food Program estimates that 83% of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living in crushing poverty.  

Thankfully the virus hasn't spiked in Lebanon but the numbers are rising.  ANERA provides valuable disinfection kits with bleach, soap and laundry detergent, as well as hygiene kits.  They also provide food, and important medicines like cancer and chronic disease medications.

There is SO much more I could tell you about ANERA and the great work they do to bring dignity and improved living conditions, education, educational programs, etc. but I know you would gain much more by looking at their website, www.ANERA.org.  I know you will be impressed.  If you are so moved, please make a donation to ANERA and I promise you it will be well spent.  If possible, mention The Innocents Project 

Thanks for your consideration.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/978-powerful-forces/812905

936 The Environmentalist

Via Anera's February 11 Facebook video, I was introduced to this 12-year old Palestinian, Hatem, who lives in Burj Shemali Refugee camp in South Lebanon.  I was taken aback by his poise and enthusiasm in explaining how Anera works to promote environmentalism and good hygiene in Lebanon.  Hatem attends one of UNRWA's schools and in addition to conducting a tour of his school, he explained that Anera helped clean the area in just 3 days, and collected 60,000 bottle caps, which were later used in an art installation.

Anera conducts a series of awareness sessions at schools "to change attitudes and behaviors around littering, pollution, recycling, sorting waste at source and composting.  Anera has designed and rolled out a year-long plan, through which these core themes are communicated to young children in an interactive and fun way.  The long term goal is to help shape the youth in Lebanon regarding the environment."

This program is funded by UNICEF and implemented by Anera.  As you may know, I am devoted to Anera and the great work they do in SO many ways to improve lives of refugees in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Jordan.  This is one of nearly three dozen portraits I have painted of Palestinian Refugee children in my effort to raise awareness of Anera's good work, which I firmly believe in.

Please consider making a donation to Anera, and mention The Innocents Project.  www.anera.org

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/936-the-environmentalist/756770

926 Moving Forward

This painting is the 33rd of a series, The Innocents Project, which was designed to raise awareness of the good work that American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) provides to refugees in the Middle East.  I do not work for ANERA, but I strongly believe in the work they do and I support them, and I encourage you to support them too.

Despite the United States complete withdrawal of aid totaling $500M for Palestinian relief, ANERA.org finds ways to serve refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine and to restore some sense of dignity to them.  Unfortunately, with these cuts ANERA had to cut two-thirds of their valued staff in Palestine, which was very difficult to do.

The impact of the U.S. funding cuts, according to ANERA:
"57,000 people in Gaza will not have access to reliable water;
Two communities in the West Bank are without new schools; (the little girl in this painting is from the West Bank);
119,800 people lost access to vital medicines and health care;
16,000 breast cancer patients no longer have access to treatment in Gaza;
150,000 Palestinians in Gaza lost immediate food and vocational assistance'
1.3 million Palestinians are at risk of losing aid and jobs due to the funding cuts."

All of this sounds hopeless to me, but ANERA somehow comes through, and despite these funding cuts, ANERA is managing to deliver 28 shipments of medicine and supplies for Palestinian patients, they are building seven new preschools in the West Bank, improving water and sanitation for almost 28,000 residents, and are installing greenhouses on 91 Gaza farmers' land.  This and so much more.

I encourage you to read about all the good work that ANERA does.  You can read their extensive report on the funding cuts here:  https://www.anera.org/blog/on-the-ground-u-s-funding-cuts-to-palestine/?utm_source=link&utm_medium=email&utm_content=aneraenews&utm_campaign=enews-june19&s_src=aneraenews&s_subsrc=enews-june19

www.anera.org

I would love it if you would consider making a donation, and if so, please mention The Innocents Project.  Thanks for your consideration.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/926-moving-forward/747921