On Finding Ways to Help

I recently ran into this site, for an organization called Barefoot Artists. This is a project of artist Lily Yeh, who also founded the Village for Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia.

Immediately, my thoughts upon seeing this are "this is so cool!" and "how can I help?" To be quite honest, I wanted to know more as soon as I read Barefoot Artists mission. I didn't even have to read it in its entirety to feel that this organization has, at its core, goals similar to my own:

Barefoot Artists seeks to bear witness to the forgotten and the oppressed, and works to share their stories with the broader public to promote understanding and action.

By engaging the poorest communities around the world with "participatory and multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, promote economic development, and preserve and promote indigenous art and culture", they are showing, not just telling how art can make individuals and communities better. I like that an organization like this seeks to learn from and develop projects with communities rather than someone coming from somewhere else telling a group of people that they are doing it wrong, whatever it may be.

From this and projects like it, I realize that I, too, can help...as soon as I figure out how.