When I was a child, I wanted to be an artist, but unfortunately it was not possible. Then I became a psychologist, and one day, I found out that art can be therapeutic. That was the moment I knew I could combine my childhood dream for art and my life as a mental health professional.
Children and young people aspire a lot and want to create something big. In my beautiful country Ethiopia, I saw children without enough space to share their dreams and express themselves. So, I thought, “What can I do to create a safe space for children to come and do all this?” I started to dream of seeing a world where everyone has the freedom to express, heal, and thrive through any form of artistic activity.
Then, I met an international circus artist named Solgit and we established an organization in Ethiopia in 2016. It is called SunEko Art for Social Development and we are practicing social circus as a social development tool, which includes music, dance, theater, and amateur sports that engage children and adolescents. Children and youth from our program have shown better communication, well-being, academic achievement, creativity, physical wellness, and behavioral change.
We started with a small art center six years ago, and now we are working toward creating the biggest open space of “art for healing” for children and youth in East Africa where anyone can come and create, process, and develop. The service is intended to provide a creative space for children and youth to grow and develop in their own best and productive way. I strongly believe that art is a strong language and tool to connect with dreams and express ourselves. My dream is to see a world filled with harmony and compassion where children can teach their elders, and vice versa, with and via art.
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