Spreading happiness through art

Hi my name is Lotte Lohr and im a student in Year 13.

Over the summer, I’ve been working on a project with my friend Milla Ternois at the baby home called ‘Hope House’.

I’d been to the baby home once or twice with my mum before (she volunteers there) and I noticed that the play room was so empty and needed some decoration. I therefore had the idea to paint a mural on one of the big walls.

My friend Milla Ternois was kind enough to help me through the process of painting and together we decided to paint a jungle!

The mural took about seven days in total to finish. The wall was covered in yellow paint, so with the help of my mum we sanded down the entire wall and filled some gaps. The next day Milla and I started by covering the wall in white paint, and sketching the base of the jungle. After letting the wall dry I came back the next day to paint the sky and the grass.

On days where I went by myself, I painted as much as I could from just standing on the table or the ground. When Milla came back from holidays we both finished the top part (the tree leaves and the monkey) by holding the ladder for each other for stability. We added little details such as butterflies and snails as a finishing touch!

I had so much fun doing the project. I loved spending time and interacting with the toddlers as they watched the painting come to life. The workers at the house were so hospitable and caring. They are truly one of the most hard working people I know, they care for the babies as if they’re their own. I really look up to the “mamas” at the house. I really hope this project has put some recognition on the baby home.

I’d like to thank the school’s community service team for financing my project and give a big thank you to Mr Njagi for helping me through the process.

Lotte Lohr

Year 13 student