Jane

One day a MASK teacher was stopped by a girl in the street. “Teacher, do you remember me? I attended a MASK Club at my school!” This was Jane, a pupil from Naivasha town, Kenya.

She wanted to inform MASK that she is now making money out of her art and it is all because of us. “Local farmers ask me to paint paintings of wildlife for them and they pay me. Thank you for introducing art into my life. MASK helped me to develop my talents. I am very happy, and my parents are happy for me too!”

But that wasn’t all: “I have now moved to another school and decided to form a Creativity Club there too. I now teach what MASK taught me now to my friends there!" she delightfully revealed. This was thrilling. Before Jane joined the MASK, she had never held a paintbrush in her hand – and now she was not only practicing art, but has become an entrepreneur of her skill too! Experiencing the power of creativity to change lives, she was inspired to pass it on to others so that they, too, could develop their own talents and opportunities.

Although, perhaps we should have seen the signs. Jane had already gained fame when Kenya’s leading national newspaper, The Daily Nation, came to write a piece on MASK in 2010. The centrepiece of the article was a big picture of Jane sitting on a floor painting, titled ‘Lessons from the Mobile Art School’.