Governor and First Lady to Host "Welcome to Gulu" Ugandan Art Exhibit on Behalf of the United Nations on Saturday at Catharineberg

Tours with Students and Discussion with United Nations Goodwill Ambassador to
be Held on Friday, December 11th and Special Viewing on Sunday, December 13th

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. and First Lady Cecile de Jongh will host the “Welcome to Gulu” Ugandan Art Exhibit at Catharineberg on Saturday, December 12, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event is a United Nations-led project and will feature 150-200 pieces of original artwork by Ugandan children who were abducted from their families and conscripted into the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel army in northern Uganda, as child soldiers or sex slaves. Photographs from the Rwanda Project will also be on display and available for purchase.

The children’s artwork is the end result of a special project conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to assist in the rehabilitation of children then aged 8-13 who escaped or were freed from their captors in Uganda.

On Friday, December 11th three tours will also be conducted with St. Thomas high school students at Catharineberg, including a discussion with visiting United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Artist Ross Bleckner, who worked with the children on behalf of the United Nations in Uganda. Schedule is here below:

9:00 a.m. with students from Ivanna Eudora Kean H.S. and Charlotte Amalie H.S. 

10:30 a.m. with students from Antilles School

12:00 noon with students from Montessori School

Members of the community are invited to attend a special viewing of the “Welcome to Gulu” art exhibit on Sunday, December 13th from 12:00-2:00 p.m. at Catharineberg. The children’s paintings will be available for purchase and donations will be accepted towards the project.

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