NALA helps the Warembo Wassani Art Center, Nairobi / Kenya

Hello friends of Art,

Today I want to dedicate this text to a good friend who always think of others not just herself, even in corona times.

She runs an art centre in the north east part of Nairobi. A slums of korogocho which apparently hosts the largest dumpsite in Kenya called “Dandora dumpsite “.

I talking about Joan Otieno.

When I visited her last year in her studio on the 5th floor of a neglected skyscraper, I looked at countless clothes made of plastic waste. Skirts made of detergent packaging, plastic cups, plastic bags, screw caps, hats and caps made of bottle caps, old CDs and other materials that Joan and her team have collected from smelly rubbish heaps in slums.

I moved with her and her 15-member team, consisting of students and former street children, who now have a new role thanks to the "waste art".

We collected waste. Mostly plastic waste, bottle caps, PVC screw caps, packaging made of metal, cans, bottles ..., which on meter-high stinking rubbish heaps, along the street, mostly led to even more stinking sewers.

We collected many sacks of it and brought them to the studio. There they were washed, disinfected and sorted by material.

In painstaking detail work, dresses, pants, hats, shoes and pictures were created.

Joan Otieno organized fashion shows, charitable events and exhibitions at home and abroad. She was invited to workshops in Sweden and Australia.

While in Sweden she visited different recycling organisations and talked about the recycling situation in Kenya which is so worrying. She held workshops and an exhibition too on the art with recycled materials.

While in Adelaide, South Australia, she facilitated 8 workshops each on the art with recycled materials and gave a speech during the international women’s day.

Joan has been taking care of disadvantaged children in the slums by making them busy by doing art so that they don’t engage in unlawful activities for (4) years.

Now, especially in the Corona crisis, works of art emerged that she only offers for sale during the crisis, in order to continue to enable her students to have 1 hot meal a day, because many live only from hand to mouth, live from sales of fruit and Vegetables that they sell on the street. These earning opportunities disappear during the curfew and many don't know how to feed their children.

These CORONA ART SPECIALS are now FOR SALE.

The price is in the description next to the picture.

With every purchase they ensure that everyone has enough rice and beans or corn porridge and vegetables to eat, and that the Warembo Wassani Art Center will continue to help disadvantaged children improve their future.

And so that I now know who has finished reading the article, write the word "WASTE ART ”in the comments.

I thank you for your time and support.

Please write in the comment which artwork you want to buy. More information is then available via personal message.

With colorful greetings, Andre Pilz ( Papa Nala ) Kassel, Germany.

400 Euros donated

Thanks to: 

Mr.Fred, The Netherlands

Mr.Kühne, Görlitz, Germany

Mrs.Christen, Aarau, Switzerland

NALA helps Diana. Windhoek / Namibia

This is Diana, she is 27 years old and a single mother of 4 children

(Given 9 years, Chamela 7 years, Marly 5 years and Adriana 6 months).

I met Diana at the Art Center in Katutura/ Windhoek ( Namibia )

She was interested in my project and the NALA exhibition and asked me many questions. She used to work as a security guard at the Art Center, one of the most boring jobs in the world.

One day she asked me if I would know about another job for her, but since I am just a guest here my answer was negative.

She wanted to really work, do something productive and not just sit around and stare into space.

We started talking and she told me that the exploiting security company she worked for paid its employees only after 2 or 3 months and less than it was agreed on. Most people here are glad to have a job at all, even if it only pays 75 Euros per month and they have to work all day without breaks…. (if you want to learn the whole story, I can send it to you through email)

I gave thought to the whole story and got her in touch with a friend who was looking for a cleaner. But he wanted to pay her only about 70 NAM$ per day (about 5.50 €). So I kept looking and got an idea…

NALA will help and support Diana and I came up with a new job for her. I sold some of my paintings and from the returns I will buy her a sewing machine. This way Diana can sew more NALA products on her own. The returns from these products will benefit and support this project. Therefore I need many buyers for my NALA products!

I visited Diana at her mother’s place in Okahandja Park, one of the poorest parts of Katutura/Windhoek. It’s an informal settlement and the house was built with corrugated metal sheets and plastic canvas. There is no electricity or water in the house. The bathroom (outside far from the house) they have to share with several people. Her mother, who is supposed to watch the children while Diana is at work, is usually drunk and even ate up all the food that I had recently bought for Diana and her children.

Diana would like to move out there and build up a peaceful home for herself and her children.

If you would like to support “Project Diana”… this is your chance:

As soon as the support from you for this project reaches 100 Euro, I will get the amount from my account and buy the sewing machine for “Project Diana”.

Additionally 350 Euro are needed to support Diana to move into her own house and give her children the chance to live in a peaceful environment.

Here you can see how much support the project has gotten so far and when the project has been realized (every dot marks 10 Euro).

If you, as a supporter, would like your name to be published on the website I will do so of course. You can also choose what you want to support … the purchase of the sewing machine or a new home for Diana.

550 Euro donated. (for a new Shack House and a new Sewing Machine)

Thanks to:

Fam. Ulrich, Jena

Mr. Messermann, Mainz

Fam. Defér, Freital

Mrs. Schollenbruch, Leipzig

Mr. Teistler, Flöha

Mrs. Schiefer, Windhoek, Namibia

Mr. Fred, The Netherlands

Mr. Sowa, New Zealand