Tierra Bomba, Colombia & Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
CONNECTED THROUGH WATER
Photos by: Samantha Robison
Currently, 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water and more than half the oxygen humans breathe is produced by the ocean. Our reliance on the oceans is something that connects all human beings. Students from two coastal communities, one in the US and one in Colombia met on Zoom and exchanged videos about their lives. While many things are different about the way they live, they discovered they also had commonalities and one resource that they shared, water.
Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
FALL RIVER
Kevin Ledo teamed up with the children from the John J. Doran School in Fall River, MA. The students in Massachusetts exchanged videos and Zoom calls with students on the island of Tierra Bomba, Colombia. They learned about culture and the things that make them both unique as well as the things they share. An element shared by both coastal communities is their relationship with water. To depict this shared appreciation for the invaluable resource, Kevin painted one of the students joyously emerging from water surrounded by bright bands of color. The bands are filled by paintings the children created of ocean animals they share, a lighthouse and a palm tree. A huge thanks to everyone who made this project possible.
Tierra Bomba, Colombia
TIERRA BOMBA
Jonathan Darby teamed up with the kids from the Amigos Del Mar foundation on the island of Tierra Bomba in Colombia. The youth learned about marine life as well as preserving and protecting the environment. Through workshops and conversations with kids in Fall River, MA, they discovered the turtles, dolphins, jellyfish, whales and countless other creatures that visit their island also exist almost 2,000 nautical miles north on the coasts of Massachusetts. After geography workshops, Jonathan created a map of the world on the wall with oceans that the kids then filled with the animals they love. Jonathan painted a portrait of one of the students looking out to see the world beyond her island. A huge gracias and thank you to everyone who made this project possible.
