SCULPTING AT DREAMS
Salena Kitana Felicien is twenty-three years old and teaches Building and Furniture Technology, and Visual Arts at a secondary school in St. Lucia. Salena fell in love with Ceramics after viewing the unique sculptures at Eudovic’s Art Studio, the most prolific and successful sculptor on the island. However, she felt that her disability would never allow her to create such beautiful work. She was born with an underdeveloped right hand.
Salena learned about the SkYE Programme from a Visual Arts Teacher’s Group and saw this as her opportunity to try another aspect of creativity which she always dreamt about but felt incapable of, due to her hand deformity. She has been drawing from a very early age and said, “Before I went to preschool my mom used to teach me and I would draw out the meaning of the words instead of writing them, for example, if I was taught the word tree instead of spelling it, I would draw a tree”. When she started Ceramics on the UKaid funded course at the School of Art and Design Saint Lucia, she told herself that even though she might not be as fast as everyone else, she would try her best.
“Sea Life” – ceramic pieces sculpted by Salena
This programme has given Salena a new appreciation and understanding of art. It has taught her that everyone is unique and “can accomplish things at their own pace and in their way as art is what you choose it to be”. Inspiration from the training has carried over into her teaching, Salena says, “I want to continue teaching kids that their differences are what makes them unique. Creating things with your hands gives off a sense of belonging, whether it is to someone or something. At this time in the world, taking one’s own life can seem to be the easiest way out, I would recommend creating instead of taking.”
The Skills for Youth Employment Programme is committed to working with young persons with disabilities to secure their inclusion in education and training and to enhance their opportunities for significant employment.
LOOKING AHEAD
Salena says the course has taught her techniques that she requires to further her career in art as she “wants to create sculptures that reflect people, places and emotions. I want my art to speak to a person’s soul, not just their eyes”.
Support from the UK government will enable thousands of young persons in Saint Lucia and across the Windward Islands to dramatically improve their lives by allowing them the opportunity to learn a skill, become competent and obtain certification in key sectors where they can become entrepreneurs or become gainfully employed. In development literature, disability and poverty are inextricably linked but programmes such as SkYE are helping to change that narrative by giving youth with disabilities the opportunities for inclusion both in the classroom and in the workplace.
FACTS
Skills for Youth Employment (SkYE) is a four-year, UKaid funded programme to provide certified skills training for 6,000 disadvantaged young people, including those challenged by disability, in four Eastern Caribbean countries: Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines. The Programme will develop a more productive and inclusive workforce in sectors with good economic growth potential.
SkYE is supporting national training authorities and training providers to make systemic improvements to the development, delivery and quality assurance of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) in the four focus islands through targeted capacity building.
