Participate [in Kreyòl]

Our goal is that The Kenbe Fèm Project will become a widespread initiative with and for Haiti. Join us by sending us your reflections on a swatch of fabric or by creating and hosting your own installation of reflections:

Send Us Your Reflections

• On a roughly 8”x8” piece of fabric (old sheets, t-shirts, dish towels work if you don’t have other fabric available), use permanent or fabric markers, paint, iron on transfers, or whatever media you would like to share your words, images, or expression of grief. We have included an optional facilitation guide with some words and questions that inspire us to reflect.
• Send your reflection to us at Still Harbor, 666 Dorchester Avenue, South Boston, MA 02127.
• If you have any questions at all, please contact us at info@stillharbor.org.

Include The Kenbe Fèm Project At Your Own Event

The Kenbe Fèm Project is a poignant way of making your community’s reflections on the suffering in Haiti visible. Whether you’re part of an organization, a church, a school, or a group of people mourning the lives lost on January 12, 2010, having the space to display many people's expressions as a collective helps builds community as well as support and understanding.

Individual reflections on swatches of fabric can be created directly at your event, in advance, or both. We have included a basic facilitation guide below with some words and questions that have inspired us to reflect. You may find it useful tool in considering how to encourage your own community’s reflections.

In addition to deciding whether you would like to collect reflections in advance or not, there are a few simple things to do to make The Kenbe Fèm Project a success at your event:

• Make sure there is space at your event venue to hang however many remembrance strings you decide is appropriate and to place a table where people can create their own reflections to hang.
• Collect or purchase string or wire, safety pins, hooks, or clothing pins, and garment racks or poles of some kind (if your space needs them to anchor the strings) for the exhibit. You can be as creative as you wish in the ways you choose to display the stings or wires.
• Collect or purchase a large set of 8”x8” (or whatever size you’d like) fabric swatches. You can cut up whatever old fabric you may have lying around, or buy big rolls of fabric.
• Collect or purchase fabric markers, paints, iron on transfers, or whatever other expressive media you wish to use. People may also choose to hang mementos, photos, beads, or other items representative of their personal reflections.
• Advertise the project with your event. Encourage people to bring their own expressions, send them to you in advance, or prepare reflections beforehand. To help with advertising, you can download The Kenbe Fèm Project image here.
• Send photos of your adaptation of The Kenbe Fèm Project to info@stillharbor.org.

"I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one,
a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head."
—from Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat