MENU

Boyani, Kenya Mural

Client: Boyani Primary School

In November 2015, I had the opportunity to go to Kenya to take part in a humanitarian aid project funded by Grant Victor. My primary objective was to design and oversee the painting of a mural for the Boyani Primary School—a school building funded by Grant Victor to replace the mud hut the students and teachers formerly met in.

Boyani is known for being near an elephant migration area. The women in the village are known to be hard workers: often carrying one or even two children while they work in the fields or carry water to their homes. When I designed the mural, I included a mother elephant with her baby in the foreground and another mother/baby animal pair in the background. The babies are close to their moms (the baby elephant even holding its mother’s tail) not only to demonstrate the physical closeness of the mothers to their children but the closeness of the community of Boyani in general. I included bright colors to reflect the happiness and joy the people of Boyani radiate.

The entire design was kept simple because we had less than two days, limited resources, and one rickety ladder to pull it off. But, the end result is something the villagers and children in Boyani now treasure. The mural now acts as a landmark for the area and a symbol of regional pride.

 

UPDATE

Since traveling to Boyani, I have designed four more murals for rural villages in Kenya as part of the Grant Victor Cares Initiative. One in Kanyumbuni, one in Kangakamo, one in Boheka, and another in Buni.