When our educator colleague Pedro Mena recently shared his “Human Rights on Record” art project, he also introduced us to Laurie VanBalen, a colleague from Columbus, Ohio.
As seen in the documentary Breathe Free, Laurie started the Columbus Crossing Borders Project as a way to raise awareness of the stories behind the many refugees arriving in the Columbus area to encourage greater compassion and connection across the community.
We want to share information about this Project to not only demonstrate the power of the arts to drive new thinking and foster positive connections, but also to showcase how one person’s care and determination can make a major difference across communities. We’re also excited to know that Laurie now wants to incorporate information about the UDHR to help amplify the human rights issues affecting the refugees’ lives.
