Zoom image during the July 23 Humanity Club virtual session
At the Humanity Project, nobody is just anybody. We strongly believe, and teach, that everybody is somebody.
When human beings know their own value, they also naturally value others. So our Humanity Club sessions emphasize the importance of the kids in our program, whether we’re live in the classroom as in the past or online now during the pandemic. They learn, for instance, that all human beings are made of stardust. Literally. We teach them the science behind that knowledge — and help them feel the poetry and beauty of the idea. Each week, the entire group several times calls out key phrases such as, “I am somebody! I am special!” And we talk about why this is true for them, what makes each child somebody, what makes each special. And then they learn how to use those wonderful qualities so they can help others.
Everything is connected to the Humanity Project’s mission of working toward equality for each, respect for all. Our students understand they can do something to advance that cause by the way they act in daily life… and we work with them to come up with concrete ideas to create a more respectful community where everyone has an equal value.
But no one can accomplish such things if they don’t believe in themselves. Or if they’re afraid. So the Humanity Club curriculum includes lessons on overcoming fears. Look at this drawing, which one of our kids cranked out in 15 minutes during the July 23 Humanity Club.
Afraid of lions? Not anymore.
It shows one young girl’s fear of lions — and the cage she built in her imagination to protect herself from harm. Other children depicted different fears and different ways to conquer them, including a fear of the dark, of scary movies … and in one case, of getting bad grades! But each student had the chance to consider what that fear meant, why they had it and how they might let go of it. This is just one of the many life lessons learned in our Humanity Club program. And that program is just one of several the Humanity Project offers for free.
We hope you may want to get involved with our work, whether by volunteering or donating … or simply spreading our ideas on social media. Look over our resources here on this website as well as on our other sites, www.thp4kids.com and www.thp4parents.com. You’ll find that the Humanity Project truly does believe everybody is somebody. Somebody very special.
