Motherland, an Exhibition by Dr. 克劳迪娅V. 施克拉德

February 1 – March 31, 2023

My mother has always told me, ‘when you are feeling down, do something for someone 其他的.’  And such was the case in 2006; a relationship I was in came to an end in February and I was in search of something to lift my spirits and lift others.  滚动 the internet one day, I stumbled upon the 仁人家园 网站.  Upon further exploration, I discovered the Global Village program and their schedule of international builds.  I selected one for August of that year in Sao Paulo, 巴西.  I spent two weeks in 巴西 building homes for a family in need; working alongside them as they invested sweat equity in the building of their new home, bonding with new lifelong friends, and discovering a passion for helping others in ways I 以前从不知道.  I was over the guy that broke my heart, but I fell head over heels in love with 仁人家园. 

During the next 12 years, I spent my summers building more than 20 homes across the 世界.   The calling to build in and visit Africa, the birthplace of my ancestors, 一直都很吵.  And the opportunity to build homes in the continent, when I knew that my ancestors were ripped from theirs in the name of the slave trade, was 一个我不能错过的机会. 

So, I made my way to South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia, and 建造房屋.  And it was in the villages of Mfuleni, Kumasi, Bungoma, Debre Berhan, Lilongwe and Kitwe that I was consistently told what tribe I belonged to, or that I bore a striking resemblance to a cousin or sister.

I may never know where on the continent of Africa my ancestors were from, but what I know for certain is that Africa is my MOTHERLAND, and it is where my Black history 开始.

The 祖国的展览 presents photographs of women and children I met while building homes in various countries in Africa.

KCC主席博士. 克劳迪娅V. 施克拉德 proudly sits on the Board of Directors for Habitat 纽约人道组织.