Sharing a Child’s World
Art alumna returns to South America to care for needy children
By Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95
When looking at the children in Juliane Kozel’s photographs, it is easy to understand why she slipped away from her hectic life in Northern Virginia to work in Bolivia. Huge dark eyes and toothy grins fill the frames.
Kozel, BFA Art and Visual Technology ’05, first traveled to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in 1991 to visit her aunt and uncle and knew that someday she would return. At that time, the aunt and uncle were the administrators and house parents of the Stansberry Children’s Home, the same place where Kozel and her husband, Alex, are spending a year serving as volunteers.
“Our faith is a key reason why we are here,” says Kozel. “We are both Christians and believe we have a responsibility to care for one another, and that responsibility includes social action and service in our communities and around the world.”
The Stansberry Children’s Home has 23 children living there right now, ranging from infants to teenagers. “The kids in the home are orphaned or abandoned, or have been removed from abusive situations,” says Kozel. “Our job is to work with the house parents at the home to provide the children with loving and healthy care. In the course of a day, this will include everything from playing with the kids to tucking them in at night.”
Since Kozel’s last visit, the home has expanded to provide day care. “The kids in the day care are children of at-risk mothers, mostly single parents, who need to work to support their children,” says Kozel. “Many women and families give up their children because they don’t have the means to take care of them.” By offering quality day care to these families, the organization hopes to keep more families together.
An accomplished artist and award-winning photographer, Kozel says the children are still shy when she pulls out her camera, but they are warming up to her. Kozel and her husband maintain an online journal to keep in touch with relatives and friends and document their trip.
“The first time I visited here I was facinated with the different culture and different way of life, but I always remembered the children,” says Kozel. “I was ten and spent most of my time helping with the two-year-olds. Those same two-year-olds are now teenagers, and it is amazing to see them again.”
Juliane Kozel with Baby Karina
