In November 2008, FUNARTE successfully wrapped up the two-year project called "Educando a nuestros ninos con amor" that was co-financed by Casa Canadiense & Pueblito Canada.

This project allowed FUNARTE to work with the parents of the children who attend their weekly mural painting workshops to address the use of corporal punishment in the home. Corporal punishment, widely misused by parents around the world as a means to correct their children’s behaviour, can have serious negative effects on a child’s social and emotional development. Through this project, FUNARTE was able to assess and engage with one aspect of the violence that plagues the lives of the children they work with.

Over the course of a total of 17 workshops, held over two years, FUNARTE was able to make measurable and palpable changes to parenting practices in over 100 households. These households are located in three poor, urban neighbourhoods of the city of Esteli.

A total of 110 parents participated in the workshops, including 14 fathers, which is a commendable achievement given the local context. Collectively, these 100 adults care for 450 children, who, as a result of this effort, are living and growing in more loving, caring and peaceful households.

In order to effectively work with the parents, FUNARTE used a mixed methodology for groups, combining ice-breakers, videos, story telling, songs, guided reflection and art activities. This allowed the parents to feel comfortable, reflect on their own behaviour, share experiences from their childhood that influence their parenting strategies, recognize their own worth and envision and implement new child-raising practices.

In order to share these new ideas with the wider community, the artwork produced by the parents was exhibited in several locations including in Esteli’s central park on November 25th, 2008 as part of local activities commemorating the International Day against Violence.

Along with a baseline and follow-up study with the adult participants, the children in question were also consulted in a group setting in order to evaluate the impact of the workshop on parenting practices. The children themselves were able to express, verbally and through artistic expression, the positive changes they were experiencing in the relationships with their parents. These included the replacement of corporal punishment with restrictive measures when necessary (such as no tv for a period of time) and in general more freedom to express themselves and communicate with their parents.

An additional outcome of the project is increased appreciation on behalf of the parents of the artwork that their children create each week at the mural painting workshops. Having the parents recognize and appreciate their children’s efforts is beneficial to each child’s self-esteem and their emotional and psychological development and furthermore increases in general community support for FUNARTE’s programs.

The total budget for the project was a little over CAD$3,000.