Catalog

Pictorial
If I Had a Chance

Children from the streets of seven cities express their dreams and hopes through art

ULAANBAATAR--A young girl makes the first of many difficult choices when faced with so many colors

By Lynette R. Mallery (lmallery@adb.org)
Senior External Relations Officer

Seven cities. More than 1,000 young street artists, each with a piece of white paper, 48 crayons, 24 pastels, all poised for the same activity: to send a message to the world about what they would do if they had the chance.

KATHMANDU--A young artist expresses her feelings about the day

Some dove in with confidence, splashing red, green, yellow across the page. An aspiring astronaut drew a spaceship.

A future environmentalist drew a smiling earth free of litter. Others moved more slowly, counting the crayons, inspecting the pastels, hesitantly penciling in a mountain, a tree, a schoolhouse. Soon the art competitions, funded by ADB and organized with partner nongovernment organizations in each city, were finished. But the dreams go on.

To most of us, the children’s dreams are modest. Suzanne, a 16-year-old rag picker in Jakarta, would send her friend to school…if she had the chance. Naranzul, a 5-year-old from Ulaanbaatar, would build a house for her mother, and “decorate it with gardens and flowers,” while 14-year-old Gerald from the streets of Manila would live a simple life with his family.

Many children drew about travel: a plane that would take a young boy from Port Moresby to the Solomon Islands or bring a father back to his son in Mongolia; a cloud that a child in Manila could fly to with her friends. Others expressed the desire to become doctors, athletes, social workers, teachers. Others wished to help other street children and poor people, be reunited with families, and have a peaceful life—if they had a chance.

JAKARTA--Transferring a dream to paper requires full concentration

DHAKA--Celebrating the artists brings out the laughter and smiles

ADB gave them the chance to illustrate their dreams, and gave nine children in each of the seven cities a scholarship toward their goal. The book, If I Had the Chance, written and illustrated by some of the children who took part in this ADB Art Competition, is expected to be available in May 2003.

IF I HAD THE CHANCE--More than 1,000 young street artists in seven cities, including these boys from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, were each given a piece of white paper, 48 crayons, and 24 pastels. Their mission? To send a message to the world about what they would do—if they had the chance. Although the art competitions, funded by ADB and organized with partner nongovernment organizations in each city, are finished, the dreams go on.

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