1: Kayra Martinez | The Power Of One: Supporting Refugees In Need With Art
Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration
Corinna Bellizzi
5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 February 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this interview, we meet Kayra Martinez, the founder of Love Without Borders For Refugees In Need. You’ll hear how ONE woman harnessed her desire to help refugees in need to form a not-for-profit that has since helped thousands of refugees living in camps in Greece.
Kayra learned by apparent accident when she supplied crayons and paper to kids living in the refugee camps. She discovered that kids who had stopped speaking were able to connect once again -- and that adults were able to move through some of their grief and start to heal. She formed this non-governmental, volunteer-based 501(c)(3) organization so she could fund their creations, support their livelihood, and help them get a fresh start.
Each person she serves receives art supplies and training with artist-led workshops so they can learn to express themselves through art. You can browse her Etsy shop (link below) and choose a piece of their art for yourself or as a gift! 100% of the proceeds go back to the artist to help them get on their feet again.
Thus far, her work has positively impacted thousands of displaced refugees. She has even begun to help find housing for them while fundraising to support their education so they can gain new skills and build a brighter future in a new land. Her organization has also launched a fundraiser via GoFundMe: The Wahid Wahid project, which provides long-term accommodations and retraining support to help refugees build a brighter future.
About Kayra Martinez and Love Without Borders For Refugees In Need:
Kayra Martinez is the founder of Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need. She began volunteering at a refugee camp in Greece alongside her day job as a flight attendant for United Airlines in 2015. While raising funds to help meet basic needs, Love Without Borders also provides refugees with art supplies. The resulting works are exhibited and sold, serving as a source of economic empowerment and offering an opportunity to show the challenges and tough conditions faced by refugees.
website: http://lovewithoutborders4refugees.com
etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LWBRefugeeArt?ref=search_shop_redirect
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lwb4refugees/
Show Notes:
0:00 – Introduction
1:47 – The start of a life-changing experience
2:39 – How the program started with a box of crayons and some paper
16:18 – Where the NGOs were failing
22:57 – How to measure success, especially when things are dire, and Kayra’s advice to people taking on similar projects
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome, fellow do-goaters and friends. Have you ever thought, I'm just one person, I can't make a |
| 0:05.4 | difference? This episode will prove that single, doubtful thought is simply untrue. Through the story of |
| 0:11.4 | Kira Martinez and her not-for-profit, love without borders for refugees and need, you'll see how |
| 0:17.1 | one person can make a difference in thousands of lives, just by seeing a problem and trying to help in some small way. You'll see how one person can make a difference in thousands of lives just by seeing a problem |
| 0:21.4 | and trying to help in some small way. |
| 0:24.6 | You'll see how the simple act of bringing crayons and paper into refugee camps of Greece |
| 0:30.2 | gave rise to an artistic movement that both brings awareness to the problems that refugees |
| 0:35.1 | face, problems that don't simply disappear when they escape |
| 0:39.4 | their home country, and provides refugees with hope for a better tomorrow. So today, I invite you to |
| 0:45.9 | care a little more about refugees in need as we meet Kira Martinez. |
| 0:50.8 | Welcome to Care More Be Better, a podcast for people like you who care about the social impact of conscious companies and everyday heroes. |
| 1:00.0 | Hear inspiring stories from those who put people in planet before profit and personal gain. |
| 1:05.6 | You'll learn how you can make a difference, vote with your dollars, and get involved today. |
| 1:10.4 | Here's your host, Karina Belize. |
| 1:14.3 | Hello and welcome. This is Care More Be Better and I'm pleased to be joined today with |
| 1:18.5 | Kira Martinez. Kira Martinez founded this really incredible not-for-profit a few years back. |
| 1:25.1 | And we're going to talk about what she's doing today and how you can |
| 1:29.0 | actually get involved in help. The not-for-profit is called Love Without Borders for Refugees in |
| 1:34.6 | Need. Kara, thank you so much for joining us. Welcome. Good morning, Karina. Thank you so much for |
| 1:39.6 | having me. It's great to be here. So as we get started, I just love you to talk about what drove you to |
| 1:44.6 | start this effort and then we can just dig in. Sure, absolutely. I have been traveling my whole life |
| 1:52.2 | and I think traveling to all of these countries, it sort of made me aware about other countries |
... |
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