New York based professional muralist, author and advocate Youme Landowne was initially inspired by a conversation about a children’s radio station in Haiti. The discussion on Radyo Timoun and its gift of voice to the concerns of Haiti’s young led Youme to the source. In Port-au-Prince, she met the children behind the voices and felt the spirit behind the words. The voices moved her. What was born from this motivating cocktail of voice and inspiration is Selavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope , a holistic creation—Landowne both authored and illustrated the book—that stresses the power of community effort and aims to bring light to the importance of sustained dialogue between Haiti and the world. Guided by her creative belief that “drawing, painting and writing are a unified activity,” Youme succeeded in bringing forth a beautiful and arresting book that artfully advocates for those whose voices need to be heard. Read closely and you can hear the children of Radyo Timoun. Look closely and witness advocacy in art personified.

Nat Creole: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you developed such a concern for the plight of people in both a local and global sense, as well as your focus on turning this concern into activism.

Youme Landowne: I grew up in South Miami in the seventies and early eighties. I learned the generosity of nature from my loving family and community. I spent many afternoons dreaming in the branches of the mango tree. Not long after, I learned of cruelty from lost souls under the influence of crack cocaine who would regularly break into our small wood and screen home, also from overworked police officers too quick and too frightened, who would condemn those whom they signed up to assist. As (I believe) all children see, I too saw, that good and evil coexist. I was raised Quaker and encouraged to observe the world, to question, and to creatively respond. It is blatantly clear to me that the alternative to classicism, racism, sexism, and homophobia is the evolution of the spirit. Respect and self-respect are currency in this world. I think of my activism as a biological response to life, a kind of survival.

NC: The story as to how you became aware of Radyo Timoun and the story of Selavi is a wonderful story. Please tell us a little about how your plan to go to Haiti came about?

YL: I first heard of the Haitian children's radio station when I was living in California. I told my friends that I wanted to make a book that would help me share this story in the United States and around the world. They got together to help me raise the money to visit and interview the young activists of Radyo Timoun. There I met the children you have met in these pages--so many children working with each other and with adults to make a better life for everyone. I asked what message they have for the people of my country and they said, "tell them we are here, that we are no less than wealthy children, and that there should be a place for everyone at the table."

Selavi is based on the experiences of homeless children in Haiti. Selavi, Tifre, their friends and family are real people. Together with the help of many other people, they started a home for children, called Lafanmi Selavi, located in Port-au-prince, the Haitian capital. The name of the home can mean both the family is life and Selavi's family. Although the original shelter is no longer in use, another home was built farther away from the city center. The children also started a radio station called Radyo Timoun, which means children's radio. Radyo Timoun advocated for the rights of children with stories, songs and interviews.

The family of Selavi is now made up of all people who live with hope and take action to help each other. It continues to grow and transform and affect changes in society. The book...exists because of all that we share. I am grateful to have this opportunity to honor the generosity of friends, the struggles and courage of children and the dedication of the adults who care about them. Every child deserves to be heard.

NC: At the heart of your book there is a sense of the unabridged potential of children to overcome barriers juxtaposed against a backdrop of conflict that seems unending. By tying the history of Haiti with the strength and perseverance of its children, is Selavi meant to be a statement on what it will take the nation of Haiti to rise above years of conflict?

YL: A book that is printed is only half finished, in the hands of readers it becomes what it is meant to be. 

NC: There is a point in the story where the adults are using the cause of Selavi and his friends as an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to come together for progress, especially as it relates to our treatment of our young. How central is this to the overall theme of the book and how did your personal advocacy on behalf of children inform your approach?

YL: I am so glad to find you in the warp and the weft of this work. As I approached the goal of sharing the story with the world, my first thought was to collect first person stories and illustrations and create a piece in the style of i am the only one who saw by Edward Chao produced by Godwin Azameti and Sam Bathrick. Selavi is after all, the story of young people speaking for themselves, and being listened to. With the knowledge that every document shows the bias of the documenter, I opened my heart to my own place in the story. I needed to draw and to paint, to dream, to model that which I had learned, to continue to struggle, but to know that I was/am part of something larger working towards a collective joy.

NC: What are your plans for the future, in term of both your artistic and advocacy efforts?

YL: Thank you for asking! I am working with artists, scientists, social workers, health care providers, teachers, construction workers, people in the media, and investors (if I left out your field, or if you are interested in supporting this work please contact me, I am sure we kind find a way that you are already involved.) We recognize, celebrate and utilize the power to do good for self and others which is intrinsic in each us.