Maisha Arts and Cultural Camp (MACC) is an art therapy and educational based program that is designed to provide orphaned and destitute children a safe environment in which to express themselves, learn, and grow. By removing the common negative interferences of hunger and violence from campers' lives while providing positive reinforcement and encouragement, MACC nurtures the individual spirit of the child and allows them to flourish into an educated and well-rounded adult.

The mission of MACC is twofold:

• Utilize the power of education and art expression to transform the lives of orphaned and destitute children and provide tools and opportunities for leadership and success
• To inspire people, through the stories and artistic works of the children, to make a difference in their lives through volunteer commitment and financial generosity.

In order to provide as complete and well-rounded education as possible, the curriculum for MACC is extensive, including photography, English composition, drawing, painting, song, and dance. In addition, recognizing the extenuating circumstances within the village community, as well as throughout the African nations and the world, an HIV/AIDS seminar is an important component of the camp curriculum.

The relationships fostered between camper and counselor through the camp are intended to help the child to grow into a non-destructive, contributing member of society, through assisted peer relations and the influence of a positive older role-models. However, this relationship is also beneficial for the counselor. By utilizing college-age students as the counselors, MACC provides a positive influence on the students that will help them grow into caring and worldly adults.

Although the camp program itself is held during the summer, components of the art education program are designed to be brought into the village school systems year round. In addition to the therapeutic lessons, the program is designed to use art as a method to teach math, science, and reading comprehension. By training the Kisumu-area teachers on how to implement the arts into their classrooms, the MACC program helps to create a sustainable impact outside of its immediate group of campers.

Although there are several education and leadership programs geared at third world countries in existence, MACC differs in one very important and unique aspect. Often, while working with orphaned and destitute children, programs can begin to view them simply as "future leaders." Although that is a very important part of who the children are, by viewing the children only in the future tense, the programs strip them of recognition in the present and deny them permission to exist in the now, as a child.

MACC educates and instills leadership qualities within the children while still providing them their right to be a child.