‘An Zai and Me’: Bringing Colour to Life | VIVA LA VIDA × FACA Charity for the Needy

Amidst the white walls and the sound of drips in the hospital, there is a group of children experiencing a childhood that most people cannot even imagine. Their world is not just about treatment and waiting; it also encompasses colour, stories and hope that is quietly taking root.

On 22 January 2026, the VIVA Life Drawings Project Team joined forces with the Fujian Province Association for Helping the Needy to organise a charity event in Fuzhou entitled ‘“Anzi and Me” Themed Picture Book: Life Drawings of Children with Leukaemia’. Seventeen children with leukaemia, together with volunteers, engaged in a heart-warming emotional dialogue through picture books and paintbrushes.

01 | A book opens a window

The event began with a shared reading session, using the picture book “Anzi Will Definitely Get Better“—a story tailored to the psychological needs of children with illnesses—to guide the children in finding resonance and courage within the narrative. Volunteers read alongside the children and engaged in interactive discussions, gradually building trust and emotional bonds.

Such dialogue is not merely an extension of the story, but also an emotional release. Through shared reading and sincere conversation, the volunteers become not merely unfamiliar companions, but ‘story companions’ to whom the children can confide and whom they can trust. A tacit understanding, requiring no words, quietly grows amidst the turning of the pages, whilst trust is quietly built through the interweaving of story and reality.

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02｜A painting that speaks from the heart

During the “Anzi and Me” life drawing workshop, the children drew inspiration from the emotions in the picture book, transforming the courage and hope found in the story into free artistic expression through their brushes. The drawing paper became a window through which they could pour out their innermost feelings, whilst colour served as a language of emotion that needed no words. In this space—free from judgement and filled only with companionship—the children gradually let go of their inhibitions, allowing their feelings to flow naturally from the tips of their brushes.

One young girl depicted herself as a large tree in her drawing, sketching a fresh, tender shoot beside it. She explained, “The tree is me, and the tender shoot represents the new life we share.”

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At this moment, painting was not merely an art form, but a bridge for emotional release, a mirror for self-awareness, and a gentle medium through which they engaged in dialogue with the outside world.

These drawings of life are silent declarations of courage, hope and love.

03｜A single gesture speaks louder than a thousand words

After the event, one parent remarked emotionally: “This is the first time our child has taken the initiative to share their true feelings about their treatment with us since their diagnosis.” The pressures, fears and hopes that are so difficult to express during day-to-day treatment finally found a place to settle and were released through the medium of paintbrushes and colours. Through their creative work, the children felt seen, understood and responded to.

Through a support network involving families, volunteers, medical social workers and other stakeholders, the event also helped to build a sustainable emotional ecosystem for the young patients, ensuring that warmth and care continue to be passed on and sustained beyond the event itself.

04｜An event is more than just an event

Since its launch in 2016, the “Ward Classroom” project has consistently been dedicated to providing warm and diverse activity support for hospitalised children. This ‘Drawings of Life’ initiative further integrates art therapy with emotional expression, taking charitable efforts beyond material aid to a deeper level of emotional companionship and spiritual support.

The “Anzi and Me” Life Drawings activity represents a heart-warming extension and vivid embodiment of the ‘Ward Classroom’ project run by the Fujian Province Association for the Assistance of the Needy.

The significance of charitable work lies in safeguarding this essential ‘humanity’ and preserving a space for emotional growth for these children, beyond the physical pain of their illnesses.

About the Organisation

Viva la Vida (VIVA) is a cross-cultural arts brand operating in over 60 countries worldwide, dedicated to documenting life stories through art, promoting cross-cultural understanding and social welfare. We invite people from diverse cultural backgrounds to answer the question ‘What is your life?’ through a painting, thereby documenting a variety of life stories and fostering cross-cultural understanding.

Over the past seven years, VIVA has collaborated with organisations such as the United Nations, Coca-Cola and Tencent to organise more than 400 events and collect over 20,000 life portraits, transforming individual expression into a bridge for cultural dialogue.

Since its establishment in 2015, the Fujian Province Association for Assistance to the Needy has been actively promoting public welfare and charitable causes in accordance with its founding principle: “to focus on children, unite the efforts of compassionate individuals, civil society organisations and businesses, and create an open, just and equitable platform for providing assistance with group activities, education and medical care”. The Association is guided by the aim of upholding the Chinese tradition of helping the vulnerable and spreading the charitable philosophy of “doing what we can, showing care in small ways” to every corner of society. At present, the Association focuses primarily on families of children with blood disorders who have fallen into poverty due to illness, assisting them in seeking support and providing psychological comfort. In the coming years, the scope of its work will be expanded to include support for families of children with other medical conditions.