I saw a video about an amazing woman on a mission. It so inspired me, I contacted her. We had a wonderful conversation. This is Kaziah’s story.
In her small house in Utah, on a fifteen-acre ranch, Kaziah lives alone, paints and raises goats. In 2003, she watched a news report about James W. Calway, Utah’s first fallen soldier in Iraq. Kaziah was a basket case. She sat on the floor and cried, as the story spoke of James’ life.
Due to ovarian cancer, Kaziah is unable to have children of her own. This young man could have been her own son. I need to do something for his family, she said to herself.
Kaziah contacted them. They sent her photos of their son and Kaziah painted his portrait free of charge. It was the beginning of what would be known as Project Compassion.
She didn’t stop with this one painting. Each time she learned of another death in the war, she contacted the family and painted a portrait of their hero. “Kaziah, what are you doing? You can’t paint a picture of every fallen soldier!” A friend said.
It was a challenge she hadn’t considered. She thought about it for less than five seconds and said, “Yes I can. I will!”
An accomplished artist, Kaziah donates her valuable time and talents to what she likes to call “my kids.” The family of any fallen soldier only has to write Project Compassion, and they will paint portraits of their lost loved ones for free. She started Project Compassion with five thousand dollars and soon was in debt for another five thousand. She got on her knees and prayed, “Lord, I need your help, because I cannot and will not turn down a mother’s request.” Soon after, a generous donor heard of her mission and volunteered to pay the cost of supplies. The paint, canvas, and frames for each painting costs between two hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars. Kaziah recruited four other artists for her project. To date, they have completed more than twenty-four hundred portraits. Kaziah has personally painted seven hundred and sixty-six. And she does her best work on each of them. One afternoon, she was ready to varnish several paintings to prepare them for shipment. One stood out. The background wasn’t right. It was a replica of the photo the family sent, but she didn’t like it. She refused to send it to the family as is. She set it aside. Days later, she walked in the room, picked up the painting, and was inspired. Her brush flashed over the canvas, and in a few minutes, she had a painting worthy of her talents and the family who would receive it.
