The Sun sets on narrow streets in Kenya. Children hurry to change their clothes. Quick! Pull out the pointe shoes!

Fifteen-year-old Brenda Branice is among the dancers. She can’t hide her joy. It’s time for the Christmas performance in Kibera. That’s one of the busiest neighborhoods of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Kibera is very poor. People there often lack running water, schools, electricity, and good roads.

But beautiful things can happen even in broken places. More than 100 local ballet students perform. They have practiced every day after school.

There’s no stage. Instead, kids dance on dust-covered plastic sheeting in an open field. “I am happy to be a ballerina,” Brenda says. “I am also happy to entertain my friends.”

Eyeshadow sparkles. A girl’s braided hair swings. Some dancers go barefoot.

Monica Aoko is the mother of another ballerina. She smiles as she watches the performance. Hundreds of residents, young and old, came to watch.

“This dance has given me a Christmas mood,” Ms. Aoko says. She says she knows that her daughter is doing something meaningful.

Project Elimu runs the ballet program. It offers arts education and a safe space for children in Kibera.

“Dance has the ability of triggering resilience, creativity, and also calmness,” says founder Michael Wamaya. “I want to use dance for emotional well-being of children here in Kibera.”

At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus coming to Earth to redeem, heal, and save His people. What part of the needy world are you praying for this Christmas?

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. — Psalm 147:3