A Letter from Sarah K. Lukas, President of FOTWA
and Mother of The Painting Club
Dear Friends,
Springtime in Santa Barbara has brought forth many new beginnings for FOTWA. Old friendships have strengthened while new ones have been formed, "Tibet is on the Net," the painting exhibition is preparing to travel to new locations, and there is exciting news about our book. Read on!
The long-standing friendly relationship between Tibetan Homes Foundation and Santa Barbara Middle School has blossomed into a rich cross-cultural exchange. Sonam Choepel, art teacher at Tibetan Homes Foundation visited Santa Barbara this past winter and taught painting classes at SBMS. While Sonam was here, SBMS computer teacher Brian Bargiel was in India at THF getting the school online. Their exchange culminated in a live video connection between the two schools. This important event took place on a most auspicious day: Tibetan New Year!
Can you imagine a room full of Santa Barbara Middle School students and parents watching while Sonam spoke to his students in India? The depth of emotion caught us all by surprise. Brian's students asked him to sing a song which they responded to by singing Amazing Grace. Next was a rousing New Year's song by the Tibetan children to which the kids responded with "America the Beautiful." The finale was sung by the Tibetan kids, a quiet heart-felt rendition of "We Shall Overcome." Watching the hopeful young faces of these brave children as they sang really brought home to me all that they have had to overcome. Most of them have left their parents and homeland behind, caught up in what surely must be one of the saddest ironies of our time: they must leave Tibet in order to receive a traditional Tibetan education.
But receive an education they shall, and with FOTWA's help and yours, their education will have a rich cross-cultural component. THF is now on the Net and Brian has trained teachers there to use technology to support communication between Tibetan and American students. FOTWA plans to expand these kinds of projects with other Santa Barbara schools and will feature another live video conference in October when Brian returns to India. You can read more about Brian's trip to India at Blue Zeal.
On another but related topic, the year long painting exhibition: "Home Away From Home: Tibetan Culture in Exile" has ended its visit to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM. The exhibit was a huge success with hundreds of visitors seeing the beautiful and poignant paintings by young Tibetan artists. Several museums have expressed an interest in exhibiting the paintings, and we are seeking funds to make that happen.
In the meantime our book, The Art of Exile: Paintings by Tibetan Children in India has received first and second place awards from the National Federation of Presswomen. Kitty Leaken, whose photos grace the book, and I are about to embark on a journey to Tennessee where we will receive the awards. Then it's on to Prince Edward Island to finally meet Alix, the inspirational 15 year old who has just finished organizing her second rock concert to raise funds for THF. It's so wonderful to see children become empowered by being of service to others. FOTWA will continue to be in the forefront of cross cultural educational exchanges and you can read about our work here on the Web.
Over the years it has become obvious to me that one of FOTWA's roles is to bring children together. They do the rest. Whether through art, music, or a bulletin board on the Web, Tibetan and American kids are learning about each other out of a genuine interest and concern for how each other live. The understanding that develops is so crucial for the diverse world we live in.
During our recent live video conference one of the SBMS kids asked her Tibetan counterpart how she got to school in the morning. "Did your mother drive you to school today?" she asked. The Tibetan girl was very quiet for a moment before answering. "No, I have not seen my mother for many years. She is still in Tibet." In the silence that followed, an understanding dawned. I thought I could still hear the young voices as they sang "We Shall Overcome." Indeed they shall, with your help. Thank you so much.
With many Tashi Deleks,
Sarah K. Lukas
June, 1999
[September 1998 Welcome Letter]
[January 1998 Welcome Letter]