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Storytellers as Peacemakers |
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While preparing this month's column I had
the idea of researching storyteller's or storytelling groups that, while
they may never be nominated for a Nobel Prize, were making the world a
better place with a devotion and passion to their art. I didn't have to
look very hard, the day after I pitched the idea here at Happy Feet, I
received a copy of the Healing Story Alliance, winter, 2003 issue with
all the timing of a Jungian synchronicity. One article in particular
resonated with me - in the section "Notes From the Field," an
article "Healing Stories for Challenging Times," by Laura
Simms discussed the Gaindeh Project, an organization that
benefits youth in crisis throughout the world. In reading Simms brief
one-page synopsis of the organization's broad reaching mission, I was
incredibly moved.
Simms's work extends into her own family, as she writes of her adopted son, an ex-child soldier orphaned by civil war in West Africa's Sierra Leone, who now speaks to the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations. Gaindeh is a Mende word meaning "the first rays of sun in the morning," an inspirational term for the beautiful mission of the project. Simms, the founder and director of the organization, states that "goodness is inherent and that traditional storytelling can uncover and activate this goodness for the benefit of children and community." The program hosts several projects including "COMING HOME" which uses intergenerational storytellers to train adolescents in telling and writing in four Romanian cities and has been partnered with theaters, foundations and government agencies. It also operates in Sierra Leone implementing a ten-village project, has a program in India that works with street children and released a booklet of 18 stories in response to the September 11th tragedy. **** The upcoming National Storytelling Network's Pre-Conference, features "Stories from the Field, Reaping the Wisdom: A Healing Story Gathering," a presentation occurring at the "Storytelling at the Crossroads," NSN Conference. July 9 through the 13th at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest Hotel in Arlington Heights the event will feature seven storytellers focusing on different aspects of healing through story, the program intends to "enlighten, challenge and empower." Check out www.healingstory.org for a copy of the aforementioned newsletter and for more information on the event. |
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"There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk around the whole world till we come back to the same place ..."
G. K. Chesterton
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