BuildaBridge Participates in Jefferson University Symposium

Symposium attendees worked as a group to make a finished art piece

On December 2, 2017, Assistant Director of Community Programs Stevie French was honored to represent BuildaBridge as a presenter in Thrive: Trauma-Informed Practice in Community-Engaged Art. The 5-hour event was hosted as part of Thomas Jefferson University/Philadelphia University’s Asano Humanities and Health series.

BuildaBridge Assistant Director Stevie French presenting
on trauma-informed community art-making

The symposium aimed to bring together “arts and health professionals, students and community members in conversation at the intersection(s) of trauma-informed practice and community-engaged art.” The event was open to the public, and was attended by individuals from fields including medical, mental health, pharmaceuticals, education, and community non-profits.

Stevie delivered a 5-minute presentation and a breakout workshop. Her presentation focused on the role of metaphor and non-verbal communication as demonstrated through her work with the Bhutanese Elders Project in Refugee Project in 2014.

Attendees working to complete their group art project

The day also included a 2-hour keynote presentation by Sandra Bloom MD, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. Dr. Bloom discussed the trauma through a neurobiological lens and the important role that art can play in trauma treatment by accessing the right hemisphere of the brain. Other breakout presenters included Mural Arts Philadelphia's Porch Light Program, The Village of Arts and Humanities, and Warrior Writers. 

The brief presentations were followed by half-hour breakout sessions focusing on the presenters’ speeches more in-depth. For her breakout Stevie engaged attendees in an art experiential meant to exemplify the power of non-verbal communication and encourage qualities that constitute a healthy community, such as collaboration, finding common ground, and the sharing of resources. The group began work individually and then moved to working together towards a common goal (the finished artwork, a giant puzzle). After the attendees finished the art experiential, they were invited to process the experience as a group, and to apply what they had learned to their own professional work. Some of the discussion included exploring the power of art to bring together in a short period of time, the relief that some experienced by working in silence, and metaphors that arose from the artwork and the experience as a whole.

The day concluded with a lunch provided by Jefferson followed by a panel discussion with professionals from Jefferson and Wests Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, which touched on intersectionality in the arts and social justice and other related topics.

Detail of the completed art project, with drawings from all attendees in the breakout session

Open Art Studios

My name is Marilyn Rodriguez and I have been working with BuildaBridge for about a year now.

I have truly enjoyed teaching the very diverse population in which BuildaBridge serves. I especially enjoy the concept of an open art studio. The staff prepares a brief demonstration for a task that the participants may choose to do in the open art studio or the participants can try something else. The participants are given a wide range of art materials to choose from in this context, if they decide not to do the activity that the staff members gave the demonstration on. The staff then helps the participants articulate what they would like to voice, whether it is through art or music.

The most beautiful component I have witnessed is how music can be transferred to so many different languages and then can be merged into one. A good example of this in the open art studio environment, is when everyone sings the BuildaBridge song, some people chime in with their native languages. This song has also been written in various languages, so the staff and clients can continue to learn together. Overall, it is a great joy seeing how the participants are always eager to engage in the art-making and learn.

BaB, Abstract Symmetry Paintings #1 and #2

This these two paintings were created in an “open studio concept” where the participant felt free to express themselves and create.

HIAS Afterschool Program

My name is Debra Cotterall and I am a board-certified music therapist who has been working as a lead teaching artist with Buildabridge for over 3 years now. Throughout the month of February 2017, I had the pleasure of working with fellow music therapist, Grace Clements and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Afterschool Program in order to implement a therapeutic, creative-arts based series of four lessons aimed at promoting students’ sense of self-efficacy and positive vision for the future in order to further increase personal resiliency. The curriculum aimed to support students’ holistic development through creative and academic experiences to foster inclusion, hope, resilience, self-efficacy, mastery, and vision for the future. Each lesson primarily integrated the music modality, exploring a variety of musical elements as they related to real-world application in everyday life. Music and movement were utilized to assist students in processing and coping with current resettlement to the US, promoting mental health and acculturation, and building community.

This was an exciting and new experience for all involved as this was the first multi-week series with the HIAS after-school program. Students were enthusiastic about using instruments and working on English language skills. After our first session, it was clear that interventions and activities to support language learning and increased impulse control were best suited for this active group. There were a few activities that worked best and led to great learning/teaching moments, community building, identification of resiliency statements, and embracing and sharing of one’s personal culture. After beginning each lesson with our opening ritual, students learned new musical terms such as “allegro” or fast, “adagio” meaning slow, etc. The group discussed that most musical terms are written in Italian. Students eagerly shared the meaning of these words in their native languages and discussed how they could be applied in our music making as well as everyday lives. This time always seemed to foster increased community and understanding of others as well as reinforcing the importance of one’s culture and background. Our next activity, created and led by assistant teaching artist Grace Clements was a big hit! The students were seated in a circle and each had a different instrument. They initially worked on following the teacher’s instructions to stop and go and pass instruments to their peers in order to try all instruments. As lessons progressed, the students began following musical terms/instructions in order to change the tempo or dynamics. Teachers encouraged students to lead the activity at times and utilize musical terms in their native languages as they had shared with the class.

The next activity combined both music and movement to reinforce language learning, specifically opposites. This body percussion exercise was entitled “This is…” and included the following lyrics: “This is big, big, big [clap, clap], this is small, small, small [clap, clap], this is short, short, short [clap, clap], this is tall, tall, tall [clap, clap],this is fast, fast, fast [clap, clap], this is slow, slow, slow [clap, clap], this is yes, yes, yes [clap, clap], this is no, no, no [clap, clap]!” Students were taught with limited verbal directions but through modeling of hand gestures and melody. The group seemed to love singing this song several times each week and eventually added musical directions to change tempo and dynamics. The movements of the arms to mimic words in the song helped to support the newest language learners in the group to understand and practice basic vocabulary in a fun and creative way!

All four weeks culminated with our Resiliency Song! A verse of the song was written each week and then recorded in our final session. It was based on the song “Stand By Me” originally performed by Ben E. King. Each week students focused on different resiliency statements including “I haves” (identifying personal supports), “I cans” (personal skills and coping skills), and “I ams” (positive traits and characteristics). Students utilized musical experiences from the beginning of each session to identify such statements (i.e. I can sing, I have friends, I am funny, etc.). The group re-wrote the verses to the song to include a resiliency statement from each student and learned the chorus to “Stand By Me” which includes “so friends, friends stand by me, oh stand by me…” This project allowed students to identify and share the basic building blocks for personal resiliency and worked perfectly with amount of time given for this group. This was such a fun and inspiring group to work with! Each amazing student shared some part of their journey and I will remember our work together for years to come!!

PPR Field Trip to Bartram's Garden

On October 27, 2017, Sofya Mirvis, Chelsea Faulkner, and Julie Kring-Schreifels, teaching artists at BuildaBridge, led a group of six people on a field trip to Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. This trip began with a very tranquil and engaging tour through Bartram’s Garden. During the tour, everyone got to try out different types of edible wild fruit, flowers, and plants, including: passion fruit, figs, and locust pods. The clients also picked out their favorite plants, fruit, and/or flowers while on the walk through the garden to later draw, paint, or put on a sun print. When we got back from the tour, the group was given a demonstration on botanical illustration. In the demonstration, they learned about the history, the techniques necessary, and the resources that were available in the classroom for botanical illustration. Two alternative activities were also given: sun prints and printmaking. After the demonstrations, everyone excitedly and diligently got to work. Overall, the trip felt like a success to BuildaBridge staff and the PPR clients who attended. Each person went home with one or more piece of art, had a great time expressing themselves with the art mediums available, bonded and reminisced over plants native to their home countries, and relaxed. We are all looking forward to the next PPR field trip in October of 2018!

Searching for appealing plants for the botanical illustration

Working on a botanical illustration

PPR Women and Children Group Explores Healing Through Mural

Full view of the classroom-size tape-art mural, which dealt with themes of healing and safety.

Lead Teaching Artist - Jeane Cohen
Assistant Teaching Artist - Mimi Scalia
Volunteer - Hayley Stricker

Tape Art - Safety Theme
The families class at NSC is doing a curriculum on safety The purpose of the activity this class was to foster participants’ awareness of their own ability to rise up in the face of instability and make change. Participants were prompted to use tape as a tool to draw a temporary mural. Staff set the stage of the mural by drawing on the wall with painter's tape, drawing a storm with clouds, lightning and rain. Participants were prompted to draw images of items, people and scenarios that they wanted to keep safe and protected in their life and in the box of safety, under the storm on the wall. The instructors then metaphorically “exposed” the things in the safety box by removing the tape barrier between the storm and the box. Participants then taped onto the mural ways of staying safe in the storm. They depicted umbrellas, shelters, and windshield wipers. They then taped on those “ways of staying safe” between the storm clouds and the box of safety. In closing participants reflected on their ability to make change and be resilient in the face of uncontrollable circumstances.

The mural depicted scenes from nature

In a previous and similar activity, we made a healing garden out of tape. Participants were asked to plant seeds in the ground of the garden by drawing them with tape. They were then prompted to add sprouts to the seeds and so on until the seeds grew into trees, flowers, and vegetables. Participants were also able to contribute to the garden by caring for the garden itself, by making sure it had water and sunlight.

Tape Art - Healing ThemeI learned about making art out of tape when I worked on a few projects with a group called Tape Art in Providence RI. Using tape is great for community engagement because there are many different ways to draw and create with tape, and no predetermined expectation. Its flexibility makes it a great therapeutic medium to work with.

- Jeane Cohen

A detail of the tape mural including a watering can for the garden

Refugee Project Celebrates World Refugee Day at City Hall

On Saturday, July 9 volunteers from BuildaBridge led creative arts activities at Nationalities Service Center's World Refugee Day 2016 celebration. The event took place in the courtyard of Philadelphia Hall. The event was attended by many from the public as well as several familiar faces from our PPR and PRMHC classes.

Visual artist Arielle led an arts activity where visitors were encouraged to create "prayer flags." Prayer flags originate in Eastern cultures, and were originally used to promote compassion, wisdom, peace and strength (Wikipedia). It is believed that each one's message of goodwill will spread to the space around them. Each visitor was asked to use paint, glitter, glue, and sequins to create a flag representing "What does HOME look like to you?" Among the flags were images of hearts, smiles, and the word "love." We at Refugee Project think that the idea of home being "love" is an especially great example of how "home" can be wherever you make it if it starts inside of you!

Later in the day, BuildaBridge artists Liz, Amy and Arielle led a drum circle and invited visitors to come on stage and join in. Drum circles are an improvisational form of music-making used to bring communities together. Adults and children from all different backgrounds came together to make a harmonious beat. Some were even inspired to dance to the powerful music!

BuidaBridge would like to thank everyone at Nationalities Service Center and our creative volunteers for making this day a success. We hope to see everyone at this celebration again next year!

Spring Term Updates

As we move into May and warm weather finally arrives, both our PRMHC and PPR programs have been progressing. At Southeast by Southeast, Burmese Karen refugees have been using ceramics to explore ideas of support. The children created unique plates, cups, bowls and boxes using a variety of clay techniques. The items will be donated to newly-arrived refugee families in need to support them in their transition to Philadelphia.

Burmese Karen children paint designs in glaze onto clay plates they made

The Iraqi group in Northeast Philadelphia evolved to include Sudanese refugees as well. Parents and children in that group have been learning how to make colorful mosaics from broken pieces of ceramics. They are exploring the concept of identity, including their identities of their native countries as well as newly-formed identities in the United States.

The Iraqi/Sudanese group learned how to make mosaics using many different tools

At Nationalities Service Center, our Mixed Adult group is using music and art to explore themes of improvisation in art and in life. They are learning various musical beats and instruments as well as the technique of applique while exploring these themes. The Parents and Children’s group has been using visual art to explore the concepts of home and community, and has been working on a different project each week to work towards building a sense of community within the group.

Stay tuned as the Refugee Project gears up for our summer programming!

Fall Term Highlights!

The Refugee Project provided therapeutic arts and art therapy programming for 148 refugees and immigrants since October 2015.  With the PRMHC, this included groups serving Iraqi women and children, Burmese Chin and Burmese Karen refugees.  The seven week Iraqi group created tapestries at individual, familial and generational levels which 1) enhanced social support and promoted social engagement; 2) nourished a sense of pride and respect for one’s identity; and 3) connected language to meaning in the context of family and community. 

Hope Mead demonstrates painting ceramics

BuildaBridge artists used ceramics, music and visual arts in a seven week term with the Burmese Chin and Burmese Karen groups to encourage individual creative expression while learning social skills of working together, turning mistakes into opportunities and academic skills that met the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities.  Natalie Hoffmann led the project at Southwark School, creating a mural with nearly 20 students to illustrate the diversity of the school. Final touches are happening soon so stay tuned!

Southwark School mural in process

With PPR, the Fall 2015 ten week term served adult and children refugees from eleven countries all of whom were first and secondary survivors of torture.  Artists used drama, movement and the visual arts to create self-portraits of their emotions, explore themes of travel and home as it related to their journeys to Philadelphia and the metaphor of water for movement, flexibility and change. See 'Boat Full of Emotions' for details.

Spring Classes are coming soon!

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Art-Making builds Resilience

BuildaBridge features artists Hope Mead and Robert Kelleher in this video illustrating how art-making has made a difference this semester.  Groups this semester took place at the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative's (PRMHC) new storefront site in South Philadelphia, Southeast by Southeast.

Boat Full of Emotions

The PPR (Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience) Families and Children’s group reflects on the mural that they have been working on for the past several weeks.  PPR is a collaborative between BuildaBridge, Nationalities Service Center (NSC) and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIASPA) providing services and programs to survivors of torture. The weeks’ themes have been “travel” and “home”, two issues of concern for all refugees. They reflected on what could be in the conversation bubbles next to each of the people.  The figures in the boat were made by tracing each of the group members’ silhouettes, and the stars that reflect light to the waves in the ocean were made by participants tracing their hands.

 

Jeane Cohen (Lead Artist), Mimi Scalia (Assistant Teaching Artist) and Hayley Strickler (Volunteer) led the workshops.  Each workshop examined a topical aspect of self reflection, identifying barriers, tools, and skills for resilience related to that aspect. For example, the topics addressed were:

• Language as a platform for self-expression
• Emotion based Self Portraits
• A boat as a metaphoric safety container
• Generated maps as a tool for understanding that home as place can be flexible and what you make it
• A sail to learn how to be aware and in control of self directed activities
• Water and the ocean as a metaphor for movement and change
• Created stars of people who are important to us to remember that they are watching out for us

The artwork made during each workshop served as a component for a small-scale mural, or wall hanging collage. All of the components were created individually and then combined together for the final class to reflect the interconnectedness of the different components of healing and resources explored. They then provided a strong and lasting image of the process of resilience.
The final image included figures of emotion, speaking created languages in a boat of safety with a sail of direction, traveling on the ocean, at night time with a map in the sky and stars of guidance.

The final piece is 10 feet x 10 feet.

"We Iraqis have long stories"

"We Iraqis have long stories" said a participant in BuildaBridge's therapeutic arts group for Iraqi families living in Northeast Philadelphia.  This group, comprised of Iraqi mothers and children who have lived in the U.S. for over three years, will be focusing their efforts this Fall on telling their stories through a group made tapestry.  Operationally, a tapestry is a single composition which is comprised of many threads. Conceptually, a tapestry displays a meaningful moment in time that is a symbol and a distillation of many smaller experiences and moments. In addition, many people with unique lives and backgrounds come together to form one community.  The group will keep this metaphor - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, at the forefront of their art experiences to create the piece.  Since October, 28 participants have attended three groups.  Over the next few weeks, participants and BuildaBridge artists will create story-based pieces about their families, their generation, and then their group/community histories. 

Also during this Fall term BuildaBridge is providing the Burmese Chin and Burmese Karen communities therapeutic arts groups in South Philadelphia.  BuildaBridge's efforts with the Bhutanese children have phased out as many of them are feeling more socially connected after living in Philadelphia for over four years now.  BuildaBridge has thus re-focused efforts on the Burmese communities who are still arriving in relatively high numbers to the Philadelphia region.  These groups have served 32 participants so far this Fall.

Another new project was launched at Southwark School in South Philadelphia.  This school has a wide diversity of students from over 10 countries including many of the Bhutanese and Burmese refugees with whom BuildaBridge works.  Southwark invited BuildaBridge to create a mural that represents the diversity of their students and to use the school's main quote "We honor the greatness in you."  See the mural in process below and stay tuned for more Fall program updates!

Funding received by the PA Council on the Arts

This Refugee Project is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

On October 9th, BuildaBridge was presented with the award check from the PA Council on the Arts.  Hosted by PECO and led by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the event highlighted each of the grantees from the five-county Philadelphia region. 

 

Maud Lyon, President of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance with BuildaBridge Co-Founder Dr. Vivian Nix-Early and PRMHC Project Manager, Danielle Bossert

 

 

 

 

Thank you Creative Philadelphia!

BuildaBridge thanks the City of Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy for the recognition of our Refugee Project.  On Thursday, October 1st, BuildaBridge was honored in a ceremony for our work exhibited at City Hall with the Mayoral Certificate of Artistic Excellence.  The works represented five years of our project with 500 refugees from 13 countries with the help of 33 BuildaBridge artists.  BuildaBridge exhibited pieces from The Refugee Project, which is comprised of participation in three collaborations: the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative, the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience and a partnership with Nationalities Service Center's Refugee Employment and Advancement Program. The presentation also recognized programs by the School District of Philadelphia.  

Helen Haynes, Chief Cultural Officer with Dr. Vivian Nix-Early, Co-Founder of BuildaBridge

Certificate received by BuildaBridge

Mayor Nutter with Dr. Nix-Early and PRMHC Project Manager, Danielle Bossert

Year 4 Report

 

 

 

BuildaBridge is pleased to announce the publication of its Year 4 Report of involvement in the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative (PRMHC).

 

BuildaBridge PRMHC Year 4 Report

BuildaBridge is at City Hall!

For a third time in four years, BuildaBridge is honored to be exhibiting its artwork at City Hall. This if the first time, however, that the Refugee Project has been featured on its own.

As part of the City of Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Art in City Hall is a program presenting exhibitions showcasing contemporary artwork by professional and emerging Philadelphia artists.  The program strives to link visual artists with the larger community by providing the public with a greater knowledge and appreciation of their artistic achievements.

The artwork highlights BuildaBridge's roles in the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience, the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative and its partnership with Nationalities Service Center's Refugee Employment and Advancement Program.

The exhibit is on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, and can be viewed until October 2, 2015.

For more information from City Hall, read more here. 

Celebrating World Refugee Awareness Month

Arts and culture are some of the most fundamental forms of self- and community-identification humans use to mold their identities and share their stories. Refugee populations are contributing to their new American communities through the arts as a means of sharing their cultures, histories, stories and above all, shaping their identities in a new environment.  BuildaBridge facilitates such efforts with refugees from over ten countries through the Refugee Project  - a multi-faceted program with memberships in two city-wide collaboratives designed to assist refugees, at all stages of resettlement in identifying adjustment strategies based on the strengths of their communities. The Refugee Project supports and facilitates art-making experiences for refugees as they pursue success, recovery, hope, healing and resiliency in a new culture.

This June, during World Refugee Awareness Month, BuildaBridge launched its second season of arts programming for Nationalities Services Center's Refugee Employment and Advancement Program (REAP). In addition, BuildaBridge provided a pilot art workshop for Iraqi mothers and children, re-started a summer term with refugee children from Myanmar of Burmese Chin and Karen ethnicities, and closed its first term with immigrant survivors of torture through PPR.  In each of BuildaBridge's Refugee Project's programs, artists facilitate art-making experiences towards improved community mental health that facilitates the development of refugees' identities in new cultures, assists ethnic groups in strengthening their capacities and community cohesion and assists individuals in making tangible contributions to their new communities.

BuildaBridge is eager to announce the launch of the Refugee Project's fifth year of programming beginning July 1st along with global examples of how the transformative power of the arts has ignited change, transformation and mutual understanding:

NSC celebrates World Refugee Day
Handcrafted Wares
Stories of Migration
Survivors of Torture artwork
Advocacy Refugee Exhibit

Thank you and Good Bye!

Mark, a refugee from Iraq, had been coming to the Mixed Adults creative arts therapy group at the Nationalities Services Center (NSC) for over two years as part of BuildaBridge's involvement with The Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (PPR).  Sunday was the last group of the Spring Semester, and it also happened to be Mark's last group meeting for good.  “My case is closed here (at NSC),”  he announced, “So I won’t be coming again.”  There was disappointment all around.  He was the major translation help for the other Arabic-speaking group members, and he was the ‘senior statesman’ so to speak, for knowing how the group “went”, and for helping new members.  However, there also seemed to be a self-pride in his “graduation” from the NSC case management service.

The group, led by BuildaBridge art therapist Rebecca Asch and drama artist Francesca Montanile, was finishing up the Altered Book project.  Sunday's prompt for the art-making was drawing or collaging what they (each person) gives to the group and what each person needs from the group...a prompt that brought closure through recognizing what people have given and served as transition (for when the group resumes) to what people still need.  During the sharing time, Mark offered this touching letter a poignant “gift” to BuildaBridge.  Mark read aloud:

“When I was at the first time of the BuildaBridge Group, I was so sad and felt I am alone.  But when I came the second time and came again, I felt better; and my feeling became good.  So that day after day I found myself as a part of a good human group.  Now I am sure this group is good treatment for the immigrant peoples, especially at the first period when they [leave] their country to [come to] another country.  So that I think this BuildaBridge program must be continued [for] the new immigrant people.  About what I give to the group?  The opinion of the [others] from the group about me is the answer for this question.  I hope I was [a] good person [for a] good team.”         

Mark's art piece from November, 2014 conveys a similar message about the impact on him of the art therapy group.  “This group changed my life. For the first two months here my life was like a desert, and now it’s like these flowers. In the art group, I could say my true feelings, I could trust everyone in the group and I met new friends - connection. It changed my life”





Mark owned and ran his own laundry business in his home country.  He had hoped to do the same when he arrived here, but disappointingly found it difficult to even begin working at a laundry facility, let alone get the large amount of cash needed to start such a business here.  The laundry shops all seemed to be very tight, closed family-run shops, at least in his region of the city.  Mark does not worry about working now, though.  He is “retired”.  BuildaBridge, too, will miss his serious intellect, creativity and empathy for others.

Message for Nepal

This is a video message from the Bhutanese refugee community in South Philadelphia who called Nepal home for over twenty years. They are concerned for their brothers and sisters who have been affected by the earthquakes. They are praying for the victims, survivors and families and for the rebuilding and restoration of Nepal. BuildaBridge assisted this community in creating artwork that illustrated their memories of Nepal, concerns for the earthquake victims and their hopes for the future of Nepal. Since many from this community are unable to travel to Nepal help, they created this video message as a gesture of their concern for and solidarity with those in Nepal.

The BuildaBridge-led workshops, artwork and video were made possible with support from:
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program:  Southeast by Southeast
The Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative
The Department of Behavioral Health and DisAbility Services
Artists:  Jessica LaBarca, Julie Rosen, Stevie French & Natalie Hoffmann
Individual financial donors:  Kristen and Monica

The Nepal National Anthem

During the course of three workshops, BuildaBridge assisted this group of Bhutanese refugee adults create a visual representation of their memories, concerns and hopes for Nepal. During the close of each workshop, the group sang the Nepal national anthem featured here as a gesture of their solidarity and concern for Nepal. 

Responding to the Earthquake in Nepal

“When I am dreaming, I dream about Nepal and I wish I could go to help them” said a Bhutanese refugee in response to the earthquake.

Bhutanese refugees in South Philadelphia, many of whom spent twenty years in refugee camps in Nepal, are responding to the earthquakes through the healing power of art-making. The group's goal: To create prayer flags and paintings illustrating their fond memories of Nepal and hopes for Nepal's recovery and rebuilding.

BuildaBridge International is assisting the group, many of whom contributed to the PPR mural, with creating artwork that reflects the group's responses to three prompts: Nepal as you remember it (stories and memories); Nepal today (concerned, imagined struggles Nepalis are currently facing); and Nepal in the future (hopes, and prayers for the rebuilding).  The art piece being created consists of four bamboo poles, seven feet high, that are linked together.  In each of the three sections are canvas paintings responding to the three prompts.  Adorning each section above and below the canvases are prayer flags - the community's hopes and prayers for Nepal. 

”We would like to help with our hands [In Nepal] and want to do something; though we can’t help with our hands, we are glad to fundraise by sending money and a message.”  One Bhutanese woman exclaimed. This group is eager to send money and help in whatever ways they can.

Though tangible relief efforts are not possible from Philadelphia, this group wants to at least send their thoughts, messages and prayers to those suffering in Nepal.  "We hope", said another Bhutanese, "that Nepal is rebuilt and constructed better then before." 

During the past week, the Bhutanese group was energetic, fully focused and engaged. They did not want to stop. In fact, they went 40 minutes over time -- twice.  Their artwork is bright, beautiful and hopeful with lots of trees and flowers. When asked if someone would like to lead a prayer for those in Nepal and this community suffering from afar to close class, they instead sang a song.  The group had a moment of silence and then almost all of them erupted into the song. This past Monday, our interpreter played the music for the Nepali anthem.  All twenty-one participants stood in a circle, hands clasped in a prayer stance at chest level, and sang along.  While there is much sadness and solidarity with those in Nepal, there is also hope as illustrated through this Bhutanese community's art and song.

In partnership with the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative, BuildaBridge is responding to the earthquakes by supporting and engaging the Bhutanese community in Philadelphia.