As published in The Erin Advocate
When Ken Graham distributes bedkits for Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), he is bringing more than useful necessities to kids in developing countries. He is delivering a message from caring Canadians.
"It's a gift of love," he said, after receiving a Paul Harris Award from the Erin Rotary Club last Wednesday. "It is important that they realize that someone cares about them."
A farmer from the Coningsby area west of Erin village, Graham has made 16 trips abroad for SCAW. He has helped deliver 78,000 kits that include a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, towel, mosquito net where needed, school supplies and clothes.
Each donation of $35 provides one kit, with 100 per cent going to benefit the child (not to administration). That direct link was one of the things that inspired Graham and his late wife Ann to get involved, after hearing the founder of SCAW, Murray Dryden, speak at the Hillsburgh Christian Church (now the Century Church Theatre).
Since 1970, the Toronto-based group has raised more than $20 million, and recently provided its one-millionth bed kit. Countries benefiting include Bangladesh, India, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Togo, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Philippines. Find out more at www.scaw.org.
Graham was at the Rotary Club's annual Charter Night dinner meeting to accept a $1,000 donation from Rotary to SCAW. He was surprised to see his children and grandchildren arriving for the event, and when President Jim Miller announced the award he seemed quite overwhelmed.
"I feel like I'm doing what God wants me to do," he said. "It is an honour – thanks so much."
In a SCAW newsletter, Graham wrote about meeting parents in the Philippines in 2007: "Most parents hope their child will be fortunate enough to go to college. This is a good indication that providing a bedkit that contains things for a good night’s sleep, suitable clothing for school, and school supplies is helping not only the child but the whole family."
Graham is also known for his work with the Erin Agricultural Society, and as a deacon at Ospringe Presbyterian Church.
The certificate for the Harris award (named for a founder of Rotary) cites Graham's promotion of "better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world." The award recognizes a shared purpose with the humanitarian mission of the Rotary Foundation. Mayor Rod Finnie was on hand for the presentation at David's Restaurant, and there were letters of congratulation from MPP Ted Arnott and MP Mike Chong.
Rotary Clubs often support Sleeping Children, since both organizations share a dedication to helping people in need, regardless of race or religion. The Erin club is celebrating its 12th year of service, and is looking for new members. Like many groups, Rotary International has established a Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. For more details: www.rotary.org.
As a footnote to my recent column about the Lacan Kwite bead makers of Northern Uganda, I got a message from Mike Simons of Orton, whose wife Miyeko supports similar enterprises in Africa. Her clothing and gift store Noinkee's, at 168B Broadway in Orangeville, carries Mined ReCreations handbags made from recycled fabrics, which provides education funding for young women in South Africa. They also sell woolen animal toy creations from the Kenana Knitters, a women's co-op in Kenya. For more details: www.noinkees.com.
Showing posts with label Asian culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian culture. Show all posts
January 27, 2010
August 12, 2009
Yoga helps focus energy for busy Erin artist
As published in The Erin Advocate
Emma Bramma Smith has cast a wide net in her quest for inspiration and enlightenment. She brings together many influences in her paintings, blending images of nature with symbols from Celtic, Christian and Buddhist traditions.
Using India ink, watercolour, oils, acrylics and pencil, she creates a surreal quality, infused with a mysterious energy.
Merging with this work is her passion for yoga, which helps people discover and take advantage of energy within themselves. For Smith, that has helped both her spiritual growth and the channeling of ideas onto paper.
"Everything I am is in these pieces – I love what I do," she said. "Yoga has helped me become a better artist."
She exhibits at various shows, but the best way to get an idea of the range of her work is to visit her on-line gallery and store, at www.universallotus.com. She is also in the process of moving to a new home at 176 Main Street in Erin village where she will be leading a new series of yoga classes on September 22.
Y'OM – Yoga on Main includes Kundalini Yoga, which focuses on channels of energy through the spine and employs mantra and meditation throughout the postures. She also does Tibetan Yoga, which promotes relaxation and letting go of burdens, and Flow Yoga, which develops graceful movement between postures. There are also meditation and youth classes. Email her at art@universallotus.com for more details.
Her art swirls with feminine imagery, and has echoes of medieval illumination. She is influenced by Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite painting from the 1800s, which embraced the exotic and rebelled against realism, scientific rationalism and the restrictions of classical art forms.
While positive energy dominates, there are dark hints woven into many pieces. "I feel sorry for evil," she said. "Love is a much stronger power."
In the fall of 2007, she completed a painting called Universal Heart, which combines many strands from her life. It is based on a vision she had in 2000, and on the spiritual connection she has experienced with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
It has a Celtic border and elements of plant and animal life, including lotus flowers, fish, doves and a heron, which represents the Dalai Lama. At the centre is a Buddha figure in a seated meditation posture, merged into a Christ figure with outstretched arms. The two opposite triangle shapes of these figures combine to make a six-pointed Star of David.
When the Dalai Lama visited Toronto's Tibetan-Canadian Cultural Centre in 2007, Smith was there, hoping to present the painting as a gift. She happened to meet the Indian Ambassador to Canada as he was going in to see the Tibetan leader, and persuaded him to take the painting in and present it to His Holiness. She was not able to meet him in person, but she hopes to be able to travel to India to make that dream come true.
In the meantime, as if meditation, painting and teaching yoga were not enough, she is designing costumes and sets for the InMotion Dance Company in Oakville and for the pilot of a CBC TV show. She has just finished teaching art and self-awareness at Olympia Sports Camp in Muskoka and will be teaching Tibetan chanting as part of a weekend workshop in Alton on August 29. She does illustrations for Mandala Magazine, an international Tibetan Buddhist Journal, is working on two yoga books for children and developing a sketchblog for her website.
She feels fortunate to have had friends of many different faiths when she was a child. With support and encouragement from her parents, she was able to develop a broad range of interests. Her father, Ron Smith, who Emma calls "my first hero, artistically", has a show of his own coming up. His striking landscape photography will be on display at The Teak Barn near Ospringe, as part of the Hills of Erin Studio Tour, September 26-27.
For more on the 21st annual tour, with 30 artists at 15 locations in the Erin-Hillsburgh area, go to www.hillsoferinstudiotour.com.
Emma Bramma Smith has cast a wide net in her quest for inspiration and enlightenment. She brings together many influences in her paintings, blending images of nature with symbols from Celtic, Christian and Buddhist traditions.
Using India ink, watercolour, oils, acrylics and pencil, she creates a surreal quality, infused with a mysterious energy.
Merging with this work is her passion for yoga, which helps people discover and take advantage of energy within themselves. For Smith, that has helped both her spiritual growth and the channeling of ideas onto paper.
"Everything I am is in these pieces – I love what I do," she said. "Yoga has helped me become a better artist."
She exhibits at various shows, but the best way to get an idea of the range of her work is to visit her on-line gallery and store, at www.universallotus.com. She is also in the process of moving to a new home at 176 Main Street in Erin village where she will be leading a new series of yoga classes on September 22.
Y'OM – Yoga on Main includes Kundalini Yoga, which focuses on channels of energy through the spine and employs mantra and meditation throughout the postures. She also does Tibetan Yoga, which promotes relaxation and letting go of burdens, and Flow Yoga, which develops graceful movement between postures. There are also meditation and youth classes. Email her at art@universallotus.com for more details.
Her art swirls with feminine imagery, and has echoes of medieval illumination. She is influenced by Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite painting from the 1800s, which embraced the exotic and rebelled against realism, scientific rationalism and the restrictions of classical art forms.
While positive energy dominates, there are dark hints woven into many pieces. "I feel sorry for evil," she said. "Love is a much stronger power."
In the fall of 2007, she completed a painting called Universal Heart, which combines many strands from her life. It is based on a vision she had in 2000, and on the spiritual connection she has experienced with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
It has a Celtic border and elements of plant and animal life, including lotus flowers, fish, doves and a heron, which represents the Dalai Lama. At the centre is a Buddha figure in a seated meditation posture, merged into a Christ figure with outstretched arms. The two opposite triangle shapes of these figures combine to make a six-pointed Star of David.
When the Dalai Lama visited Toronto's Tibetan-Canadian Cultural Centre in 2007, Smith was there, hoping to present the painting as a gift. She happened to meet the Indian Ambassador to Canada as he was going in to see the Tibetan leader, and persuaded him to take the painting in and present it to His Holiness. She was not able to meet him in person, but she hopes to be able to travel to India to make that dream come true.
In the meantime, as if meditation, painting and teaching yoga were not enough, she is designing costumes and sets for the InMotion Dance Company in Oakville and for the pilot of a CBC TV show. She has just finished teaching art and self-awareness at Olympia Sports Camp in Muskoka and will be teaching Tibetan chanting as part of a weekend workshop in Alton on August 29. She does illustrations for Mandala Magazine, an international Tibetan Buddhist Journal, is working on two yoga books for children and developing a sketchblog for her website.
She feels fortunate to have had friends of many different faiths when she was a child. With support and encouragement from her parents, she was able to develop a broad range of interests. Her father, Ron Smith, who Emma calls "my first hero, artistically", has a show of his own coming up. His striking landscape photography will be on display at The Teak Barn near Ospringe, as part of the Hills of Erin Studio Tour, September 26-27.
For more on the 21st annual tour, with 30 artists at 15 locations in the Erin-Hillsburgh area, go to www.hillsoferinstudiotour.com.
October 29, 2008
Myanmar comes to Erin
As published in The Erin Advocate
If someone asked you to find Myanmar on a map of the world, would you know where to look? Before going to the Myanmar cultural event at Centre 2000 recently, I knew only a few things about the country (known as Burma until 1989).
I remember U Thant, the Burmese diplomat who was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971. I have read about Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been kept under house arrest by the military government, since her party won an election in 1990.
And of course, most people have heard about the terrible cyclone there, which left more than 140,000 people dead or missing last May, and about the government’s initial reluctance to accept foreign relief aid.
That’s not really a lot to know about a land of 50 million people, which was conquered and named Burma by the English in the 19th century. It is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, located east of India, south of China and west of Thailand.
As so often happens, the controversies that make it into the news shed very little light on the everyday people and customs of a country.
Kim Terzi of Erin organized the event at Centre 2000, with members of the Myanmar Cultural Association of Brampton (MCAB), featuring crafts, dance and cuisine. (I can highly recommend the curried beef and mango salad.)
“I wanted to help people know about the culture – it is a very peaceful country,” she said.
Erin residents, including Mayor Rod Finnie, were entertained with a series of graceful dances, including the Candlelight Dance of the Rakhine State, part of the Festival of Lights, which pays respect to elders in the community.
The Brampton association has been prominent at that city’s Carabram festivities, with more than 4,000 people visiting their pavilion this year. They also won an award for their booth at the CNE. More information can be found at www.mcab.ca.
The association is helping three villages back home recover from the cyclone, raising money for medical supplies, tillers, seeds, food and clothing. Many communities in the severely-damaged rice-growing region near the Bay of Bengal are not accessible by road, making relief efforts especially difficult.
Myanmar is primarily a Buddhist nation, and is known for its golden pagodas, or temples. The environment ranges from mountains in the north, to tropical jungle, to the vast Irrawaddy Delta to the south, near the capital city, Yangon.
MCAB Secretary Bessie Terzi helps operate a family business, Mya Yadanar, which imports handcrafted treasures directly from artisans in Myanmar.
“It is called The Golden Land,” she said.
The country is famous for its lacquerware, elaborate bamboo bowls and containers with a high-gloss finish inlaid with gold or other elements, often presented as gifts by the country’s kings.
Then there are the creations in Amboyna Burl Wood, an aromatic hardwood with spectacular grain patterns, the intricate hand-painted umbrellas and the gold-embroidered scarves and tapestries, many featuring images of the elephant. Find out more at www.myayadanar.com.
The country is also a major producer of gemstones, especially jade. The Unites States has imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar because of the poor human rights record of the military government, including a ban on importation of gems. Gems are still sold, of course, mainly to Chinese and Thai merchants, with a recent auction raising about $175 million, according to an Associated Press report.
If someone asked you to find Myanmar on a map of the world, would you know where to look? Before going to the Myanmar cultural event at Centre 2000 recently, I knew only a few things about the country (known as Burma until 1989).
I remember U Thant, the Burmese diplomat who was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971. I have read about Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been kept under house arrest by the military government, since her party won an election in 1990.
And of course, most people have heard about the terrible cyclone there, which left more than 140,000 people dead or missing last May, and about the government’s initial reluctance to accept foreign relief aid.
That’s not really a lot to know about a land of 50 million people, which was conquered and named Burma by the English in the 19th century. It is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, located east of India, south of China and west of Thailand.
As so often happens, the controversies that make it into the news shed very little light on the everyday people and customs of a country.
Kim Terzi of Erin organized the event at Centre 2000, with members of the Myanmar Cultural Association of Brampton (MCAB), featuring crafts, dance and cuisine. (I can highly recommend the curried beef and mango salad.)
“I wanted to help people know about the culture – it is a very peaceful country,” she said.
Erin residents, including Mayor Rod Finnie, were entertained with a series of graceful dances, including the Candlelight Dance of the Rakhine State, part of the Festival of Lights, which pays respect to elders in the community.
The Brampton association has been prominent at that city’s Carabram festivities, with more than 4,000 people visiting their pavilion this year. They also won an award for their booth at the CNE. More information can be found at www.mcab.ca.
The association is helping three villages back home recover from the cyclone, raising money for medical supplies, tillers, seeds, food and clothing. Many communities in the severely-damaged rice-growing region near the Bay of Bengal are not accessible by road, making relief efforts especially difficult.
Myanmar is primarily a Buddhist nation, and is known for its golden pagodas, or temples. The environment ranges from mountains in the north, to tropical jungle, to the vast Irrawaddy Delta to the south, near the capital city, Yangon.
MCAB Secretary Bessie Terzi helps operate a family business, Mya Yadanar, which imports handcrafted treasures directly from artisans in Myanmar.
“It is called The Golden Land,” she said.
The country is famous for its lacquerware, elaborate bamboo bowls and containers with a high-gloss finish inlaid with gold or other elements, often presented as gifts by the country’s kings.
Then there are the creations in Amboyna Burl Wood, an aromatic hardwood with spectacular grain patterns, the intricate hand-painted umbrellas and the gold-embroidered scarves and tapestries, many featuring images of the elephant. Find out more at www.myayadanar.com.
The country is also a major producer of gemstones, especially jade. The Unites States has imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar because of the poor human rights record of the military government, including a ban on importation of gems. Gems are still sold, of course, mainly to Chinese and Thai merchants, with a recent auction raising about $175 million, according to an Associated Press report.
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