Fifth birthday celebration

The Tsunamika 5th birthday celebrations on Sunday 7th February were a joyous affair, full of children’s laughter and fun packed events.
We started our celebration at nine-thirty with the arrival of the women from the villages. One of the fisherwomen leaders made a speech, and then Professor Irena Atelievic spoke about the uniqueness of Tsunamika. Tsunamika was born from the mother company, Upasana and she went on to help brother and sister projects like Small Steps, Varanasi, Tranquebar and Kapas, reaching out around the world with her message of love and hope, and above all human unity Irena used the example of the metamorphosis of a butterfly from its cocoon.

‘THERE IS A POWER WITHIN US THAT CAN TRANSFORM THE HORRORS OF LIFE, A POWER THAT COMES FORWARD WHEN WE FOLLOW THE CALL OF OUR HEARTS.

LIFE IS SACRED. TRANSFORM DESTRUCTION AND DEATH.’

Many programs took place onstage, like the little Tsunamika angels from around the world representing human unity, emerging from a giant Tsunamika and giving the women hope and love in the form of flowers and balloons

Main activities:

• Paint your own Tsunamika – a large canvas was placed against a wall upon which one could paint Tsunamikas as one wished making a smorgasbord of Tsunamikas in various designs.
• Tsunamika play – the women made a very witty and lively play using Tsunamika dolls as puppets, depicting a typical day in the life of Tsunamika!
• The Upasana family play – this play demonstrated the role Auroville and Upasana have played in nurturing the Tsunamika project. The Upasana family members wore long white robes with red masks symbolising Upasana, while children dressed as all our projects danced around a central Tsunamika chanting a rhyme.
• Exhibition of village scenes in a Tsunamika theme – Beautiful miniature Tsunamikas were depicted in various daily village scenarios.
• Raffle draw – where the winners were announced.
• Lunch – a yummy buffet full of old favourites like vada’s and papads, sugar and spice and all things nice!
• Bharat natayam – a scintillating performance by the village girls ensured that the mood of the event was always upbeat.
• Tribute to ambassadors and village leaders –The ambassadors who took Tsunamika all over the world and the fisherwomen leaders who managed the Tsunamika project in the villages are instrumental in keeping the Tsunamika project alive. 

 

“HER MESSAGE GOES BEYOND THE TSUNAMI. SHE IS HOPE, SHE IS RESILIENCE AND SHE IS CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION. IN THE DEPTHS OF THE HEART DWELLS A HEALING PRESENCE AS SMALL AS A THUMB – TSUNAMIKA. SHE IS A VIBRANT MESSAGE, A MESSAGE OF A NEW WAY OF LIVING IN WHICH LIFE IS RESPECTED. A MESSAGE OF THE ONENESS OF LIFE IN WHICH LOVE HAS A PLACE. A MESSAGE OF THE SACREDNESS OF LIFE IN WHICH WE CAN CELEBRATE TOGETHER.” 

Quotes:

Nadine Barabas –“It was a very powerful event because you could see all the happy village people exchanging their experiences and it was a very entertaining afternoon full of activities, a great honour for Tsunamika’s fifth birthday.”

Inge: “It was beautiful.”

Pepi: “It was an emotionally charged event. Who makes an event of love and hope in today’s world? This event was inspirational on many levels.”

Uma recieves award of excellence

Uma Prajapati who is leading the Tsunamika project has received ‘Award of Excellence’ from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, India.

On 10/31/2005 at 3:11 PM dg@niftindia.com wrote:

NIFT/DGO/DO/2005/195
28th October 2005

Dear Uma,

I am delighted to inform you that your efforts of last few years have been recognized as outstanding contribution to business and society.

12th Convocation of National Institute of Fashion Technology
 

Chief guest A.P.J Abdul Klam, the president of India
 

Uma standing on the left
 

Danish company uses Tsunamika

In the second half of last year Mr. Troels, CEO of the Danish-owned multinational retailer 'Bestseller' , which designs, manufactures and markets garments and fashion accessories via a chain of 2,000 outlets around the world, visited South India in connection with a company plan to send a new year gift package to all 13,000 of its employees. What was special about this package was that it was to comprise items/materials which, in course of fabrication, would help provide employment opportunities for impoverished people in the Tsunami-hit areas of 2004.

While in India Troel visited Upasana in Auroville, through which Tsunamika had come into being and has been continuing to reach out to humanity as a whole. The visit was a great success. Not only did he like everything he heard about Auroville, but he was very enthusiastic to include Tsunamika dolls in the company package, and asked to be sent 54,000 of them. Meanwhile he made a major contribution of 6.5 lakhs rupees (approx US$14,445) towards the Tsunamika project, and committed his company to further ongoing support.

The dolls were delivered by Upasana in good time, and Tsunamika went out to company employees in some 30 countries around the world at the end of last year, packed in a hand-crafted banana-fibre box made using components supplied by people from 4 villages, together with a papier-mâché model sun made by a community of lepers near Pondicherry, a small wood block for hand-printing Indian motifs on fabric or stationery by another community, and a clay whistle created by a master craftsman using an ancient design, which he had taught a whole coastal village to make for income. Additionally, each gift box contained a DVD explaining the background to the gifts, how each was made and by who; a semi-precious stone from north India; and a small scarf made of old silk saree, which was used to wrap everything. The box thus not only helped large numbers of Tsunami-hit people, but also helped company employees learn about the lives and skills of people in a country different to their own.

So widely appreciated was the gift box, and so enthusiastic was Bestseller about the Tsunamika project, that they invited Uma and Manoj to visit Denmark. They visited Denmark in the 3rd week of April 2006.

At Bestsellers’ offices, Uma and Manoj met with the companies’ management and the design team. They suggested to the designers to not just think about their customers when they design clothes, but to also work with an underlying social cause in mind and to incorporate items or materials provided by people from underprivileged societies. These suggestions where received positively by the design team.

Uma with designers in Bestseller
 

Tsunamika in a Singapore school

On 4/11/06 at 2:16 PM Tan Cher Chong <tan_cher_chong@moe.edu.sg wrote:

Dear Friends

You might be interested to know that we've had an interesting event last Friday.

Throughout the whole of last week, our pupils got to read snippets on Tsunamika and there were posters asking "Who is Tsunamika?" pasted around the school. Then on Friday 7 Apr, International Friendship Day, we revealed the identity of Tsunamika and pupils were asked to go back to class and write on or to Tsunamika.

I have also attached some pictures, hope you can receive them.

Cher Chong
Damai Sec Sch
 

Damai's Mission: To work as a cohesive team with stakeholders, valuing and nurturing everyone to be caring, responsible and all-rounded lifelong learners, committed to giving their best to the community.

Danish Institute invites Tsunamika team

Frank Tonsberg, the Director of Danish training institute EUC nordvestsjælland (www.eucnvs.dk) at Holbeak, had invited Tsunamika team to present the project to his students as well as professors of the institute. On 19^th of May, Uma and Manoj visited the institute and made 2 presentations in Holbeack, Denmark. The presentation was well attended and well received.

One of the buildings of the institute where the presentation was made

Students watching the presentation

Professors watching the presentation

Frank, Uma and Lars

Spanish school uses Tsunamika for education

Tsunamika in a school in Pampalona!

Tsunamika travels all over the world and makes new friends wherever she goes. Like these children from Pamplona in Spain. With all of her new friends, Tsunamika wants to share her love.

The children welcome Tsunamika to their country and give her a home in their hearts, far away from where she was born. Together, the children have a lot of fun playing with Tsunamika and learning about where she comes from.

Her new friends like Tsunamika’s story very much. They want to tell it to more people so that they too could learn from it and become her friend. So, to help them tell others about her, they made beautiful drawings and other artworks about the little girl who came from the ocean.

After that, the children even made a small theatre where they could place their pictures in. And now everyone they know can look at the pictures, while the children tell them all about Tsunamika’s wonderful story.

 

 

Tsunamika celebrates birthday anniversary

On Sunday February 5th,2006, Tsunamika celebrated her first birthday in
Aissvarya Marriage Hall, Periya Mudaliarchavady, ECR Road, Kottakuppam, near Auroville.

Prema Viswanathan, special guest of honor, lighting the lamp. She is the person who designed Tsunamika.
From the left: Ram  from Concern Worlwide, Hemant from Auroville Tsunami Relief Committee and on the right is Prema Shankar who is a leading Tsunamika coordinator from Chinnamudaliarchavadi village.

Nearly 700 people, mostly ladies and children from 6 villages, participated.

There were many exhibits made by the participants, all based on Tsunamika expressing their creative talents.