Finding my way.

I had gone through most of my life looking for something, trying to find what it is that was missing. I knew there was something in my soul that was yearning, but I looked everywhere and in the end, I found it in myself. The one place I was the most scared to look, as I never believed that what was inside of me is what my soul needed, for me to love myself.  When I started WatersFromHeaven I had no idea exactly what it was that I wanted to do. We did renovations, library, science lab, school supplies, but during the time I was doing this on the side, I would just draw with the children. And somehow this activity became a part of my heart when I saw the absolute joy that something so simple could bring to a child. I realized that it does not take big works to bring happiness and make a change in the world. All it takes is giving of yourself freely, without any conditions. I never thought that I had anything to share that came from within as I did not feel that I was trained, had any experience, did not really like who I became or any of the things I believed I would need if I wanted to do something meaningful. But the one thing that I knew I had was to be a survivor and to not give up. As a child I had to do that and looking back now, I am thankful for all the experiences that made me into who I am today. We all look for our passion and so many times I looked at those that lived with passion and their dreams and I felt that it could never be me. But standing on the brink of leaving soon, not knowing exactly what the future holds or where it will lead, I know that I found my passion. My passion is loving who I am and loving what I do. Yes, fear is there, because it is something that is a part of us as humans. But I am learning how to deal with it in a way that is not making my body react in a way that makes me ill. I am not perfect, but I know that each of us are special and we can all make a change starting with ourselves. And yes I do want happiness and I want to share that joy with those of you that walk this road with me, pass by, or if we even just share a smile. I am still stunned at the amount of support this project has received, as WatersFromHeaven is not run by a big team of people, but by strangers and friends that have been there through this all. As this is not just my journey, but I believe, we each have our own journey and somehow it all comes together in the end. Nothing happens by accident, nothing happens without reason, as everything has meaning even in the worst possible situations. I wanted to thank so so many of you that have believed in what this project stands for and the reason for us doing this. You all have a part of the spirit of what is possible in the world. Don’t give up on your dreams! 

In a nutshell....our mission

WatersFromHeaven (WFH), a small grassroots organization, founded in Houston three years ago that works with small schools in rural communities to promote art in the remote areas of Nepal. The majority of schools in the villages do not have the necessary funds and access to trained teachers that are the prime barriers for allowing art to be in the school curriculum. However, WFH strongly believes that art is the path to one’s creative mind and heart. Our mission with the free art classes is to bring color into the classrooms and hand children the opportunity to express their creativity through simple and easy art activities. In addition, the workshops also assist teachers to improve their teaching methods and learn using basic and recyclable materials in the classrooms, making art accessible and affordable for everybody.

The project is called “Where there is color there is Hope,” because we believe that art can uplift your spirits and transform any moment into a colorful experience. We have already completed three successful trips, and will be soon leaving on an eight- month trip in September 2013. We will be drawing, painting, creating, and smiling and so on in Letang, which lies in the Morang district of Nepal. We are always trying to come up with new ideas with the workshops we do. Every year different participating artists have been able to bring the variety in WFH’s works. In Letang, free art and training workshops for teachers in the classrooms and nurseries will be setup. We have recruited 18 teachers and artists from all over the world to join on this project. Artists are not charged any fees for joining and all the expenses are shared. We been collecting art materials for the project and travelers have dropped off supplies and we will be taking the rest with us. Please, do visit us at our Facebook page for updates www.facebook.com/WatersFromHeaven.

Asking the question.

The time is getting closer for me to leave on the trip, and I can feel the days ticking by one after the other. Sometimes it feels as if the brakes are off and I realize that I have set myself on the path that is open at this point and the future is completely unknown. As many of you know, I have worked for two years on this project  and to spread the word. It has been a difficult road, but I know and realize that it is beginning to happen and soon the dream won’t be just a dream for the children anymore.

The “Where the is Color there is Hope Project” is the air that I breathe and I make sure every day, no matter how long my hours are at work that I answer every email, put up pictures and spread the word, and get up sometimes at 4 am other days at 5 am, so that I do can all the work I need to for this project before starting my regular job. It gives me the biggest joy, the hardest frustration and sometimes tears of despair, but there is nothing I would do differently. But there is one thing I have dreaded, and that is is to ask for financial donations. As you all do know I have never over the years raised funds to pay for my own expenses for the trips. It has all been self-funded, and I have worked many different jobs to get the money together. But this year I need to do what I dread most. And ask for your donations. I will be leaving for 8 months and the cost of the workshops for 8 months, art supplies, living expenses and the flight ticket is too much for me to save in such a short period. The time to leave is getting closer and I realize I need to ask for your help. The reason for planning this trip for such a long time, is that doing the short trips to do the art projects only has a small impact and the teachers and children are so much wanting to learn more. And the only way to do that is to spend longer time at the schools and begin to set up teacher training workshops so that we can reach more teachers and schools.

The cost of my flight ticket is $1700 and I had won $500 from Travel2Change towards my ticket. But that still leaves me to save $1200, visa fees are $40 per month and living expenses is minimum $300 a month. This is the costs without the art supplies and basic things like paper we need, and the supplies we would need to have for the workshops. I am doing everything from my side to save the money, but it is a big mountain to climb, but I have never backed down from the impossible. As you know by know is that the art and teacher training workshops are provided for free to the schools and the communities in the rural areas of Nepal. For these 8 months any teacher or artist joining me is paying for their own expenses and I do not charge them any fees for setting this up.

I know everybody gets so many requests each day asking for donations from all over, but I hope that my character, my work and my heart has shown you what I believe. If you could make a small donation, I would be so grateful and it would mean so much. My paypal as well as my email address is watersfromheaven@gmail.com and I can always send you my home address if needed. Thank you for all your love and support over the years as it has given me the will to continue. Thank you again!