Easter Sunday attack survivors: Healing through the arts
When founder of the Sunshine Charity for children Sharadha de Saram heard about the Easter Sunday bombings, she was deeply saddened. Particularly since two children, who had attended the charity’s daycare centre were among the victims at the Zion Church in Batticaloa.
This gave her an added reason to link Sunshine Charity with Give2Asia, a non-profit organisation based in San Francisco, USA that conducts a range of philanthropic programmes in Asia. Their work grew in Sri Lanka post-tsunami, around the same time Sunshine Charity was formed, and Sharadha has been functioning as its local field advisor since.
The organisation works closely with the local communities and local advisors, and was quick to set up a fund to provide local trauma services for people in Sri Lanka, after the bombings.
The project aims to provide trauma services for the communities affected by the attack on the St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, focusing on three main areas of therapy: Interactive Dance / Dance Movement Therapy, Interactive Art Therapy and Interactive Music Therapy.
This project looks to benefit not only the survivors, but also anyone in the community who has been traumatised as a result. “Our work is not going to cost a lot, because lots of the people are donating their talent free of charge,” Sharadha tells us. If there is enough funding, the organisation will also be able to reach out to the Zion Church as well.
Sharadha, together with Sunshine Charity, will work with the local communities to identify the beneficiaries for the project. “It should benefit a larger number rather than smaller for it to have impact, and it should happen during the weekends so children can attend school,” she says.
The Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) will be run by Wolfgang Stange, founder of the Amici Dance Theatre Company in London. DMT is essentially the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process that furthers the emotional, social, cognitive and physical integration of the individual.
Stange has previously worked with disabled youth and adults of Sri Lanka. “He loves the country like his second home and actually lives near St Sebastian’s Church, where he went for the midnight mass,” she recalls.
Music therapy will be conducted by singer Rukshan Perera, who will sing with, and for the children, establishing a constructive dialogue with them that emphasizes on positive experiences, leading to trust and allowing feelings to be expressed through music. Rukshan has been a part of Sunshine Charity’s projects numerous times, and children love participating in his workshops.
Similarly, the art therapy conducted by art therapist Kalani Dodantenna will focus on encouraging participants to explore their feelings through art. The sessions will also require a facilitator to make everything understandable for the children, and Sharadha has recommended Lalitha Peiris, who Sunshine Charity has worked with before.
Ideally they plan to begin the project around September/October this year (2019), thus giving those affected enough time to process the situation.
Since the project was concerning a tragedy that had affected the Sri Lankan community, Sharadha believes support should come locally as well. “I appeal to Sri Lankans to give generously,” she says. Every rupee counts. It will even enable the workshops to be lengthened from four to eight sessions or follow up workshops later on. “It depends a lot on funding, on the kindness of people who volunteer their time, and of course Give2Asia who created the project.”
Handouts don’t change people’s lives, she says. If you want to make a social change, you have to look at the long term. After these sessions are conducted, Sharadha hopes the community will take ownership of the concept and continue it.
| How you could help | |
| Please send donations to The Sunshine Charity to: Account Name: THE SUNSHINE CHARITY Account Number: Current Account: 005010157629 Bank: Hatton National Bank – Green Path Branch Bank Address: 38, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 3 Bank Swift Code: HBLILKLX Branch Code: 005 Donations may also be made through Give2Asia: Visit their homepage at https://give2asia.org/ Project: Post-Traumatic Support for Sri Lanka Or click on https://give2asia.org/support-for-sri-lanka/ and go to ‘Donate Now’ |