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Healing the soul with song and dance
The Sunera Foundation launches its Tsunami Theatre Outreach Project (T-TOP) to provide therapeutic benefits to tsunami survivors through the performing arts
By Ayesha Inoon
The beauty and dignity of the human spirit is often expressed through the performing arts-song, dance and drama. These art forms provide an outlet for the sorrows and joys within, bringing healing to wounded souls.
The tsunami of 2004 left in its wake not only massive material destruction but also many broken hearts and minds that were shackled by fear, despair and grief.

Reaching out and giving them hope, the Sunera Foundation on March 10 launched its Tsunami Theatre Outreach Project (T-TOP) at the Centre for Professional Development: Education Management Centre. This project aims to use the performing arts to provide therapeutic benefits to those who were traumatised by the tsunami, particularly children. Over the years, Sunera has been known for its work with the differently-abled in Sri Lankan society-providing them with psychosocial support and using the performing arts as a therapeutic tool to help them find new ways of expressing themselves and discovering their hidden talents. T-TOP will use these techniques that have proved so successful in the past to bring strength and confidence back into the lives of tsunami victims.

The programme which focuses on six of the worst hit areas-Ampara, Galle, Jaffna, Matara, Trincomalee and Hambantota-is being run with the assistance of the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) and has already had about 50 workshops in these areas, with plans to double this by 2007. The NYSC handles the monitoring of the administrative aspects and also nominated young people from their youth clubs in each area to be hired and trained as workshop leaders.

As part of the launching ceremonies, 28 of these new trainers were presented with certificates that recognized their qualifications as practioners of Drama Therapy-a method developed by the founders of Sunera, Rohana Deva and Wolfgang Stange.

The training in Drama Therapy included intensive teaching in areas such as art therapy, leadership, drama, theatre, child safety and counselling. Many of these trainers were victims themselves.

“There were times after the tsunami when I wished that I too had died,” says 23- year-old Mekala, a trainer from Ampara who had watched helplessly as her mother, sister and five month-old niece were washed away. “Being involved in this project has given me such happiness-now I feel that I must live to pass on this happiness to others like me.” She adds that the various performances brought out the feelings of pain she had bottled up inside. Now she feels that this is the kind of work she wants to do throughout her life.

The project has bridged racial, cultural and religious gaps and embraced the diverse areas of the country in its work. “At first it was difficult to communicate with trainers from the North and East, since they only spoke Tamil,” say the young leaders from Hambantota. “But soon there was a wonderful exchange of ideas, and we also came to understand them better.”
Those from the North and East echo these sentiments, saying how touched they were during the recent bomb blasts in Jaffna, when their friends from the South kept calling to find out if they were alright. “If these feelings continue and spread among us, definitely there will be peace in the island,” says Anushiya from Jaffna.

The idea for T-TOP was born in the mind of Sunera’s Creative Director, Rohana Deva, who witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by the tsunami and realised the great need there would be for psychological support for survivors to rebuild their lives.

“We need to break free from this mind-set of dependency,” he says, commenting that survivors have settled into a routine of living off charity. The aim of the project, he says, is to give them the courage to stand on their own feet through developing the creative process of their thoughts. “There have been those who were carried into the workshops - at the end of it, they walked out by themselves. Such is the power of this kind of therapy.”

They travelled the country in search of the right trainers, says Ramani Damayanti, Assistant Creative Director of Sunera. Most of the children who were still living in shelters had become very tough and violent due to their experiences and techniques such as meditation were used to calm their minds and get them to behave more amicably.

Sunera hopes to conduct these workshops for at least 1,600 children each week. At the end of each year a performance will take place in each of the six districts. At the conclusion of the project, which they hope to continue till 2008, a grand performance will be held in Colombo. After this, Sunera plans to incorporate the T-TOP workshops into its regular programme.

Also part of the launch was a lovely example of Sunera’s work- the presentation of “A Prayer for Peace” a short performance by the members of the Butterflies Theatre Company along with young victims of the tsunami from Hambantota, Trincomalee and Galle. “When people have gone through trauma for any reason, everyone should concentrate and put their efforts into the recovery process,” says Sunethra Bandaranaike, Chairperson and the driving-force behind the Sunera Foundation.

“They should share their grief by talking about it, and work together with a commitment towards overcoming the trauma by moving forward as a society.” They hope to achieve this through T-TOP she says, by bringing together people from different parts of the island to work in this project.

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