Local Heroes Series: Lin Theik, Myanmar
Posted On
08/18/20
Author
Dragons HQ
WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157124
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-08-18 11:00:41
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-08-18 17:00:41
[post_content] =>
Meet Lin Theik
Lin is a 29 year old tour guide, educator, and entrepreneur from Myanmar. The ninth of ten children, Lin has a contagious enthusiasm for travel, learning from differing perspectives, and environmental entrepreneurism. Linn is a hero on many fronts - from exposing local youth to a variety of cultures within the borders of his own country to finding creative solutions for reusing plastic.
Lin’s Story
Lin had been working as a guide with a tour company leading young American students throughout Myanmar when he asked himself, “Why not do this with local students?” This question inspired him to found an organization, called Promised Land, that brings local youth on trips within Myanmar that exposes them to differing cultures and perspectives found within their own country.
Lin teaches Myanmarese youth how to travel, guiding his students to reflect upon their own experiences and helping them to build a cohesive group dynamic. Students learn leadership skills, oversee the group budget, engage in trekking, and have discussions with local community members. Lin tries to give them, “what they cannot get from the city.” He says, “I’m trying to let them see what you really need to see, trying to get them to think outside the box.” Through these immersive and hands-on travel experiences, Lin aspires to cultivate a combination of confidence and respect within his students.
Lin shares that one of the biggest obstacles in working with the youth of Myanmar is in fact their parents! Culturally, parents aren’t accustomed to being apart from their children and have high expectations for consistent communication and a low tolerance for separation. Lin surmounts these obstacles by posting daily messages on social media for the parents as well as keeping the trip length to a maximum of four days!
Over the years, two prominent figures have influenced Lin’s approach to life. The first was his late father, whose wisdom shaped Lin’s heart-centered manner in which he approaches people. His father taught him,
'People will forget what you say and what you give, but they will never forget how you treat them.' The second was a former boss, who taught Lin, 'When you talk to the people, you talk with your heart, not with your brain.'
Those words of wisdom have a visible effect on the way in which Lin interacts with others; he exudes a zest for life and heart-centeredness that permeates all of his encounters.
Lin states, “Traveling is important … to see the world in a different perspective.” He surmises that traveling is akin to standing in front of a mirror; it provides the opportunity to reflect upon one’s life and also to see from another person’s perspective. He shares, “The youth can change the world, if they try to know each other. If you want to know each other, you have to go to the place you’ve never been, talk to the people you’ve never talked to, and eat the food that you’ve never eaten.”
Forever the entrepreneurial spirit, when Lin isn’t busy guiding, he is developing a project to collect plastic and recycle it into bricks to be used for construction.
The idea came to him after watching local pagodas integrate straw to fortify the clay in the creation of bricks. He thought why not use plastic for the same purpose. He is in the process of creating this project and aspires to collect plastic gathered by people in his community by trading a prescribed amount for a t-shirt.
We’ll end with Lin’s words of wisdom: “Walk the way you’ve never walked. Don’t judge people, go the road the people go so you will see it. Go travel and learn. You can have fun and see what is there.” Lin believes that meeting new people and seeing the world through different points of view is the key to understanding and true happiness.
Lin's Film Recommendation: The Lady
Lin's Book Recommendation: Twilight over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess
Lin's Favorite Myanmarese Food: Mohinga: rice noodle soup served with beans, egg, and banana stem. An essential part of Burmese cuisine that is eaten in the morning and evening.
To learn more about this inspiring human and his organization, please visit Lin’s website: Promised Land Myanmar.
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => Local Heroes Series: Lin Theik, Myanmar
[post_excerpt] => Meet Linn Theik. Linn is a 2x year old tour guide, educator, and entrepreneur from Myanmar. The ninth of ten children, Linn has a contagious enthusiasm for travel, learning from differing perspectives, and environmental entrepreneurism. Linn is a hero on many fronts - from exposing local youth to a variety of cultures within the borders of his own country to finding creative solutions for reusing plastic.
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => local-heroes-series-linn-theik-myanmar
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-11-09 17:18:04
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-11-10 00:18:04
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 2
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 776
[name] => Local Heroes Series
[slug] => local-heroes-series
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 776
[taxonomy] => category
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 2
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 1
[cat_ID] => 776
[category_count] => 2
[category_description] =>
[cat_name] => Local Heroes Series
[category_nicename] => local-heroes-series
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/local-heroes-series/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 653
[name] => Global Community
[slug] => global_community
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 653
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 51
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
[cat_ID] => 653
[category_count] => 51
[category_description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[cat_name] => Global Community
[category_nicename] => global_community
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/global_community/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 670
[name] => Recommended
[slug] => recommended
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 670
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Recommended reading, watching and listening.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 18
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 12
[cat_ID] => 670
[category_count] => 18
[category_description] => Recommended reading, watching and listening.
[cat_name] => Recommended
[category_nicename] => recommended
[category_parent] => 0
)
[3] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 1
[name] => Uncategorized
[slug] => uncategorized
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 1
[taxonomy] => category
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 14
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 16
[cat_ID] => 1
[category_count] => 14
[category_description] =>
[cat_name] => Uncategorized
[category_nicename] => uncategorized
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => Local Heroes Series, Global Community ...
)
WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157353
[post_author] => 1525
[post_date] => 2020-07-24 11:29:20
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-07-24 17:29:20
[post_content] => You'll find no shortage of mask-making videos these days, but here at Dragons, we are feeling especially proud of this version created by our dear friends in Senegal, Papa Laye and Jenny Wagner.
As we continue taking responsibility to protect each other from Covid-19, let's also continue to protect the environment by creating masks from materials we already have. In this short video, you'll learn how to make a mask Senegal Style under Papa Laye's step-by-step and no-machine-needed expert instruction.
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX?
One email a week. Nothing Markety. Unsubscribe any time.
Subscribe to the Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community.
❤️
[post_title] => How to Make a Mask Senegal Style, With Papa Laye
[post_excerpt] => As we continue taking responsibility to protect each other from Covid-19, let's also continue to protect the environment by creating masks from materials we already have.
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => covid-masks-senegal
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-11-10 21:04:55
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-11-11 04:04:55
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 638
[name] => From the Field
[slug] => from_the_field
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 638
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 80
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
[cat_ID] => 638
[category_count] => 80
[category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[cat_name] => From the Field
[category_nicename] => from_the_field
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 653
[name] => Global Community
[slug] => global_community
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 653
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 51
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
[cat_ID] => 653
[category_count] => 51
[category_description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[cat_name] => Global Community
[category_nicename] => global_community
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/global_community/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 654
[name] => Mixed Media
[slug] => mixed_media
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 654
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art
[parent] => 0
[count] => 52
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 13
[cat_ID] => 654
[category_count] => 52
[category_description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art
[cat_name] => Mixed Media
[category_nicename] => mixed_media
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => From the Field, Global Community ...
)
How to Make a Mask Senegal Style, With Papa Laye
Posted On
07/24/20
Author
Dragons HQ
Description
As we continue taking responsibility to protect each other from Covid-19, let's also continue to protect the environment by creating masks from materials we already have. Read MoreWP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157143
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-07-07 09:15:18
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-07-07 15:15:18
[post_content] => We caught up with Dragons instructors Luke Hein and Kawsar Muhtar to learn more about their art-based project to tell stories from Uyghur people around the world during Ramadan.
Every day during the month of Ramadan for the past two years, Luke Hein makes a watercolor painting and posts it on his Instagram handle, vlfhein. The paintings are renditions of photographs and stories gathered in the Tarim Basin area of western China, and they showcase vignettes of life there: Kashgari pottery, desert landscapes, clay tonur (i.e., tandoor) ovens, street scenes, mosques, and buildings decorated with intricate and colorful mosaics.
“The Boy Loves Fish”
When he launched the Ramadan watercolor project in 2019, Luke had just returned from a personal trip through the Tarim Basin, located in Xinjiang Province, China. He wondered: was there a way to publicize the challenging realities there without making explicit political comments that could compromise his ability to travel there in the future? Inspired by Chiura Obata, the renowned Japanese-American artist who painted and taught while imprisoned at the Topaz internment camp during World War II, Luke hit upon the idea of raising awareness indirectly.
I said, ‘Let me just highlight things I love, to build knowledge, to build understanding, and through that to build empathy and eventually connection and love because that’s what going to make people risk to help somebody else, that’s what’s going to make people loyal to other people.’ The project is valuable because it’s not directly critical. That’s sort of the key move.
“I had been carrying around a cakey old tray of watercolors from my days as a home schooler. I brought it all over Indonesia and China, telling myself I was going to paint something.” It wasn’t until Luke arrived back in the U.S. that he finally sat down to paint with his niece. “I just started doing it, I didn’t know much about watercolors,” explains Luke, adding that he “drew poorly” throughout high school before his interest in the visual arts waned.
“Daily routines in Kashgar’s demolished old quarter”
During the first year of the Ramadan watercolor project, most of the paintings were of photographs from Luke’s direct experiences traveling in Xinjiang Province. Luke had just moved back into his parent’s house in Alabama to help take care of his ailing father, who had been diagnosed with cancer five years prior and was now taking a sharp decline. Luke recalls his father coming out every night while he was painting at 2 or 3 in the morning. “I interrupted my paintings to give massages, talk with him, sometimes to be angry with him, sometimes to be curious, to make time to be with him.” Luke’s father passed away about a month after the completion of the first Ramadan project, on the summer solstice, surrounded by family.
“With this watercolor that you can’t control super well, not in the same way you can control a pen when you’re doing cartoons, drawing/erasing then drawing again, these details, freckles, each leaf on a tree… you can’t do that in watercolor. It takes away your ability to control that much. It ended up being a really healthy medium for me. I came to identify it a little bit with some of the ideas I was struggling with over control, two tensions I was holding very tightly to: One, the situation with my father, the other situation with a friend in China I was very worried about. Both of which I had almost no control over, both of which became fused in me and in the project. I was doing a lot of thinking by painting.”
“Like a Kind of Medicine”
Though not a Muslim, Luke fasted and observed the other tenets of Ramadan while painting. Says Luke: “It’s no accident that I was doing this during Ramadan. I don’t know a lot about Islam, my understanding is evolving. The act of submission was the idea I was repeating in my head. This isn’t necessarily going to look good. The time constraint was another element: I’m going to do one painting a day. Some of the paintings aren’t going to get done. You can see pencil on some of the places where I didn't actually get to painting because it took me so long, I had to move onto the next one.”
“Farms outside of Hotan”
The last piece of the project fell into place during a phone call with fellow Dragons instructor Kawsar Muktar—a Uyghur woman from Kashgar—during which they discussed parallels between Uyghurs and the Cajun ethnic group. Years of conversations with his bayou-born grandmother sparked an increasing interest in the history of the Cajun ethnic minority. Why, wondered Luke, when his grandmother’s first language had been French, did neither he nor his father speak a word of it?
After suffering targeted violence and forced removal from Maritime Canada beginning in 1755, the mostly Catholic, French-speaking Acadians (or ‘Cajuns’) were deported en masse to Britain, France, and various colonies. Many Cajuns later regrouped and settled in South Louisiana. Historian Shane K. Bernard explains how xenophobic policies associated with the Red Scare, World War I and II, and the Cold War pressured Cajuns to move to the city and assimilate into White Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority. It was during this time that many Cajuns, including Luke’s grandmother, stopped speaking French.
“Please speak the common language”
And yet the Cajun identity didn’t disappear. “In the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s,” says Luke, “ there was this revival of Cajun as cool. Something on the verge of disappearing seemed to gain the public eye. Most of it was through music and food, commodifying those in a way. It became cool to go to New Orleans, Mardi Gras was super cool.” Although some Cajun activists are critical of this commercialized caricature of Cajun-ness, Luke suspects that without this revival, perhaps no Cajun tradition would have survived to reevaluate today.
Hein pauses before adding: “There is a long tradition in China of talking about something that happened in a previous dynasty as an allegory, a veiled critique of something that is happening currently.”
In its second year, the Ramadan watercolor project started to change shape from an intensely personal project to a collective endeavor. Luke explains that he had been reading on critical pedagogy and became convinced of the value of what Paulo Freire describes as a dialogic relationship a teacher or researcher forms with partners in a project. He began asking himself: “How can I put more control of this project into other peoples’ hands?”
The answer came once again from Kawsar Muhtar, now living in Paris with her husband and three-year-old daughter. Kawsar recounts: “My encounter with the Ramadan watercolor project actually started with Dragons (staff) orientation in 2016 when I met Luke Hein. I remember we had discussions about what was happening in my hometown. It felt very nice and connected to talk to someone who had been to (my hometown) before and understands the situation.”
During the second year of the Ramadan watercolor project, Kawsar began collecting stories from Uyghurs from the Tarim Basin now living abroad, asking people to share old photos and the stories behind them. Stories and photos came flooding in from Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, the UK, and elsewhere.
“Waiting at the Dress Shop”
Kawsar translated the stories and Luke made paintings from the photos. Says Kawsar: “We want this project to draw people’s attention to the land currently being forgotten. Secondly, we want the diaspora community from [Tarim Basin] to share their beloved memories about their hometown and families, to let each other know that they are not alone, give each other strength and encourage each other to go through this difficult time together.”
“Just a Road Near My Home”
“Personally, it has been very difficult for me to accept the fact of not being able to contact my parents in any form at the beginning. Especially because it happened right after I gave birth to my daughter when I needed my parents so badly, I had tons of questions to ask from my parents, and tons of feelings I feel after being a mother that I need to tell my mom. I felt very angry for a long time, I cried a lot, it even led to a period of depression when my daughter was a few months old. Now I am more at peace. When I receive those stories, I know that I am not the only person who lost contact and connection to their families. I think some people need this platform to express their feelings. It is very important.”
Kawsar shares a recent message from a Uyghur girl living in Japan:
Kawsar: Do you miss your father?
The girl: If I saw his shadow, I would hug it.
“The Taste of Snow”
“For me,” adds Kawsar, “the most inspiring part of this project is that I got to talk to the Uyghur people all over the world, listen to their stories and feelings, and feel connected.
After we started to post our invitation to collect photos and stories, a lot of people sent me their photos and told me about their memories. Some of them didn’t have any photos, but they told me the stories or the feelings which they miss the most. Luke did some paintings based on just those memories, which I think was incredible. A lot of people don't have any photos or memories to share, but they still write to me and express gratitude and say that they love to follow the stories and photos I post every day. One Uyghur lady who lives in Sweden sent me a poem she wrote after she saw our invitation.”
Kawsar and Luke hope to continue the project in future years, both as a means of raising awareness about the lives of Uyghur people to an external audience, and as a way of fortifying Chinese Muslims in the diaspora through storytelling during their holiest month. Kawsar and Luke are actively enlisting help to translate the stories into multiple languages, and many of the stories have already been translated into Indonesian by friend and colleague Umi Akhdadiyah. The pair also have plans to write a children’s book in the Uyghur language using Luke’s illustrations.
Below you will find the aforementioned poem and Luke’s accompanying watercolor painting. It is the woman’s first poem.
I Most Want
A poem on which the painting was based by a Kashgar native and mother of two boys now living in Sweden @miskin.kalip. Translated from Uyghur to Chinese by Kawsar Muhtar, and from Chinese to English by Luke Hein.
I most want to gather the alfalfa clustering in the fields,
to return home and make mouthwatering alfalfa dumplings.
My eyebrows have become dry and rough;
I want the moisture from the Osma grass to draw them into the shape of a heart.
My hair, like my very self, withers and becomes brittle.
I most want to smear it with Persian olive, infusing a bit of nutrition,
or, even more, I wish to hang against my mother’s bosom as when I was a child
and let her to rub me with sheep oil while I absorb the sun.
I want to dress bright and beautiful, put on high heels,
stalk the Old Town’s streets and alleys.
I hope Kashgar’s rain soaks me through.
I’d open my two hands and scream,
allowing my tears to fall the way of the rain.
I most want, in the kitchen, before the holiday, to press close to my mother
while we bake dumplings, fry pancakes, and meticulously prepare the holiday table.
When I think that I was at my mother’s side and never once thanked her,
I have ten thousand regrets and want to run off to slap this mouth of mine until it shatters.
Luke Hein is a freelance writer and experiential educator working in the PRC, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the US. Luke was raised in Auburn, Alabama AL after his Louisianan parents relocated there from Seattle in 1987. Home schooled until high school, Luke left Auburn ahead of schedule to spend his senior year in China in 2005. He has been returning there since, as a student, guide, researcher, traveler, and teacher. He's passionate about rural places, regions where boundaries blur, and the ingenious strategies people invent to contend with life's challenges. He writes and makes art at Instagram @vlfhein and has a recent article out on The News Lens International. You can hear an interview between Luke and his grandmother at a StoryCorps.
Kawsar Muhtar grew up in Kashgar old city and received a Chinese language education until middle school. She worked as a language teacher, journalist, and editor in Urumqi, where she gained valuable experience with Uyghur media and literature. Kawsar continued her studies in London, where she researched the role of mass media in social construction, representation, and understanding of difference and social diversity. After her studies, she worked as a Dragons instructor in China. She now lives in Paris as a part-time editor and an almost full-time mom.
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => Ramadan Watercolors Project: Sharing Stories from the Uyghur Diaspora
[post_excerpt] => We caught up with Dragons instructors Luke Hein and Kawsar Muhtar to learn more about their art-based project to tell stories from Uyghur people around the world during Ramadan. Every day during the month of Ramadan for the past two years, Luke Hein makes a watercolor painting and posts it on his Instagram handle, vlfhein. The paintings are renditions of photographs and stories gathered in the Tarim Basin area of western China, and they showcase vignettes of life there: Kashgari pottery, desert landscapes, clay tonur (i.e., tandoor) ovens, street scenes, mosques, and buildings decorated with intricate and colorful mosaics.
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => ramadan-watercolors-project-sharing-stories-from-the-uyghur-diaspora
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-11-10 19:53:49
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-11-11 02:53:49
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 2
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 638
[name] => From the Field
[slug] => from_the_field
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 638
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 80
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
[cat_ID] => 638
[category_count] => 80
[category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[cat_name] => From the Field
[category_nicename] => from_the_field
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 653
[name] => Global Community
[slug] => global_community
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 653
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 51
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
[cat_ID] => 653
[category_count] => 51
[category_description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[cat_name] => Global Community
[category_nicename] => global_community
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/global_community/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 640
[name] => Dragons Instructors
[slug] => dragons_instructors
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 640
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featuring the words, projects, guidance and vision of the community of incredible staff that make Dragons what it is.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 36
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 9
[cat_ID] => 640
[category_count] => 36
[category_description] => Featuring the words, projects, guidance and vision of the community of incredible staff that make Dragons what it is.
[cat_name] => Dragons Instructors
[category_nicename] => dragons_instructors
[category_parent] => 0
)
[3] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 1
[name] => Uncategorized
[slug] => uncategorized
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 1
[taxonomy] => category
[description] =>
[parent] => 0
[count] => 14
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 16
[cat_ID] => 1
[category_count] => 14
[category_description] =>
[cat_name] => Uncategorized
[category_nicename] => uncategorized
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => From the Field, Global Community ...
)
Ramadan Watercolors Project: Sharing Stories from the Uyghur Diaspora
Posted On
07/07/20
Author
Luke Hein and Kawsar Muhtar
Description
We caught up with Dragons instructors Luke Hein and Kawsar Muhtar to learn more about their art-based project to tell stories from Uyghur people around the world during Ramadan. Every… Read MoreWP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157321
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-07-06 10:23:43
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-07-06 16:23:43
[post_content] => Dear Dragons Alum Families and Community,
Today is July 1st: Week one of our summer courses. In normal times, students would be getting to know their instructors and peers, tasting and smelling new cuisines, and beginning their Dragons experience. These are clearly not normal times, and this year we are feeling what many of you experienced when your child left home: the empty nest. Until international borders reopen, the majority of our customary work is put on hold; as temporary empty nesters, we are afforded the time and space to look at ourselves in new ways. These past months of crisis have helped us to ask old questions with renewed urgency, expand our vision, and deepen our purpose. I'd like to share these developments with you:
Bringing our work closer to home
At our core, Where There Be Dragons is about discovery of and connection to self, others, and our shared planet through immersive and responsible travel. With international travel on pause, we want to expand our mission to meet new realities. Over the past several months we've developed new domestic programs for our Summer, Gap and Adult participants. We've long wanted to bring our work "closer to home." These courses do just that, allowing us to bring participants in contact with critical issues and impactful experiences in the US.
Supporting communities
- While we know Dragons will get through this and be stronger for it, the slowdown has acutely impacted many of our overseas staff and partner communities. In response, The Dragons Fund (a 501c3 program of the COMMON Foundation) started a
- Community Relief Fund to help provide small grants to affected communities in the places we visit. These communities have always been the bedrock of a Dragons education. We are continually inspired by their creativity, strength, and resilience. They continue to teach us how to navigate this complex world.
- Julianne Chandler, our Latin America Program Director, recently wrote a beautiful blog post about how one of these communities in Bolivia has been impacted by the pandemic and responded in creative ways.
Deepening our work towards justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
Over the past few years we've made tangible strides in more fully articulating and realizing our mission, vision, and values. We hope our actions loudly reflect our words. And yet, as with all things aspirational, the journey is endless. COVID-19's unequal impact on vulnerable communities and movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter remind us of how far we have to go-as an organization, as a country, and as a global community-to actuate meaningful and systemic change. International travel, and Dragons programming, are fundamentally entangled with legacies of colonialism and contain deep inequities. We are using our "empty nest" to develop a long-term strategic plan for deepening our work toward justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, which we look forward to sharing in the coming months.
Dragons will always seek to provide profound and unfiltered experiences that expose us to the beautiful and painful complexities of our world. Through our shared learning, we can step beyond our cultural and self-imposed limitations, awakening to who we want to be for ourselves and our communities.
Thank you for all your support in the recent months, and over the decades. We look forward to updating you on our programming as it returns.
Reed Harwood
Executive Director
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => The Empty Nest and What Comes Next for Dragons
[post_excerpt] => Today is July 1st: Week one of our summer courses. In normal times, students would be getting to know their instructors and peers, tasting and smelling new cuisines, and beginning their Dragons experience. These are clearly not normal times, and this year we are feeling what many of you experienced when your child left home: the empty nest. Until international borders reopen, the majority of our customary work is put on hold; as temporary empty nesters, we are afforded the time and space to look at ourselves in new ways. These past months of crisis have helped us to ask old questions with renewed urgency, expand our vision, and deepen our purpose. I'd like to share these developments with you:
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => the-empty-nest-and-what-comes-next-for-dragons
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-07-06 10:47:09
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-07-06 16:47:09
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 653
[name] => Global Community
[slug] => global_community
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 653
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 51
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
[cat_ID] => 653
[category_count] => 51
[category_description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[cat_name] => Global Community
[category_nicename] => global_community
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/global_community/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 641
[name] => About Dragons
[slug] => about_dragons
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 641
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Press, Essays from Admin, and Behind-the-Scenes HQ.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 54
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 10
[cat_ID] => 641
[category_count] => 54
[category_description] => Press, Essays from Admin, and Behind-the-Scenes HQ.
[cat_name] => About Dragons
[category_nicename] => about_dragons
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/about_dragons/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 651
[name] => Announcements
[slug] => announcements
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 651
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 64
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 15
[cat_ID] => 651
[category_count] => 64
[category_description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity.
[cat_name] => Announcements
[category_nicename] => announcements
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => Global Community, About Dragons ...
)
The Empty Nest and What Comes Next for Dragons
Posted On
07/06/20
Author
Reed Harwood, Executive Director
Description
Today is July 1st: Week one of our summer courses. In normal times, students would be getting to know their instructors and peers, tasting and smelling new cuisines, and beginning… Read MoreWP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157105
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-06-27 08:00:26
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-06-27 14:00:26
[post_content] => This blog post is written by Claire Bennett, a Dragons Instructor who usually resides in Nepal, but who has spent the months of the pandemic hunkering down in Indonesia, after supporting the Bridge Year Program there earlier this year. Claire worked with Lutfi Handayani, Dragons Local Coordinator, to distribute a Community Relief Fund grant in Yogyakarta.
On our way into the public health office in Yogyakarta we had seen a pick-up truck, sirens blazing, full of people in hazmat suits. It was this trip that really opened my eyes to the scale of the pandemic here in Indonesia. Up until that point, the number of cases of COVID-19 in the country that I somewhat unexpectedly have called home for the last few months, seemed to be within reasonable limits. (Although my definition of “reasonable” has been warped by the comparison to other countries I hold dear which have fared much worse, like my native UK.)
Lutfi and I had applied to the Dragons Community Relief Fund for a small project here in Yogya. Part of the grant was to donate 25 sets of PPE to the local public health office. Procuring the suits had been no small feat; they are not available for general purchase, so we had needed to locate the correct material and then take it to a tailor to sew the suits to the required specification. I marveled that the government had resorted to appealing to the public to donate hand-sewn hazmat suits.
To enter the public health office it is mandatory to wash your hands and wear a facemask. We asked one of the administrators where the pick-up truck we had seen was headed. “To collect and bury the body of a seven-year-old girl who died this morning,” was the reply, and we wished we hadn’t asked. Still, she would not be counted among the case statistics as she was still on the waiting list to have the test that would have confirmed it. “Most of the people that die are in the ‘suspected’ category,” we were told. “But we still have to treat the bodies like they had the virus – that’s why we are running out of PPE.”
Our donation was to protect public health workers overwhelmed by the rising death tolls here. It felt like a good use of a very small amount of funds.
[caption id="attachment_157207" align="aligncenter" width="715"]
Photo by Claire Bennett, Instructor.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_157205" align="aligncenter" width="715"]
Photo by Claire Bennett, Instructor.[/caption]
The other thing we planned to do with the community grant was something we knew would provide immediate relief; giving small amounts of essential food and supplies to those hit hardest by the crisis.
Indonesia is in an unusual situation in that there has been no nationwide lockdown, and no shelter-in-place instructions have been given except for in areas of exceptionally high transmission such as the capital.
The government has declared that a lockdown would be too hard on the country’s daily wage earners, who make up a significant proportion of the population. Despite this, the economic impact of the crisis has hit Indonesia hard, as tourism ceased, restaurants reluctantly shut their doors due to declining demand, construction work has stopped, and markets have closed. A large number of families have lost their only source of income.
In my work with Learning Service I have often spoken out against “handouts” as a form of charity, as it leads to dependency instead of systemic change. However in the face of an immediate need such as a natural disaster or, as we have found, economic fallout from a pandemic, there is a need for a stopgap, and when people are struggling to feed their families there isn’t time to make longer-term plans.
We decided to focus on the two areas of town that host our Dragons students – Tamansiswa, where the semester program house is located, and Kotagede, the community that hosts the Princeton Bridge Year groups. In both communities, we worked with local leaders to identify families most in need, which ended up being 20 families around Tamansiswa and 19 in Kotagede. The community chief in Tamansiswa also requested us to install a small public hand-washing station to promote good hygiene practices for the duration of the pandemic.
The food packages were comprised of bare essentials, to ensure that we were not giving anything that would be wasted. 5kg of rice (of course, we are in Indonesia), cooking oil, salt, sugar, tea, eggs, hand soap, and naturally the ubiquitous “Indomie” instant noodles. The packages were delivered to the community leaders who distributed them anonymously in order to avoid questions or jealousy.
[caption id="attachment_157136" align="alignnone" width="2560"]
Photo by Aaron Slosberg, Instructor.[/caption]
In lots of ways, the support that we offered with this community fund was minimal: a token of support and solidarity in troubled times. But I also like to think it had a modest impact.
For the relatively tiny amount of just US $525, we were able to make 25 hazmat suits for public health workers, support 39 struggling families with a couple of weeks’ groceries, and set up a public hand-washing station. Along with boxes of food and soap, the Dragons community also offered our community in Yogyakarta a sense of hope in these dark times. A huge thank you to all who have donated so far!
Dragons Fund is a program of the COMMON Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
All donations are tax-deductible as permitted by U.S. tax law.
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX?
One email a week. Nothing Markety. Unsubscribe any time.
Subscribe to the Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community.
❤️
[post_title] => INDONESIA (YOGYAKARTA)—DRAGONS COMMUNITY RELIEF FUND IN ACTION
[post_excerpt] => Lutfi and I had applied to the Dragons Community Relief Fund for a small project here in Yogya. Part of the grant was to donate 25 sets of PPE to the local public health office. Procuring the suits had been no small feat; they are not available for general purchase, so we had needed to locate the correct material and then take it to a tailor to sew the suits to the required specification. I marveled that the government had resorted to appealing to the public to donate hand-sewn hazmat suits.
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => indonesia-yogyakarta-community-grant-update
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-06-27 09:07:03
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-06-27 15:07:03
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 638
[name] => From the Field
[slug] => from_the_field
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 638
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 80
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 5
[cat_ID] => 638
[category_count] => 80
[category_description] => Featured Yaks, Reflections, Quotes, Photo Spreads and Videos from the Four Corners.
[cat_name] => From the Field
[category_nicename] => from_the_field
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/from_the_field/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 653
[name] => Global Community
[slug] => global_community
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 653
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 51
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 7
[cat_ID] => 653
[category_count] => 51
[category_description] => Featured International People, Places, Projects.
[cat_name] => Global Community
[category_nicename] => global_community
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/global_community/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 641
[name] => About Dragons
[slug] => about_dragons
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 641
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Press, Essays from Admin, and Behind-the-Scenes HQ.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 54
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 10
[cat_ID] => 641
[category_count] => 54
[category_description] => Press, Essays from Admin, and Behind-the-Scenes HQ.
[cat_name] => About Dragons
[category_nicename] => about_dragons
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => From the Field, Global Community ...
)
INDONESIA (YOGYAKARTA)—DRAGONS COMMUNITY RELIEF FUND IN ACTION
Posted On
06/27/20
Author
Claire Bennett, Dragons Instructor
Description
Lutfi and I had applied to the Dragons Community Relief Fund for a small project here in Yogya. Part of the grant was to donate 25 sets of PPE to… Read MoreWP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 157170
[post_author] => 1530
[post_date] => 2020-06-17 10:12:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-06-17 16:12:54
[post_content] =>
ARE YOU CONSIDERING A GAP YEAR?
If you're between the ages of 17-22 and are weighing the pros and cons of taking a break between high school and college, we've developed a free Gap Year Guide & Starter Kit to help you understand whether a Gap Year is right for you.
Download for Free
HOW WILL THE DRAGONS GAP YEAR GUIDE & STARTER KIT HELP ME?
If your Gap Year ambitions include gaining experience in wilderness exploration, language study, community engagement, activism, and/or cultural immersion, this guide highlights how a custom-crafted Dragons semester in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, can support your educational goals.
It’s also equipped with statistics, guiding questions, student testimonials, links to resources, and interactive activities that will help you determine if taking time off the typical academic path will better prepare you for your future.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INTERACTIVE PLANNING ACTIVITIES?
Download the PDF to engage with the following interactive features:
- Guiding Questions
- Links to relevant blogs and resources
- Goal Setting Visioning Activity
- Average Perfect Day + Best Day Ever (Ad Lib)
- Timeline Activity
- How to Choose a Dragons Program
PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️
[post_title] => Free Gap Year Guide & Starter Kit
[post_excerpt] => Committing to a Gap Year is a big decision. We developed the Gap Year Guide & Starter Kit to help you understand whether a Gap Year is right for you. The guide comes equipped with statistics, guiding questions, quotes from students, links to resources, and interactive activities. You can download it and view it in a PDF viewer to get started.
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => free-gap-year-guide-starter-kit
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-07-09 13:08:11
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-07-09 19:08:11
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 700
[name] => For Parents
[slug] => for_parents
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 700
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Blog posts specifically curated for parents wishing to know more about Dragons culture, programs, company, and community.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 48
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 6
[cat_ID] => 700
[category_count] => 48
[category_description] => Blog posts specifically curated for parents wishing to know more about Dragons culture, programs, company, and community.
[cat_name] => For Parents
[category_nicename] => for_parents
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/for_parents/
)
[1] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 654
[name] => Mixed Media
[slug] => mixed_media
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 654
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art
[parent] => 0
[count] => 52
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 13
[cat_ID] => 654
[category_count] => 52
[category_description] => Featured Photography, Videos, Podcasts, Photo Contest Winners, Films & Art
[cat_name] => Mixed Media
[category_nicename] => mixed_media
[category_parent] => 0
[link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/mixed_media/
)
[2] => WP_Term Object
(
[term_id] => 651
[name] => Announcements
[slug] => announcements
[term_group] => 0
[term_taxonomy_id] => 651
[taxonomy] => category
[description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity.
[parent] => 0
[count] => 64
[filter] => raw
[term_order] => 15
[cat_ID] => 651
[category_count] => 64
[category_description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity.
[cat_name] => Announcements
[category_nicename] => announcements
[category_parent] => 0
)
)
[category_links] => For Parents, Mixed Media ...
)
Free Gap Year Guide & Starter Kit
Posted On
06/17/20
Author
Dragons HQ
