March 2023: Mothers and Farmers and Snakes – Oh My!
Mothers and Farmers and Snakes – Oh My!
Our commitment to community is not news to you. We talk about it every month in these newsletters. But it’s usually about what happens inside our Heartprint Community Centre and within our Build Teams.
What we don’t talk about much is how our world fits into the larger Siem Reap community. After all, although we sometimes feel like a little island in an ever-changing sea, our kids must eventually become part of a larger, integrated world where they communicate, collaborate, and work with others to achieve common goals.
Nothing illustrates this better than the story of the 2023 Giant Puppet Project in Siem Reap.
The Giant Puppet Project is Cambodia’s largest community arts project for children and the biggest in Southeast Asia. Its super-talented organizers held two weeks of workshops this year, culminating in seven giant puppets rolling through the riverside streets of Siem Reap in a joyful and spectacular parade.
This year’s theme was life on and around the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and a huge part of life in Siem Reap province. The puppets were outsized images representative of life here: a curling, undulating water snake, a farmer with his watering can, a fish, vegetables, and birds. And, of course, a Mother, whose giant papier mache doppelganger became Heartprint’s main project.
The puppets were constructed in a workspace inside the walls of Wat Damnak. We had 42 kids working for two days on the puppet we “shared” with a team from Anjali House. We worked in the mornings, and our fellow Mum designers took over in the afternoon after a collegial handover and admiration of each others’ work. The Heartprint team also helped with decorations for the snake and a giant pink fish. All the hands dipping and smoothing and painting every little bit until they were just perfect. The workspace rang with the chatter of all the teams at work while pagoda cats wandered around the edges of the unaccustomed clamor.
During the two days of intense work to finish the puppets, our kids were ferried to and from Wat Damnak in multiple tuk-tuks. But when the Big Day dawned, we wanted to head out from our Community Centre together, so we hired a bus. Well. That turned into its own adventure as many of our young people had never been on a bus. (We will spare you the details of bus-sickness, but recoveries were made quickly in the excitement of lining up for the parade.)
As the sun faded over the waters of the Tonle Sap and reams of colored lights sparkled along the parade route, the Giant Puppets and their hundreds of youthful artisans began to roll along streets lined with thousands of residents and international visitors. The joy along the route was palpable; if smiles and laughter could power our Centre, we could keep the lights on for a year.
What a magical experience. What a precious lesson in making things bigger and better through collaboration and teamwork. Our kids learn every day the rewards of both individual effort and teamwork. It was a new experience for them to learn how disparate groups can come together to create beautiful things. Plus, it was fun.
Can’t wait for next year!
In the meantime, please don’t forget about Match it May coming up soon. Here are the details – you keep us going. Literally, you keep the lights on.
And! House #90 is now complete! Let’s do a countdown to 100!
Hope your April is a good one. Thanks always for your support.
