That's what we discovered when we entered the Rainbow Zone. We, mere mortals, thought we were building a restorative arts community centre. Oh what we men can construct and demolish with words!What foolishness! You know our story, we came, we saw, we liberated type thing..and then we stood back, and realized that there is a Zone here where man has not been, where things do not happen according to our plans and careless words. It's the Rainbow Zone. Tread with caution. Handle with care.
We too are being touched by the Zone. Affected by it, shaken up by it, moved to tears by it, and are being healed just as much as our Little Lord Fauntleroys and Princesses in Process. We discovered the gold at both ends of the rainbow.
There are moments and indeed days so rare to humankind, so precious that to attempt to share their content and value is equivalent to mission impossible, but I wish to try. There are incredible treasures hidden in dark places. Discovery is dependent upon turning up, being willing to go deep, and go dark .Quiet, no noise. Miners of Hope.
One of our Princesses is Hawler ( Howlair..) and a clever kid she is. Basically everything she touches turns to gold. English, she can't get enough of and gets top grades from Mr Saad. Computer Science , she excels and Mrs Anwaar beams when she gives her ten out of ten. Hawler was born in Aleppo. Hawler fled Aleppo. Hawler lives with the UN status of "asylum seeker" in Iraq. Hawler knows way more than English and Computers.
One Rainbow day I saw Hawler and our Sheikh Khalid plotting and planning. Sheikh being a bit of a dramatist, I knew that something was cooking.
Sheikh being quite elated...I let him get on with it. Drama. A play for the parents. A play about Springs of Hope Foundation and our kids. With Hawler. I looked around at our kids and saw bow ties, pearls and crowns but the reality of the heat of the said told me that Sheikh had taken on too much and this would not happen. It had the possibilities, strong ones of being one of our more conspicuous and abject failures. However, seeing that gold at both ends of the rainbow allowed us to gently take the risk.
Parents Day came and a journey into the Rainbow Zone began. The unexpected happened. Which it often does when humans are willing to stand aside and just let be.
The kids sang to their parents in English. Hawler of course wrote the song. " Springs of Hope Foundation is our home" No mere words. Reality. Home.
Then the play began. Sheikh Khalid had divided the 35 kids into two groups.Half sitting in the shadow of the rainbow, quietly painting and drawing. Life with SOHF.
The others were in cars, driving around looking for refugees, looking for the broken, looking for the homeless to take inside the Rainbow Zone and become part of our family. To join Home. The kids drove around and around tirelessly looking everywhere for the one to adopt and take care of.
Finally they found Hawler. Broken, hungry, in a tent with no one. Alone, dirty and scared.
As late as it was in the day, the kids stopped their car. They went inside the tent and invited Hawler to join them inside the Rainbow. Hawler was so happy. Roni ( our breakdancer ) came and told her all about Springs of Hope Foundation and covered her with a new rainbow scarf and led her out of her tent.
The kids all welcomed her and led her through the Rainbow to the table where she sat down and was fed and cleaned up, and then picked up the crayons and began to draw. Home. Family. Welcomed. Reclothed.
And then we saw it.
I want no more words. Our journey is costly. Our journey is rare. Please take good care, the very best care of the tear in these pictures. They come with a price.
If you would like to share in our journey, that of a miner, that of a bystander, that of a tear shedder, then contact us. It's a journey of which you can be a part of but the You in you can not show up. It's a journey with gold at both ends of the rainbow.
