Ask any great artist, musician, playwright, businessperson, CEO – ask any highly successful person what made them so successful and their answer will be that they achieved what they did because they believed in it 100%. Another way of putting this might be that their work was inspired by their heart, that their heart was inspired, lit up by, their work. I recently had the pleasure of spending some time with Holland’s “Godmother of Mosaics” Gwenny Sitters, a former Head Hunter and TV Producer who seeks respite from her hugely successful mosaicing school here in Bali, every time taking on one or two small projects that feed her own, and inevitably others hearts.
Some of you might remember a story that appeared about 6 months ago in which a Dutch woman and her friend risked their own lives to rescue an unknown Bali dog from an impossibly dangerous ravine. That was Gwenny. When I met her she was one week from leaving Bali, and unbelievably devoted to her Mimpi Manis, a little black dog she found in the forest just out of Kintamani, virtually hairless, covered in demodex and stinking of decay. Death in her eyes. When I met Mimpi 5 weeks later she was lying on the floor of the little warung of Pelangi Community School in Ubud, children and adults stepping over and around her as she lay totally unconcerned, sitting politely when told to and coming to her Mama’s call. Hair growing back on her chest and devotion in her eyes.
You see when Gwenny holidays, she responds to the insistent urging of her heart that tells her to give back a little, be thankful for her own good fortune and give to those around her. It is her heart that tells her to do it and if there is one thing she has learnt in life it is to listen to her heart. As an educator I have often been asked ‘What is holisitic education?’ My best, and most succinct answer would have to be that it is education that appeals to the heart. As adults we recognise that we put our best into things that have real meaning for us, things that engage us on a heart level, thus it is not difficult to understand that this speaks even more loudly for kids, too. Anything that allows kids opportunities for success, for fun, for total mind/body immersion so that time slips away unnoticed: projects that combine real meaning with things kids enjoy without fear of failure - these are programs that grab kids by the hand and see them running, leaping and bounding through whatever curriculum it is they have to cover.
As a parent, then, I was very excited to read a letter from Gwenny to the Pelangi parents, explaining about the mosaic project she was, in collaboration with B.A.R.C. – Bali Adoption Rehab Centre, doing with the children of Pelangi School. The project has seen 16 organically shaped stepping stones created, each to be mosaiced by a set of children, a little one accompanied by a bigger child. Gwenny loves the symbolism of stepping stones, things we do not really ever take for granted, carry us to safety or trip us up as they may. For all of us, as we watch our kids on their first day of school, we are struck over and over again by the significance of this step in their lives; for those of us who have moved to Bali, what a huge and educational step this has been; for those brave Balinese parents that step outside the square and choose to send their kids to a holistic, bi-lingual, international school, completely out of the box – this project speaks about the steps we take in life, how we pave our own way, create, piece by piece, our lives.
As Gwenny spends time with the kids, in the quiet space of focus on the job at hand, she tells them about Mimpi Manis, about why she loves to save a dog each time she visits: why it makes her feel good to try and do good for others. In my country they call this values education, and tried under the last government to embed it within the curriculum. Here, accompanied by the measured pounding of hammers to break big into small, the careful application of plyers, the steady focus needed for small beings to keep going, time after time, to work with precision and concentration, patience and focus, it is one heart speaking to another, making connections across time and culture.
At its’ heart the project is about cooperating and helping, nature and love, yet its educational outcomes are enough to make any old fashioned schoolie squeal. The children were briefed in class to make a design that reflects Pelangi’s natural environment, a source abundant and rich - the gorgeous multi-faceted greens of their rice paddy and forest surrounds, the minutiae of detail of the many incredible bugs to be found as they walk into school, the sheaves of rice and ever-yellowing coconuts.
As well as this study of their surrounds children had to think about all of the design aspects necessary for work that would always be viewed in the round: how do you make a piece that looks good from all angles, says what you want it to say forwards, backwards and sideways as well? The problem-solving and critical thinking skills demanded by this sort of work sees children of every level engaged, each working both individually – resolving complex spatial or design issues on their own – and collaboratively for the greater good. Reflecting the leading educational philosophies of our time – as children work with both hands and head, heart, social, inter and intrapersonal, emotional and intellectual intelligence, the enormous sense of achievement and overwhelming pride in their work is the real outcome of the project. Day after day, stepping across the stones, permanent and enduring testimony to each child’s creativity, perseverance and vision. It is the bigness of her own vision that is what delights about Gwenny. That within weeks of getting to Bali she had linked two non-profit organisations, B.A.R.C. and Pelangi School, two of life’s most vulnerable, children and dogs, and had each working to help the other.
In June Pelangi parents will rally together as many good quality, second hand goods for B.A.R.C.’s wonderful little thrift shop, located 50m past ARMA with a great range of second hand goods, all carefully and cleverly arranged in their little space, with an enticing and constantly changing display and prices to suit all of Bali’s wonderful residents. Gwenny has also asked that we all send an informative email to everyone we know outside of Bali, telling them about all of the incredible work that B.A.R.C. does without any major funding, saving and rehabilitating thousands of Bali’s smallest creatures every year. Email B.A.R.C. at balidogrefuge@yahoo.com for more information, or drop into the shelter, on the hill in Lotunduh just out of Ubud; or to the clinic, Good Karma Veterinary Clinic on Jl Pengosekan in Ubud, just past the petrol station on your way out of town.
And if any of you are still worried about Mimpi Manis, she has found a wonderful new home with two other dog friends and a designer who has lived in Bali for more than 25 years. Her new owner did not want another dog, but her heart would not let her see a fellow being, so full of love and joy, go homeless. But please remember, B.A.R.C. has many wonderful dogs just like her, all in need of loving homes and attention. Your new family member will come to you vaccinated and with a clean bill of health, all you need to do is put your heart in, and watch the unconditional love flow straight back... I myself have two!
