Help

We have recently been contacted by Mrs. Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Secretary-general of the respected Duange Prateep Foundation and former Senator in Bangkok, Thailand (via Ben Schumaker/MemoryProject).

We have been invited to participate in an art exhibition and auction to mark the first anniversary of the Japanese tsunami. It will be held on March 10-12, 2012 at the Central World Complex at Rajprasong, Bangkok. Artworks will be donated by Japanese and Thai children, art students and professional artists around the world, and auctioned off during an opening event on March 10 2012. The raised money will fund a nine-day-camp for Japanese and Thai victims of tsunamis and other severe hardships. They will learn they are not alone in their present suffering – that others have also shared their fate – and through activities of experience-sharing and mutual support they can emerge from their current darkness into a brighter future.

Artists interested in donating please contact me directly as soon as possible. Artwork requirements:

1. Artwork must be no larger than 36 inches (horizontal or vertical)
2. Artwork must be able to be ROLLED (no framed or matted work the artwork is being shipped in a tube)
3. Artwork may be dropped off with me personally (Sherry) or at our dance studio in South Philadelphia (artists living outside the Philadelphia area please contact me directly and I can give you the foundation’s address for delivery)
4. Artwork must be delivered by Monday, January 16, 2011 by 8pm

 

Original email letter from Mrs. Prateep:

As I’m sure you are deeply aware, a succession of natural disasters has cut a swath of destruction through several countries in the region in recent times. Tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons and floods have wrought havoc, taken the lives of countless souls and left thousands of innocent children alone in the world. In the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, over 1,000 children in Thailand became orphans in mere minutes; and just this year, the same number of Japanese children were similarly impacted by the surging dark waters racing through towns and villages in their country. And now many more Thai children have lost loved ones from the floodwaters currently inundating their homes.

Although the waters have now receded for some of these children, the desperate plight of all of them remains.

It is not possible to bring back the parents and families of these children. But we can – indeed we must – work to help the surviving children come to terms with their situation so they don’t fall into despair, and they can have a chance to lead a more normal and useful life as they grow in the years ahead.

This is why the Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) and a wide network of other concerned organizations have joined hands to initiate a unique and creative project called “HeArt for Hope” to help these children in two countries. To that end, we are respectfully calling on artists who have kind feelings towards society’s wellbeing to donate works of their art to be exhibited and sold to raise funds which, in turn, will be used to bring the tsunami and flood victims of Thailand and Japan together in a camp for a healing experience. They will learn they are not alone in their present suffering – that others have also shared their fate – and through activities of experience-sharing and mutual support they can emerge from their current darkness into a brighter future.

We are also inviting those who have shown themselves to be generous friends and supporters of the DPF,  to lend their weight in moving this worthwhile project forward. You can do this in two ways:

1. By introducing “HeArt for Hope” to artists in your community and encouraging them to join in with one or more works of their art.

2. By helping to purchase the works of art in our exhibition that appeal to you, and encouraging other art lovers in your circle of acquaintances to also consider purchasing some of the artworks.

Your kind participation in this project has the potential to change many lives for the better. So, I am very pleased to invite you to help young lives in need of love and support.

Respectfully, Mrs. Prateep Ungsongtham Hata

DPF Founder & Secretary

General Duang Prateep Foundation