Arte Moris (Art Lives!)

Right now we are underway from Dili East Timor to Ambon Indonesia. Just about 150 nm to go. The coolest thing happened in Dili over the past three days.

First take a second and check out www.artemoris.org just read the quick history about the group.

So about Arte Moris, I stumbled on this place while out taking pictures in East Timor. The vivid colors of the wall murals and graffiti stood out boldly in an other wise colorless roadside.

As I walked to the entrance I had an immediate strong sense that I was entering someplace very special. At first I thought it was just another broken down and abandoned building complex. Quickly I realized that this was an artists sanctuary. This place was a safe haven, a place of peace and harmony, a place for freedom of expression and an incubator for creativity and personal growth. Every place I looked was art and young Timorese kids working on their creations. This was the first place that I walked in Timor where every one seemed chilled, happy and with moving with a sence of purpose. The positive energy and vibe that was generating from the people and this place was very strong and I could feel it.

If you have never been to Timor, this place is the worlds newest democratic and free country. It did not become this with out a heavy social impact. It took years of struggle and violence and that is not over. Timor is a place that is in general grossly impoverished, barb wire and high prison like fences around every building and home, UN Police and western military on constant patrol, homeless children, kids working in a dry river bed from sun up to sun down sifting stones for building material and earning $12 a truck load..thats about 4 usd a week. The real victims in all of this have been the Timorese youth.

Amidst all of this is Arte Moris a colorful sparkling vibrant gem. Basically a free art live in community for refugee children. Simply amazing...

I was emotionally moved and motivated with in 5 minutes at this place. I wandered around, soaking up the vibe letting my heart lead me. I knew I had to find a way to connect. I knew that my brother Chris would love this place and that sister Ann and brother Matt would as well with their deep Art involvement and passion.

At the back of the compound I met the young Timorese director Iliwatu and Charline. They could see my enthusiasm immediately as I was having trouble getting clear understandable sentences out. I had 30 questions all coming out of my mouth simotaniusly and squeezed in that endless stream of questions I kept muttering WOW! This Place is Amazing....


We spent about an hour together and I had some ideas taking shape. In this hour I learned a great deal about the history, the people involved, the strong life changing impact that Arte Morsi was having on the kids that come through. I learned of an international exhibit they did in Australia. I learned the far reaching benefits (to all involved) of their international exposure. I shared with them Ann's recent hugely successful project "Beyond the Borders" http://www.beyondtheborder-art.com/ I shared with them Matt's collaborative projects with the Paint Night Group. www.mattforderer.com

I went home that night buzzing and could barely sleep. I had an idea shaping and that was not going to let me rest.

The next morning I put my "smart" duds on and walked confidently up to the American Embassy. I walked up and handed the emotionless embassy security my passport and I said.."I would like to see the US Ambassador for Timor!". With a little finesse about 10 minutes later I was sitting in a comfortable room with the US Ambassadors' Public Relations Director. I shared my initial vision of getting a group of Arte Moris Artists and their works to the United States for a cultural, educational experience and a art exhibition in San Diego. I was met with open minded, support. The US Embassy knew very well of the group and was a fan. The embassy was also keen to show the American Public a positive Timorese image. I suggested the biggest help they could provide would be handling all of the Visa paperwork and in the air transport to and from for the artists and their exhibit. On the spot he offered an initial green light of support and a general commitment to modest financial support. Ok so now I am really buzzing.

I shot out to the Arte Moris compound and shared the news with them. I shared with them the vision of the USA opportunity, which was really the sum of their "wish list" from my conversation with them. It was a shared vison and it was becoming a reality. Understandably, they where cautiously enthusiastic, yet fully on board in concept.

The next piece of the puzzle was to get Ann on board. I had sent her a link to the Arte Moris website the night before to prime her mind. When I talked with Ann about the opportunity and to get her input, she was already 10 steps ahead of me in the project planning process, spitting out bullet points of what "Beyond the Borders" and she could do to make the effort a reality. Amazing such automatic synergy on this effort with each person approached. To me, a concrete sign that this is VERY WORTHWHILE effort!

The next day sitting on the front porch of the Arte Moris compound. People where coming and going, puppies barking and playing, in the adjoing room - a cartoon art class is being led by visiting American Cartoonist, Mike Loew, Charline, Iliwatu and I sit huddled around a cheap Nokia Cell phone set to speaker phone talking to Ann at home in San Diego California and talk for almost an hour.

The outcome; true shape and shared vision of the cooperative effort between East Timor's Arte Moris Art School and USA Beyond the Borders Art Fair. On the call the vision gained life and momentum, and specific next steps agreed to, to make this a reality.

The target date to have the Arte Moris Timorese group and exhibition in San Diego USA is the beginning of September 2010

We hung up the call with Ann, the three of us pushed back in our ratty rattan seats, sat silently for a minute and then all just started laughing with excitement of what had been created and given life to in 24 hours from the time that we met and I randamly stumbled upon and wandered the Arte Moris Compound shooting photos. So cooooool.

Pretty cool!

Komodo School Support Program

Below is great information from "Gooch" the Captain of SY Bristolian, about supporting the Komodo Village School.

One only needs to spend about 3 minutes in Komodo to realize how far any help from the outside goes...

KOMODO SCHOOL SUPPORT GROUP

Photo by Timothy Forderer

During “Bristolian’s” recent cruise to the island of Komodo in the Indonesian archipelago, we found a local school that could use some help. The remote location of the islands makes aid difficult and is easily overlooked. However the remoteness adds to the spectacular allure of a pristine cruising ground combined with the fascinating Komodo Dragons makes it a must for a Superyacht destination. This gives the visiting yachts an opportunity to lend a hand to the local school, there are limitless ways on how you can help the kids on Komodo. We have contacted The Rotary Club in Australia who looking to assisting by supplying English books for the school; Captain Timothy Forderer of “Vivid” has just been in Komodo building a fence for the school. You might not be handy with a hammer but you might have the contacts that can make a difference.

WHO IS THE KOMODO SUPPORT GROUP

- A network of people who have a desire to give the kids on Komodo better learning conditions and opportunities for their future.

- Anyone who wishes to join in no matter how large or small.

HOW TO ASSIST

- You can use your own ideas or sphere of influence to make a difference.

- Pass information on captains and crews sailing to Indonesia so they are aware of the “Komodo School Support Group”.

- Captains may wish to involve their Owners, guests and crews in their next cruise to the Komodo’s and deliver the supplies to the school themselves. It would be one of highlights of the cruise.

- Contact Cilian Budarlaigh at Indo Yacht Support, Bali cilian@indoyachtsupport.com for more information.

- Visit Yacht Aid Global’s web site www.yachtaidglobal.org and check if there are other schools in the region you are cruising that might also need a hand.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

- When provisioning in Bali stock up on school supplies and fun things for the kids and delivered it to Komodo.

Links

- www.gokomodo.org

- www.yachtaidglobal.org

- www.timforderer.com and click on the "goodwill" picture on the left

- http://www.vote7.com/n7w/nature/finalists

“Komodo finalists on the New7Wonders of Nature currently under vote”

Thanks for your time.

Gooch
Captain S/Y Bristolian

Dragon Fence

I have had the great personal pleasure in the past two weeks to be involved with a very worthwhile project at Komodo Island Village

Below is a post by Mark Drewlow, Founder of Yacht Aid Global, describing the project.

www.yachtaidglobal.org You can also find and follow YAG on Face Book

September 16 - Dragon Fence Update
To members of YachtAid Global - a charitable organization

Mark Drewelow 17 September at 11:48


Imagine being a child. You wake up and start your daily routine. Clothes, food, out the door to school. School is fun. You are with friends and you get to learn new things every day.

Classes are in session and you need to use the restroom. You venture outside very very carefully. The buddy system is required, bring a friend in case there is a dragon attack one of you can go for help.



That has all changed. Tim as you know, is the Captain of the sailing yacht VIVID. During a school supply delivery several weeks ago Tim recognized the need for a fence that would alter the daily routine of the school kids. After careful planning and execution, Tim made it happen, he provided funding and man power, C2C and the Drewelow family provided funding too.



Nice to be part of such an interesting project.A simple project, and at the same time has a meaningful positive change in the routine of those kids. Imagine the stress level of a child always having to watch out for those pesty dragons. Now the kids can stay focused on being students, and enjoy their childhood a bit more with their friends.

Best regards to everyone and hoping you all can figure out some creative ways to get out there and YAG. Mark

Doing Good Deeds While Traveling

Guest Post by my friend Nila Tanzil

http:://www.nilatanzil.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Doing Good Deeds While Travelling

In the past two and half months, I've been living in West Flores, Indonesia. If you remember my videos, titled "Flying with Manta Rays (Part I and Part II)", shot in Komodo Island, that's where I've been spending my days now. Not on Komodo Island itself, but in a small town called Labuan Bajo (it has an airport, so no worries, I still could travel around, if I wanted to!) :D

Staying in such a small city, which there's only one main road that goes around the whole city, is a new thing for me. After living in big cities -- Jakarta, Amsterdam and Singapore -- now I'm experiencing a lifestyle of a small town. There's no shopping mall, cinema, theatre, spa, bar, let a lone a night club. Suddenly my lifestyle changes in a blink eye. Usually, in Jakarta or Singapore, I meet up with my friends in a restaurant/cafe/bar that's located in a high rise building and/or spend hours in a shopping mall with full air-conditioned. But this time, I spend hours chilling in a simple local restaurant that ice cream is considered as a luxury thing. A big change, that is.

During my stay here, I've met so many interesting people. Different professions from different countries. From local fishermen, scuba-divers, backpackers, journalists, businessmen, lawyers, bankers to a famous French actor! Spending time with people with different characters is one of the things that entertain me every single day. I've learned a lot from people's experiences and always amused by the way their live their life.

However, there's one person that makes me ponder by what he does. He's a private yacht captain. Tim Forderer is his name. He's been sailing all over the world for more than 10 years, going from one beautiful place to another. Many people envy him, of course. But what makes me envy him the most iswhat he does whenever he visits a place. He's not only enjoying the beauty of the place, but also doing a good deed for the locals. What does he do?

Ok, here's the explanation. One day, he asked me to join him going to a local school in Labuan Bajo. He needed a translator as he was going to give a presentation for the students. I nodded. To cut the story short, he shared his life story in front of around 150 students and managed to make everyone enthusiastic. What's so special about this presentation?

He told the students to Do What You Love. By doing what we love, we would be more likely to succeed and "rich". Not necessarily rich in material, but most importantly rich at heart :). He asked the students to think: "What do you enjoy doing most? What do you love to do in your spare time? What are the things that you're really good at?". The answers might lead us to the ideal profession in the future. Basically he wanted to encourage these high school students to do what they love to do and inspire them to make it comes true.

He said, "When I was a kid, I always loved sailing. My Dad taught me how to sail. When I was 8 years old, I won a competition as the best junior sailor in all over United States". Students got excited. "Also, when I was in college, I worked hard and became a top college sailor". "Whoaaaa...", I heard them mumbling with amusement...

"In my spare time, I always go on the boat and sail. That's all I did when I was young. But.. suddenly.. all my dreams of sailing fell apart". What happened?

"I was 18 years old by then and my girlfriend got pregnant". Sometimes we have to make a decision, in which, is contrary to what we'd love to do. "I had to drop all my dreams of sailing the world, took the first job I could get and be a responsible father for my kid. Years gone by, I ended up working as a sales person in the same company for 13 years!"

"Then my Dad passed away. I loved him dearly". Apparently, the death of his father, made him realized that life is too short to be wasted by doing something that he didn't really enjoy. He realized that he always wanted to sail the world. So, after discussing it with his Mom and family and got support from them, he decided to pursue his sailing career and be a full time sailor! Until now.. he's been sailing to cool places, such as Galapagos, Maldives French Polynesia, etc etc... and he's enjoying every minute of it...

In the past two months, he decided to start giving something for the society. How? By giving presentation on Do What You Love and encourage the youth to reach their dreams, also by visiting schools in remote areas and giving some donations -- books, pens, medicine, etc. I accompanied him going to 2 schools in 2 different villages nearby Labuan Bajo, Flores. And I'm glad I did. I was so overwhelmed to see the facial expressions of the teachers whenreceiving the donations. They didn't expect the visit or the gifts! And the kids? Ohhh.. they're sooooo lovely! They greeted us as if we're big time celebrities! :D

The first school was SDK Roe at Roe Village. When we got there, the teachers were having a meeting with teachers from some other schools. We only talked a bit with the school headmaster, before being invited to have a cup of coffee and taro cake (it's a traditional cake from West Manggarai, Flores) in a cute corner with wooden bench and a stone table under a tree. So cute! What a lovely coffee break! At the far end of the yard, there's a cute pink house, very clean and neat. It's a house of the school headmaster. I wonder whether pink is her favorite color! Once I had a dream to have a pink house, but I dropped it down coz I thought it would be too tacky. Hihihi... but the house in front of me was definitely cute, it looked like a Barbie house with a lot of green plants in the terrace :). She definitely lives in her dream house, I thought. And I wonder whether her husband complaint at the first place, for the idea of living in a pink house! :)

We continued our trip to SDK Pusut at Pusut Village. We parked the car nearby the school. There were some students playing around in the school yard. As soon as we stepped our feet on the big open space school yard, hundreds of kids running toward our direction! Wowwww... "What's going on here?", I thought. Soon after, we were surrounded by hundreds of kids who were starring at us as if we're aliens coming from planet Mars. Some of them starred at us without blinking, some of them smiled, some of them were brave enough to greet us and said, "Hello...". We greeted back, "Hello... apakabar?" (apakabar = how are you). It was such an overwhelming feeling to be surrounded by hundreds of kids. I loved it.

The school was having a meeting with students' parents in a meeting hall. There was an Indonesian Catholic priest, who has been living in Australia for 8 years, sharing his experiences to the locals on his views of living in Australia - the good and sad stories, lessons learned, etc. Everyone, including students on the 6th grade, listened to him carefully. Sometimes they nodded, too. Captain Tim and I joined the session for a while, before taking a walk to the rice field. Surprisingly, when we returned from the rice field, a bunch of teachers had already gathered in a house and they invited us to have lunch together! Wow... so nice of them! They welcomed us and expressed how happy they were to have us there. So sweet, isn't it?

I felt like I was invited to a small feast. A table full of different local dishes looked very tempting to me. They also gave us a glass of local wine. "Drinking local wine in such a hot day? Maybe not", I thought. Apparently, serving local wine to guests is part of their culture. It's a symbol of respect. I tried a sip, but unfortunately didn't like the taste. It tasted a bit sour, pretty strong, with a bit of coconut flavour.

We had a good time chatting with the school headmaster and teachers there. I asked what was needed for the school. Computer and sports uniform for the school's sports team were on the top priority list. When we exchanged numbers, I asked the teachers, "Do you have email address?". They smiled and said, "That's the thing, Mbak Nila (mbak means sister). We have no computer here, let alone having internet access". I felt so stupid after asking that question. Shoot!!! Silly girl.

The visits to these schools made me ponder... We could help others who are in need anytime and anywhere. Even when we're travelling. We could spend a few hours of our trip to visit remote places and plant some good deeds. A small thing for us could mean the world for someone who needs it. Let's make the world a better place to live in...

I was so glad to witness that good people still exist. Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with me, Captain Tim. And thank you for your efforts in making this world a better place for us to live in... :)

Three Little Birds, Beside My Doorstep...

Last year in Sorong Papua (Irian Jaya) I was asked by our local ship's agent, Whahid, to come and speak English at a local school. To be honest, I had a full-on morning ahead of me trying to depart Sorong for Borneo. With fueling, the grueling customs and immigration process and welcoming two security specialists aboard as crew for this passage I reluctantly agreed to go with her.


We sped off on her motor bike and soon in a cloud of dust, pulled up to the school. Instantly I knew this was going to be something special. Instantly all of my other distracting thoughts faded away.



In Sorong, there are very very few white visitors, so just because of my different looks, language and cultural background I stick out like a sore thumb and attract a unsettling amount of attention. A bit like what a celebrity must feel like when he or she goes out in public to a Starbucks for a coffee.


Crammed into the room and lined outside the classroom windows were more school children then I could count. It was a bit overwhelming, and this is coming from someone who spent the majority of his 10 year corporate life presenting in front of groups.



Wahid asked me to just speak English to the class. Ok, so now I have a hundred plus young students looking at me and waiting for me to speak English...


With Wahid translating I began to "speak English".


The first words that came out of my mouth were "when I was your age...." what followed was a shortened version of my life story. The message was, how at their age I discovered what I loved (sailing) and by pursuing that dream - I made it half way across the world to their classroom in Sorong.


As I told this story of my passion for sailing at an early age and "doing what you love", I could see a few of the kids really connecting with the message. . .


The children ended the session by singing me a song that they learned for me in English. This was very moving...


Wahid then asked the class if anyone had any last questions for me. From the back of the room a very small shy young girl stood up, raised her hand, and asked me in English "could you please sing us a song?"


Well I am the furthest thing from an American Idol contestant that you can imagine. I don't even sing in the shower, because I know my singing is that bad. And now I have all of these student chanting for me to sing...



No running here, no where to hide got to suck it up.....So here we go... What suddenly just appeared in my mind was Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds"



So I began with:


Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds

Beside my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs....


and by the end of my frightful rendition of Bob's song the whole room was singing...


"Don't worry about a thing,

Cause every little thing,

gonna be all right..."


I got to tell you I walked out of that school yard on air.



This really got me thinking for the next several months. To make a long story short this day has turned out to be the conception of a new passion that I have, and that is spreading the message of "Doing What You Love" to school kids around the world.


In the past three days I have presented to about 300 students in Male Maldives. It was a very positive and well received experience.




I am currently recruiting mentors. People that are really Doing What They Love and are willing to accept and answer emails from students around the world about what they do and how they achieved that goal.


I am developing a Do What You Love Mentor website at the moment. It is in the very early stages of development:



http://www.dwylmentors.blogspot.com/


Tim

Hauling the Net - Sri Lanka

Copy and paste the link below to see a video clip of the Net Hauling in Galle, Sri Lanka. Be sure to have your volume on the chants are great!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/timforderer/HaulingTheNetSriLanka?feat=directlink#5322369126669150562

Phuket to Male with a pit stop in Sri Lanka

0500 6 April The lumen of Male Maldives is pulsing on the horizon. Van Morisson's "Enlightenment" is playing off the Ipod connected to the yachts stereo. Seeing the first signs of land after a long passage is always a very welcome and affirming sight.

Male is the capitol of the Maldives and the Maldives is an archipelago of about 1190 islands grouped in natural coral atolls. The Maldives straddle the equator and lie just outside the Indian Ocean Cyclone belt. The Indian Ocean has two seasons the North East Monsoon and the South West Monsoon. We are right on the cusp of the season change... On our Max Sea Electronic Chart Program I am looking at my latest downloaded GRIB weather forecast model. In about 5 days from now a strong low pressure system is set to develop just over the route that we have sailed and in its path the Monsoonal prevailing seasonal winds appear to change. What this means is that we just made it! If we waited another week to leave Thailand we would be pounding and beating into strong headwind's and seas to make our South Westerly target of Male. I love it when a plan comes together.

This trip is special for me as my brother Chris is aboard as our fourth crew member. Its been about ten or fifteen years since we have really spent any quality time together. The last time we sailed together was when Chris crewed for me delivering a boat from St. Thomas USVI, to Los Angeles California via the Panama Canal. So we have had a great trip bonding and learning to sail together again.

On this Indian Ocean passage have been treated to an small Owl landing on the boat for rest and shelter a pod of about ten 15 meter whales, several dolphin encounters and escorts, and our share of thunderstorms, squalls. This trip is 1600 miles and we pretty much had to motor sail the whole way as when we had wind it was light and dead behind us. Our range for motoring is 1400 miles.... so we needed a pit stop and Galle Sri Lanka was right on our rhumb line to Male.

Sri Lanka is an experience. The Galle harbor was attacked by Tamil Rebels in 2006 and then of course the kamikazi attacks in Columbo last month so they have a very heavy military guard up now. This is evident by the Gun Turrets and barricades to the harbor entrance.



We arrived at 1300 and by 1700 and refueled from a motorized cart with 5 barrels holding 1000 liters of fuel that was hand pumped into Vivid. An painfully tedious process to say the least. We had a few hours on the town to get the feel. Our Tuk Tuk (three wheeled taxi) Abdul shared very emotional stories of the Tsunami that hit here a few years ago. He spoke of how 2000 of the cities residents where killed that day including 7 of his personal family members. He took us to his house that is in shambles from the waters force and told us of how the United States military helped with the recovery effort. While at ground zero for the Tsunami landfal we where lucky to watch the local villagers hauling a net in. An amazing sight to see everyone pulling and chanting and anticipating the size of the days fishing effort.


0700 We are entering the Male harbor. On the port side is the city of Male. It is a compressed little city with as many high rises as Downtown Toledo, all compacted into one square mile. The huge Maldivian Flag flies high with the Gold Dome of the Cities main Mosk in the background. We anchor in the quarantine anchorage and await the immigration, customs, health and navy to come aboard and do the required checks and paper work authorizing our stay in the Maldives. We'll get to work on cleaning up and then get some rest tonight!