It’s with a considerable beating of my own heart, that we announce HEARTQUAKE to the world.
It’s an online compendium that was begun out of the ruins of the awful earthquake that beset Nepal in April 25th, 2015 leaving behind heartache for so many. But the human spirit is strong. In coming to terms with the terrifying circumstances, Bec Ordish the founder of the Mitrataa Foundation, as well as her rescue work she and her students undertook, asked me to help with some writing, particularly poetry writing. This was planned to help traumatized young people express their experiences and feelings. What is amazing is that so many expressed hope for the future in their personal accounts, their reflections, their artwork, their poetry – a testament to the spirit of these young Nepalis. A year on HEARTQUAKE was celebrated in Kathmandu, and two years on with this online offering and the desire to make links to the world.
Both the Nepali Ambassador in Canberra, Rudra K Nepal, and the Australian Ambassador Glenn White in Kathmandu, wrote of their pride in these same young people. Their letters are included in the Foreword of HEARTQUAKE. Some Newcastle students responded with their own poems about family members who experienced an earthquake there.
Bec and I have great pride in presenting HEARTQUAKE www.heartquake.org and hope for response to the heartfelt work these students created.
Libby Hathorn