Thanks to everyone who supported the benefit gig last night! Hope you had fun.

It was a very special evening. Around 30 - 40 friendly folk came to share the evening together.

Peter (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Tom (bass) and Tony (percussion) created the perfect ambience for the evening by offering to play their music. Some old and some new tunes. Nature boy won me over!

Between the muso set, a stunning performance out the back orchestrated by Megan and Michael. Though you wouldn't have recognised them for them. The detail in the body paint and costume for a Shaman/ess-esque(?) ritual and human mandala was extraordinary... Never done that before - thanks for the experience everyone! ...I await photo's for posting.

The raffle was drawn afterwards and the following people were drawn out of the...mixing bowl!

Kahuna massage voucher - Morgyn

Double pass for show at the Powerhouse - Melissa

Weaving workshop - Lynn

Dinner for two at Tibetan Kitchen - Janet

5 yoga class passes - Mandy

The evening closed with another set by Peter, Tom and Tony.

Hat off to (or extra special thanks):

Peter Hunt - The date at Checocho was set up by Peter for a Resonant Seeds gig. Peter kindly offered to share the evening with TWIN raft for a benefit gig. The event wouldn't have happened without Peter. Lets hear three cheers for Pete! Hip, hip!

And to the rhythm section - Tom Hinchliffe and Tony Kicken.

The performers - Megan & Michael - It is said attention to detail creates a perfect work - thanks for all the thought and details put into your performance.

Neti Read - Neti helped with all sorts of bits and pieces behind the scenes. Also, Neti is the clever one who created the beautiful donations box.

Checocho cafe & Kate, Halim, Simon and Jayne - Checocho provided us with a perfect space. And served us with delicious food and drink all evening. A generous donation of $5 from each meal was offered to TWIN raft.

Raffle prize people kindly donated their services:

Ann Marsh - Offering the Kahuna massage voucher

Brisbane Powerhouse - Offering the double pass to a comedy festival show

Ana-Heke - Offering the basket weaving workshop voucher

Tibetan Kitchen (Fortitude Valley/Spring Hill) - Offering the Dinner voucher

Megan White - Offerings of yoga class passes

On behalf of the Tibetan women in Nepal who will benefit from this event - tu je che! (thanks for your support!)

FUNDRAISING EVENTS!

INVITATION - Dinner & Music

WHEN: 14 March 2009, 6.30pm

WHERE: Café Checocho (69 Hardgrave Rd, West End)

EVENT IS FREE! Donatations are welcome. All proceeds go towards purchasing learning material for TWIN raft programs.

Café Checocho has kindly offered to donate $5 from every main meal purchased on the night. Dinner menu ranges $12 - $20 for mains.

Groove on down with your friends to this funky little cafe, grab a bite and/or chill out with a chai or two (or BYO something stronger!)

Music for the evening will be the flavour of melding jazz, reggae, and soul music by Resonant Seeds - featuring the love of Peter Hunt (vocals & trumpet), Anthony McIlwain (guitar) and Tom Hinchliffe (bass)...

For a taste of music, check out these guys on the web:

Other music featuring Peter Hunt:
www.myspace.com/kooii
www.myspace.com/rubybluesound

Other music featuring Anthony McIlwain:
www.myspace.com/theupsteppers
www.myspace.com/inthedeepends

Other music featuring Tom Hinchliffe:
www.myspace.com/kafkafunk
www.myspace.com/kooii

Hope to see you there!

Background

Most people have heard of Tibet, though our understanding of Tibetan history and current situation; people and culture may vary from one person to the next.

There are plenty of websites on the internet devoted to information about Tibet. Some of these are listed below.

The focus of TWIN raft is to offer help in literacy and developing confidence amongst Tibetan women living in exile in Nepal.

Current situation of Tibetan Women

Over 120,000 Tibetans live in exile in India, Nepal, Bhutan and other countries around the world.

Many exiles endure the treacherous conditions of the Himalayan mountains to escape the oppression of the Chinese military forces and arrive in India and Nepal with little to support themselves and minimal education.

This steady stream of newly arrived refugees depend upon existing projects and programmes supported by government offices and NGO’s in exile for education.

Women and education

For many women and girls, the classroom is the first and perhaps the only setting in which they perform as individuals rather than as members of a particular family. Only in the classroom can they transcend their roles as wives, mothers, and daughters and discover a new sense of being and identity.

Access to and the attainment of adequate adult education is necessary if more women are to become agents of change.

There is a need for basic adult education amongst Tibetan refugees. Literacy of women, together with confidence to express themselves is an important key to improving health, nutrition and education in the family.

TWIN raft programs aim to help empower women to participate in social situations and decision making in society.

Introducing TWIN raft

TWIN = acronym for Tibetan women in Nepal
raft = (n) A flat structure that floats on water and is used for transport or as a platform

The raft represents a place for women to feel comfortable to come together to talk, share and learn. The raft is in continual motion, transforming with the needs of Tibetan women and the various backgrounds of volunteers.

TWIN raft currently has english classes as the programme. Other ideas include yoga, meditation and creative workshops. Workshops may be developed by volunteers who wish to share a particular skill or craft with Tibetan women.

The ongoing programme is english classes because it is exactly what the women in the community are most interested to learn (this was found by asking them by the way).

The global community are invited to share ideas and help build TWIN raft. Please feel welcome to join (any part of) this journey, as a volunteer in Nepal and/or musician/performing artist to help fundraise. All contribution is appreciated.

The project will be set up at the Tashiling camp (Tibetan refugee camp) in Pokhara, Nepal.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to stay with a Tibetan family (or in private accommodation) and learn about Tibetan culture through experience.

In the coming months (this being written January 2009), events (such as music concerts/gigs and screening of documentaries) and stalls will be organised in and around Brisbane to help raise awareness of Tibet and fundraise for TWIN raft.

All proceeds from these events and donations will be used for purchasing equipment and learning material necessary for TWIN raft to come into being.

There will be a TWIN raft email, which will provide project updates and details about upcoming fundraising events. If you would like to receive these updates, send a blank email (to twinraft@gmail.com) with the words "subscribe me" in the subject box.

For more information

contact: Jodi Chan

phone: 0423 598 712

email: twinraft@gmail.com

skype: twin.raft

Tibet information links:

Tibetan Women’s Association – http://www.tibetanwomen.org/

Students for a free Tibet – http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/

Chenrezig Institute – http://www.chenrezig.com.au/

Langri Tangpa Buddhist Center – http://www.langritangpa.org.au/

Australian Tibet Council – http://www.atc.org.au/

The government of Tibet in exile – http://www.tibet.com/

The official website of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – http://www.dalailama.com/

The Tibet Information Office - http://www.tibetoffice.com.au/

Phayul (news & views on Tibet) - www.phayul.com

Formation

The seed for TWIN raft was sprouted after my experience traveling to India and Nepal in 2008. I traveled to North India to do volunteer work with Tibetans in Dharamsala. At that time, I wasn't quite sure how. It seemed universal forces were at work and connections arranged a "random" meeting with a woman, who was teaching english to Tibetan women, and needed to find a replacement teacher for the class.

I hadn't any previous experience teaching and felt nervous at the prospect. I entered the classroom and simply tried my best to help the women learn. It was a learning experience for all of us. We met challenges along the way, but none that we weren’t equal to. And between the learning and facing the challenges, there was lots of laughter and inspiration!

Towards the later part of 2008, I reached Nepal. I visited the Tashiling camp in Pokhara to find out about existing projects. Currently, there are no programmes specifically for women. I met with the Tibetan office in Tashiling to talk about TWIN raft and consulted women in the community. The office supports the idea of TWIN raft and offers use of the community hall for future classes.