Paper Miracles: a story of hope

It's always pleasant to attend an afternoon tea — only ladies are invited and can relax and enjoy each other's company while exchanging views and news. So it was that a high tea hosted at her residence by goodwill ambassador, Paper Miracles project, Susan Heyward, wife of the high commissioner of Australia, saw many women, both of the diplomatic corps as well as local residents walking or driving up to her residence, Wednesday evening. The icing on the cake, so to say, featured a sale of the beautiful jewellery made from the beads created by the women of the project.
A warm welcome awaited the guests as project volunteers and the hostess greeted them at the door, where a wooden statue was also adorned with the jewellery — an eye-catching display indeed! After buying raffle tickets and selecting a cold drink, they wandered into the lawn where the jewellery display had been set up. Divided into four categories — classic (only paper beads); satrangi (colourful stones and beads) afroze (semi-precious stones and beads) and maharani (pearls and silver with paper beads) each section had been aesthetically arranged on separate tables so that the ladies could have a good look before deciding what to buy. And if they wanted to see what the necklaces looked like when worn, they could judge by the volunteers who were walking models — and who also 'walked the ramp' sort of, while it was explained what category of necklace they were wearing.

Other fun activities included volunteers trying to roll paper beads — not as easy as it looks — and getting rewarded for their effort with — you guessed it — a Paper Miracle product; the raffle draw for sets of necklaces and earrings; getting personalised earrings or bracelets made on the spot and not to forget, the delicious snacks served with the hot beverages.

Welcoming the ladies, Susan, who wore a 'one of a kind' maharani necklace, thanked them for accepting her invitation and hoped they were enjoying the event, leaving Elle Takagaki, the young Japanese mentor of the Paper Miracles group, to explain how the project came into being.
Having served in Africa where the women of the community used to get together and produce beads while singing and interacting, she wanted to put her knowledge of this craft to good use and she found the answer after visiting the earthquake affected women. This getting together of Elle and the women could be termed a miracle in itself! Paper Miracles is a story of hope — a story that reminds us that miracles do exist — a story of young women who won't let the past hold them back from the future. After surviving the devastation of the earthquake in October 2005, these women from Kashmir, who ended up as paraplegics after the disaster, eventually found their way to a shelter on the outskirts of the capital.

However, their spirit unbroken, these courageous women demonstrated inspiring resilience and unyielding commitment and a desire to rebuild their lives. Despite the trauma, these women never gave up on themselves and with encouragement and tutorials from Elle, they learned how to make beads and the 'Paper Miracles' project was launched by the RCIR in August 2012.