Delivering the soil and seed to make children's dreams grow and thrive...
In the past, some members of us belonged to a for-profit editorial/planning company named [Like Water], which was active for more than 30 years. While carrying out their work, [Like Water] employees had opportunities to meet children from all over the world.
During that time, they became increasingly aware of the many children who were deprived of the basic rights and opportunities that children of wealthy countries enjoyed. Many of these children were deprived of realizing even the smallest of dreams.
The members of [Like Water] also became aware of the keen and sincere gaze with which these children observed them. They gradually came to ask themselves what they could do and what they should do for these deserving kids.
Shortly thereafter, [Like Water] dissolved its for-profit organization as an editorial/planning company and began to move in a new direction as a non-profit group.
In May 2002, one of our members had the opportunity to visit an Afghan refugee camp. He joined a tour in which participants experienced the actual conditions of the new refugees, whose numbers had been rapidly increasing since September 11th, 2001.
In December 2002, this same individual returned as a member of a team investigating the results of the American aerial bombing of Afghanistan.
Through him, we became acquainted with and began to get to know the very special children living in the village of Agha Zarghandh in Afghanistan.
They are the primary school children who live in a small village near the road from Pakistan to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Although they don't live in a refugee camp, they have that same sincere gaze that is so often seen in the children of refugee camps.
Since we returned to our country and began to exchange correspondence with these children, we gradually came to understand the origin of this keen gaze.
Might such keenness and sincerity arise from a hunger to dream?
For children, could it be that curiosity about the outside world and the ability to dream provides the strength to carry on when life is difficult?
But from where can these children---children who are not privy to the opportunities that wealth provides--obtain the soil and seed to nourish their curiosity and help their dreams thrive?
After much thought we reached a simple answer.
We believe that what these children need are not just material goods, but the material to foster their curiosity and ability to dream. It was in this way that the idea of the [Mobile Image Theater] was created. It was brought together with the cooperation of various young artists and collaborators.
Here, we would like to mention that the idea for the [Mobile Image Theater] was inspired by the [Mobile Clinic] that is operated by PIMA (Pakistan Islamic Medical Association) Relief.
This [Mobile Clinic] provides much-needed medical aid for Afghan refugees. It serves as a portable consultation room and ambulance for those living in refugee camps.
It is our sincere hope that the [Mobile Image Theater] will function as an 'ambulance of dreams' for these children.
