Spot light on:
Roxolana Chwaluk
UCU member Roxolana (Rox) Chwaluk is using her
passion for the arts to empower people in various communities all over the
world. The Brock University Dramatic Arts and Sociology teaching assistant is a
co-founder of Turn Around Projects of the Arts (TAP), a not-for-profit
organization with a mission to create and maintain art programs that result
in a reciprocal exchange among participants of the program, strengthen
communities through the arts and provide participants the tools to become leaders
in their communities.
Do you remember the huge chemical catastrophe
that occurred in at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India in 1984? Much like in
Chornobyl, the effects of this disaster continue to plague the victims almost 30 years
later. Rox began a TAP project in
Bhopal, India in December of 2011 at the Sambhavna Trust clinic. The TAP team
offered arts programming (visual art, photography and crafts) to chemical spill
survivors (clinic users), clinic staff, and local children.
“Whether we have one or 40 or 300 people
participating, we want them to have that moment where they¹re taken away from
the thought of why they’re at the clinic. If they can live in that moment with
us to create a piece of art, we’ve been successful,” said Rox, before heading
to Bhopal.
This is not an idle wish. The community
continues to suffer from contaminated water sources and from persistent medical
conditions brought on as a result of the accident. While art will not cure the
underlying conditions, it helps people cope with the realities of life
post-catastrophe.
After returning from India, Rox was
nominated, and now currently sits on the International Advisory Board for the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal – North America (ICJB NA) as the
Volunteer and Leadership Development Coordinator. Rox hopes that TAP will
return every December to Bhopal, India.
Currently, TAP has 3 projects running. A
Canadian project in St. Catharines, Ontario at The RAFT, a Jamaican project
that is currently in its 6th year, and India. TAP has had many
discussions about piloting a project in Ukraine. If you are interested in
creating a TAP Project in Ukraine, please email Rox at rox@turnaroundproject.ca.
Rox, formerly of Toronto, is a regular
visitor to our St. Catharines branch. We are all proud of her work.
You can read about TAP here: http://www.turnaroundproject.ca/
Thank you to The Brock News for information about Roxolana and
the photo.
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