Maui art

Aloha,

Today’s seva story #59 of 100 comes from Sharene who lives in Amsterdam. Seva means selfless service for the benefit of community and the environment. I am collecting 100 seva stories to share ideas, inspiration and positive news.

Sharene writes,

“I have a very good friend and artist, Monica van Rijn; she was born in Holland but her parents moved to America when she was 5 after WWII. She is 65 now and has lived back in Holland for the last 35 years.
Her mother was in 9 concentration camps and although she survived and raised a family; she lived her life in fear and this affected the next generation; my friend and her sister; so to honor the second generation (and more) who were indirectly affected by the war, Monica created an art installation called Colored By War (www.coloredbywar.com ).
It was an honor to support her in while she created this art installation and told stories to high school aged children. Being an American, and now living in Europe, it made me realize how fortunate we were to escape these horrors. I think Monica’s installation and her talks have helped honor those who are still living with the aftermath. She put so much time, effort, money, passion and creativity in this project and I am honored to be her friend.
Her mother died last Christmas; just a couple of weeks after the opening of the installation. It was time for her to go, and I now I see a new freedom the way Monica looks at her life.”
Please share your seva story with me so we can spread the seva! Mahalo and Namaste,  Johanna info@johannawaters.com