Abstract

Recently, art therapist Dr. Wolf Bordonaro had the opportunity to work with the Sangha Foundation as a member of a team of professionals assembled to serve children in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India who had survived the December 2004 tsunami. In addition to providing trainings and assessments for children with disabilities, the team visited intermediate shelters hastily erected to house families who had lost their homes and lands to the tsunamis powerful waters. Nearly two years after the walls of water from tsunami ravaged Southeast Asia, the survivors continued to reassemble their lives. After returning to the United States, Dr. Albrecht teamed with Dr. Wolf Bordonaro to present the international service work to elementary school children in Lawrence, Kansas. The authors facilitated a cross-cultural, art based interaction between the fifth graders in Lawrence and children in Port Blair, South Andaman Island. The unique project included the creation and exchange of art images and visual metaphors between the groups of children. The results demonstrated the impact of the art project in facilitating cross-cultural awareness, cultivating empathy, and developing global connections.