Stephanie Haskett’s HOPE centred on cranes

Sum up Stephanie Haskett in 200 words. Impossible. And she’s only 20!

This young woman, a graduate of North Collegiate and a second year fine arts student at Georgian College, is hungry to learn about women’s issues around the world. When she hits any book store she heads for the feminist, humanitarian and Jewish sections… she goes for books that intrigue her, books about the human condition, about struggle, about the query of persecution, about survival. She is deeply affected by the stories of people whose hearts respond in unusual ways.

Why? Well, she might not know this now, but very likely it is because she is one of them, one of those people whose hearts respond in an unusual way.

When she read Three Cups of Tea by journalist David Oliver Relin she learned about the journey of mountain-climber Greg Mortensen. Thwarted by his humanitarian nature, Greg abandoned his climb of K2, the world’s most rugged mountain, and was diverted to a different kind of mountain…poverty and denial of the opportunity for education of Pakistani children, particularly girls.

It’s a remarkable story, set in remote Pakistan and in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. It is a true story. It is a rivetting tale told with excellence by writer Relin.

It grabbed Stephanie’s soul and she set out on her own to help Greg Mortensen and the Central Asia Institute in its continued journey of building schools in this hungry part of our world.

Stephanie began by slowly mastering the art of making cranes, the symbol of hope. What used to take several minutes now takes 30 seconds and Stephanie’s 1000 cranes will provide an overhang at the art show she is organizing to raise money for Mortensen’s work.

“At the beginning of the summer, I decided I wanted to do this show,” says Stephanie. She contacted the Central Asia Institute and began to develop her posters and support material. She then held a car wash to raise money to support the show, to pay for posters, to cover costs.

Stephanie then took her energy to her course coordinator, Ted Fullerton, who encouraged her to approach teachers and students alike, to ask them to submit their work to the show… artwork that interprets the word ‘hope’ or ‘help.’

Most of this work will be for sale. This show will showcase talent in all four years of design arts and the percentage of sales and money raised through donations and the sale of cranes will all go to the Central Asia Institute.

Stephanie’s enthusiasm has attracted 23 paintings, 14 prints and drawings, 9 sculpture and jewellery pieces as well as her 1000 cranes, to be sold at $3 each.

The show, entitled HOPE, starts at 7 pm at the Campus Gallery at Georgian College.
Date? Thursday, October 15, one week from today.
Admission? Free.

The Campus Art Gallery is located in the Helen and Arch Brown Centre for Visual Arts. It’s Building D, tucked behind the Automotive and Hospitality Building, at Parking Lot 10, off the main entrance.

What an opportunity to purchase an art piece, support a student (both at Georgian and in central Asia), add a meaningful crane to a gift package or to your own environment.

Stephanie… thank you!