On Wednesday, August 9, "Let's Make and Play with Shalom Puppets" - a mini lecture and workshop for children - was held at Sagami Women's University (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture), organized by the Child Rearing Support Center, headed by Professor Naoko Morihira and Professor Toto Gabor of the Faculty of Human Sociology at the same university. The event featured a mini lecture and a workshop for children.
Twenty pairs of children and their mothers, as well as students and others from the university, gathered at the venue to experience puppet therapy using the "Shalom Puppets" originally developed by Daniela.
Daniela's son, Navae, performed, and the handmade puppets, which were given life by Daniela, brought smiles to the faces of adults and children alike. Among them were a Ukrainian psychologist and peer supporter who had the good fortune to attend the event.
Daniela, a leading Puppet Therapist in Israel, visited Tohoku at the request of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2011, the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Since then, she has visited Japan many times and has continued exchanges with Japan through the Japan Puppet Therapy Society led by Honorary President Michiko Hara.
This time, at the invitation of the society, she will tour Tokyo, Kanagawa, Gunma, and Sendai to give lectures and workshops.
Twelve years have passed since the earthquake.
Daniela's puppets will bring healing to the hearts of both children and adults, to the people of Sendai, and to the people of Ukraine who have fled the ravages of war.