tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094979445522981358.post-52823132548350892692007-12-24T00:17:00.000-08:002007-12-24T11:29:33.499-08:00<div align="justify"><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_xj576tWACAc/R29sCUB_FEI/AAAAAAAAAOc/iZfIiYAmAHI/s1600-h/gulfnews_logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147451686100341826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_xj576tWACAc/R29sCUB_FEI/AAAAAAAAAOc/iZfIiYAmAHI/s320/gulfnews_logo.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Priyanka Sacheti</strong>, Friday Report<br /><br />Published: November 23, 2007, 01:04<br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />I was born on the small island of Pemba near Zanzibar in Tanzania. I am of mixed parentage with my father [who lived in Zanzibar] hailing from nearby Comoros island while my mother's family is Omani, from the northern town of Rustaq, although she was born and raised in Zanzibar. I moved to Ras al Khaimah when I was 4 then shifted base to Dubai nine years later. I still regard the UAE as my home for it is where I attended school and grew up. I have been living in Oman for a decade and am presently working as a coordinator at the Spanish Language Centre in Muscat. As a child, I had various dreams … … one of which was to become a teacher for children with special needs. After completing school, I did a Montessori course for children with special needs by correspondence. I then worked as a volunteer then an assistant teacher at Al Noor, a private institution in Dubai for training children with special needs. It was amazing working with those children. As their teacher, one might think that I was opening up the world to them. However, it was they who transformed and opened new worldsfor me. Afterwards, I also worked in an advertising agency, which kept me on my toes. I completed the Charted Institute of Marketing course, which proved beneficial for my work. Starting as a receptionist, I worked my way up to be a promotion coordinator.</div><br /><br />I left the UAE in 1997 because I wanted to live with my mother in Oman. I had visited Oman during my holidays but that was an altogether different experience from living here. After arriving here, I became more aware of my Omani heritage. It's also nice here because I have a huge extended family on my maternal side. Oman's rich culture is very family-oriented. We are all involved in each other's lives and it is wonderful to have that kind of familial support. However, I am also thankful to my father's side of the family; my half-brother and sister who raised me while I was in the UAE. I may now be away from them but they – along with my nieces and nephews – still shower me with so much love.<br /><br /><br /><strong>A turning point in my life …</strong><br /><br />… was when my father passed away in Zanzibar due to cancer. His death was the catalyst that led me to publish a collection of my poems, Collective Thoughts for the benefit of children cancer patients at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH).<br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />Until that point, I had written poetry solely for myself since childhood. I was a very shy child, constantly engrossed in my writing. I had stacks of files containing my poetry which I imagined would only be discovered long after I had gone. I was a humanities-oriented student and dreamt of being both a poet and a teacher of special needs. However, I soon realised that poetry doesn't pay and that I would have to find a job while also pursuing my poetry. I therefore wrote poetry for the sheer pleasure of it. At the most, I imagined myself reading my poetry aloud in front of an audience. </div><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">I would have laughed if someone had told me 10 years ago that I would publish a book. However, after my father's death, I wanted to raise awareness about cancer. I wanted to help people by bringing together a collection of poems dealing with cancer. I faced various hurdles in order to publish Collective Thoughts. I faced external challenges, such as finding sponsors, and internal dilemmas, when I wondered whether I would ever be able to achieve this goal. I was also determined to promote and launch this book, despite this being my maiden publishing venture, using my experience in advertising and promotion. I feel that I was never aware of God's miracles as deeply as I did when I was creating this book. Everything eventually fell together in place. Many people's have contributed towards the book … … including my father-figure graphic designer, Dr Zakia al Lamki, former head of Child's Health department at SQUH … and other friends and well-wishers. That's why the book is entitled Collective Thoughts. I wanted to pay tribute to the efforts, wishes and support of various people who helped this book get published. It was an unforgettable period in my life.After this, I didn't think I could work on another book. However, I found myself writing and launching my second poetry collection, Within Myself: Willpower to Live Beyond Breast Cancer. In addition to poetry, I included narratives from breast cancer survivors to bring out their voices and pain. This book led to the inception of a third book about breast cancer patients in Tanzania. </div><br /><div align="justify"><br /><strong>I recently visited Zanzibar</strong> </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">The purpose of the trip was to generate awareness about the disease as well as to obtain a mammography for the Ocean Ward Institute. Originally, I saw this trip as an opportunity to finish [my third] book. However, after arriving there, I witnessed such heart-wrenching sights that I could not get their faces out of my mind. People wholeheartedly embraced me wherever I went, taking pride in my African heritage upon hearing that my father was African. Avon MHD [Avon's exclusive distributor in Oman] gave me some [breast cancer crusade] ribbons to distribute to the patients there. Nurses explained to the patients that these ribbons would provide them with mental strength while fighting this disease. I visited the patients few days later to see the ribbons still proudly pinned to their blouses. It made me experience a huge responsibility towards them. It was no longer merely a book … it had become a mission. I have since created a leaflet on breast self-examination, which has been distributed among the patients there. I chose poetry as a means of generating social awareness about cancer … … because it was the only tool I had. My sole intention is to raise awareness about issues dear to my heart through my poetry. The process of writing is the easiest part; the difficulties lie in the technicalities of creating a book. Those are two contrasting worlds. I used to be shy, although working on the books has fundamentally transformed me as a person, taking me beyond the realms of ordinary experiences.</div><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>Snapshots </em></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><strong>Me and my poetic moments:<br /></strong>I do not think poetry should be limited to the confines of a book. I feel that life is full of poetic moments. I recently held a poetry workshop in which I used poetry as a means of therapy. I encouraged people who were ill, stressed or depressed to write poetry so that they could better express themselves and initiate a healing process. The concept of poetry therapy – practised by certified poetry therapists – is steadily gaining popularity in the West, particularly the US. Poets visit hospitals where they read poetry to patients and encourage them to write poetry. </div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.gulfnews.com/friday/People/10169711.html">http://www.gulfnews.com/friday/People/10169711.html</a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1094979445522981358-5282313254835089269?l=braveface-thedaringstandagainstcancer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>iamnasrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030794699915000249noreply@blogger.com3