BARNEVELD ( HOLLANDE) : Tashi poursuit son vol … avec l'accueil chaleureux de la Communauté tibétaine de Hollande !

Nearly two years ago we came up with the idea of building a hot air balloon in the colours of the Tibetan flag which is banned in Tibet but provides a powerful and enduring symbol of Tibetan culture and identity. Six months later, with the support of the Tibetan Community in the UK, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and supporters of the Tibetan community around the world, Tashi made her first appearance at Sakya Tashi Ling monastery in Spain where she was blessed and given her name. Over the last year we have been working to build support for the project and to get Tashi to as many places as possible. With limited funds and demanding jobs it hasn’t always been easy but the last week has made everything worthwhile. Last weekend we flew our first Tibetan passengers Tenzin and Wangdue Tsering at Bristol International balloon fiesta, did two night glows and had the pleasure to meet Marcelle, Georges and mini Tashi. Then yesterday after a 12 hour drive we arrived in Barneveld to be greeted by 80 members of the Tibetan community and their supporters in The Netherlands and suddenly everything made sense. To see the reaction of the Tibetan community was incredible. We knew Tashi meant a lot to us, we had no idea she meant so much to everyone else! A huge thank you to everyone who has made this past week so very special but particularly Paul who has done so much to make all this happen and tolerated my endless suggestions of ways that he might spend his annual leave, Shiba and Tsering for organising such a wonderful welcome in Barneveld and numerous other people including Richard Chris Gary Paolo Giovanni Jean-ChristophePhilippe Buron Pilâtre Caroline Alison Eleanor and Kutsab Jamyang Dorjewho made this journey possible and helped us on our way. We are excited to see what happens next! mercredi