I can’t believe we did this — 100 unique Dala Horses to Nepal
One of my proudest moments
This is one of the most magical moments of my life. Aviad Arik Herman and I got this crazy idea that we should create a project where 400 Dala Horses was painted by children in Sweden and then distribute them to less fortunate children. Think about it. Organizing an event for 400 children to paint (two kids are usually a handful) and then find 400 children on the other side of the planet that don’t have a toy. Almost impossible. But We did it.
It all started with a simple idea
We wanted to create a project to celebrate the 400 years of Dala Horse, which in the olden days was mostly used as a toy for children and has become a symbol of Dalarna, as well as Sweden in general.
Our idea was to create a unique connection between children in Sweden and less fortunate children in Mongolia and Nepal. 400 Dala Horses was used as a canvas for the children to creatively paint their own Dala Horses at the Gothenburg Cultural festival, August 2017. It was a hectic day but we managed to get all 400 horses painted.
100 magical horses meet the children in Pokhara
I then took all the Dala Horses and travelled all the way from Gothenburg, Sweden to Pokhara, Nepal. With the help of charity organization One Life Matters, we were connected to the Keller family. They are brokers of need and do many amazing projects around Pokhara. For two schools, they provide vegetables and fruits every week. The Keller family arranged so I could visit theses schools and give them the magical horses.
Watch the Video — See the reactions
To see the kids’ faces when they play with their gift of passion and realize we made it, is one the biggest moments of my life. Check out the video below and learn the story.
400 Dala Horses painted by children in Sweden
Some of the pictures from the event in Gothenburg.
Delivering horses to children in Pokhara
Some of the pictures from when I delivered the Dala Horses to the two schools in Pokhara.
Anything is possible
We made Impossible Real and to have the opportunity to personally hand out 100 magical Dala Horses to the children in Pokhara, Nepal warmed my hearth.
If you are touched by this story I suggest that you check out the projects the Keller family and One Life Matters are working on in Nepal by clicking HERE.
I truly believe anything is possible if you really want to. 2016 we created a project where photographers from all around the world were invited to participate in this voluntary project, and document moments of breakthroughs & fulfilling children’s dreams against all odds. All the photographs was printed onto a fabric and Aviad created an amazing dress for Miss Universe Sweden 2016. The Dress of Dreams. Our project reached 1 billion people. CLICK HERE to read all about it.
I hope my story inspires you to Make the Impossible Real.
Special Thanks
I want to thank the following for making this amazing project possible and for helping out.
One Life Matters
Göteborg Stad
Göteborgs Kulturkalas
Göteborg & CO
Miss Sweden Frida Fornander
Patrik Rikama-Hinnenberg
Jack Johansson
Grannas A Olsson Hemslöjd
Michael Lopez at OneLife Matters
Friends, family and everyone cheering and supporting us Making the Impossible Real.
Photo: Peter Håkansson and the Keller Family
