Everyone is, in some way or another, searching for their own “Land of Gold”: a journey to a place of security, connectedness and tranquillity, which they can call home. This journey also represents the interior quest that we all take to find a sense of inner peace, truth and acceptance – a universal desire that unites humanity.

The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees. It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so. It was a disturbing comparison that played on my mind, fuelled by a sense of growing outrage, that the mass displacement of this vulnerable tide of people had been caused by external political decisions and detached acts of war. It is tragic to think that we live in a world where our capacity to offer sanctuary to those uprooted by violent circumstances beyond their control is determined by geographical borders.