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Marsha Winsryg is dedicated to finding creative ways to help needy youngsters.

Lisa Randall (left) and April Thanhauser manipulate their delicate marionettes in the performance of a classic fairy tale.

Sale of these handmade sculptures benefits a home for disabled children in Zambia.

A nurse cares for a child at the Mama Bakhita Home, which benefits from the puppet show.

Winter afternoon sun filters softly through the high windows of the Unitarian Church in Vineyard Haven. A table spread with a batiked cloth and laden with carved wooden figurines and handmade jewelry waits in the golden light. Outside, thick snow is falling. Inside the cozy church, April Thanhauser and Lisa Randall drape a low, wooden stage with gauzy silk and check how the face of a little marionette peeks through the window of a tiny house made of twigs. On a small table to the side of the stage, Marsha Winsryg places a set of chimes, a bell, and a candle in a cup. Then she begins to pluck and tune a zither-like wooden instrument called a Kinderharp.

The three members of the Spindrift Marionette Troupe are preparing to perform a fairy tale. It will tell about a beautiful girl who loses her spindle in a well and wanders into a magical land to get it back.

Today's performance will benefit the Mama Bakhita Home, a facility for disabled children in Zambia. Helping the home has become a passion for Marsha. About twice a year she and her fellow puppeteers perform to raise money for Mama Bakhita.

For Marsha, a West Tisbury artist and teacher, the story of how she came to do charity work began in 1997. She was visiting her daughter, Gia, who was studying in Africa, and the two took a trip across Tanzania, through Zambia and into Zimbabwe.

At Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia, they came across a small crafts market. After making some purchases, Marsha struck up a conversation with a vendor. He asked if she might be interested
in selling some of the items back at home, and she agreed.

Finding ways to help

It was 1999 when the first box arrived, followed by many others. Marsha had considerable success selling the carved statuettes and jewelry from her home and at Island crafts shows and flea markets.

As time went by, Marsha became increasingly disturbed by news of the devastation of AIDs in Africa and the ever-growing number of children who have been orphaned by the disease.

“I'm going to do something!” she announced to herself. “I don't know what it is, but I'm going to do something!”

She wanted to send the profits of her little import business back to the Livingstone area, where the crafts came from. But she didn't know exactly who to send the money to.

After extensive research, she learned about the Mama Bakhita Day Cheshire Home, a refuge for severely disabled children. All of the children have lost at least one parent, many of them to AIDs.

Marsha contacted the staff at the home who was ecstatic that she had decided to help. In the two years since then, Marsha has sent checks every few months for a total of $3,000 and has received countless letters of thanks. The staff at Mama Bakhita has used the money for many things from building a playground to throwing a festive Christmas party. On one occasion, a check from Marsha made it possible for four children to travel to a medical clinic for exams when no other funds were available.

Marsha has found that she is not the only one who is concerned about the African situation. “What everybody says when they come and buy is, 'Thanks for giving me a chance to help!'” Marsha said.

An enchanted world

The Spindrift Marionette Troupe is named for the foam on top of waves, according to April Thanhauser because, she said, “ We're like that, we're there for a while and then we're gone.”

The three women have made delicate silk puppets on strings, in the style of The Waldorf School. The puppets are not intricate, but it does take practice and skill to handle them. Today's performance is quiet and elegant. Marsha narrates the tale while she plays gentle music on her little harp and sings. April and Lisa handle the delicate marionettes gracefully. The story is classic in its message that goodness will be rewarded and cruelty punished. The puppets glide through their enchanted world. The combination of sweet sounds and flowing color is so captivating that the puppeteers seem almost invisible, although they are in plain sight. Some of the children present have seen the troupe before. They all sit spellbound, as if they are themselves enchanted.

Despite the fact she has been able to lend support to the children's home, Marsha would like to do more. And she continues to worry about the overwhelming problems in Africa.

“I really feel that global thinking is so important,” she says. “I'm terrified that Africa will just become a lost cause in people's minds.”

Next month, Marsha will visit the Mama Bakhita Home for the first time. “It won't be a fun trip,” she says, but she is looking forward to seeing the children and to helping in person.

Marsha will spend two weeks at the home, making puppets and doing puppetry with the children. She also plans to investigate possible ways of expanding her charity.

“Fairy tales are deeply symbolic and cultural,” Marsha says after the show is over. “They give a sense that difficulties can be overcome.”

The members of the suffering community in Zambia must feel that, for them, one fairy tale has come true.

Marsha is happy to make an appointment to show the art for sale, or to accept a donation. She can be reached at 508-693-4059.

The Spindrift Marionette Troupe will be performing at the West Tisbury Public Library Music Street Annex on March 26 at 11 am. Free. Information 508-693-3366.