Story & Purpose

First-generation Syrian-Armenian-American film and theater artist Sona Tatoyan spent her childhood summers in Aleppo, where she first heard stories of her great-great-grandfather, Abkar Knadjian, a master puppeteer, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide from Urfa… and a hakawati.

In 2016, amidst the Syrian war that once again displaced her family, Sona had a vision during a silent meditation retreat: to create a nonprofit social justice organization that amplifies the voices of marginalized communities to help heal trauma. The vision came with the name, Hakawati – in honor of her ancestor and his legacy.

In 2019, Sona returned to war-torn Aleppo and uncovered a wooden trunk in her family’s attic. Inside she discovered 180 handmade, multicolored Karagöz puppets from the late 19th century, carried across borders during Genocide and preserved through exile by Abkar. These 120-year old puppets are now ready to speak again, for themselves, and for displaced lives everywhere.

Founded by storyteller and artist Sona Tatoyan, together with producing partner Raffi Niziblian, Hakawati is a creative NGO rooted in the understanding that healing begins when pain is met with compassion, presence, and truth.

We preserve and nurture cultural heritage through storytelling, art, and contemplative practice—because story is how we remember who we are, how we belong to one another, and how we carry our ancestors forward.

Our mission is to hold space for voices long silenced, honoring their truths with dignity and mindful attention. Through creative expression, we invite transformation—where personal and collective wounds become pathways to resilience, connection, and liberation.

Hakawati works at the meeting point of art, heritage, and mindful healing to cultivate awareness, belonging, and renewal.

• Heal Through Story

We use storytelling as contemplative practice—listening deeply, speaking truthfully, and holding what arises with compassion. By giving voice to unspoken pain, we help individuals and communities release what no longer serves and transform memory into meaning. Healing one becomes healing many.

• Preserve Living Heritage

We safeguard endangered cultural practices—from oral traditions to Karagöz shadow puppetry—not as relics, but as living expressions of impermanence, interconnection, and cultural resilience. Our work ensures these traditions continue to breathe, evolve, and awaken new generations to the wisdom of their roots.

• Reimagine Migration

We reframe migration not as rupture, but as a journey of becoming—a reminder that home is not fixed in place but discovered through presence, creativity, and shared humanity. By centering stories of resilience and belonging, we transform narratives of displacement into narratives of renewal.

Through this work, Hakawati supports artists, preserves culture, and cultivates mindful storytelling as a practice of collective awakening and communal repair.