In spite of my best intentions, sometimes the holiday season just runs away with me and I find myself tired and crabby. Needing a break, I decided to read a few of my favorite book artists' blogs. Book Girl featured a You Tube video that I would like to share with all of you because I was so inspired by the message. The video made me laugh and cry. I love the song "Stand By Me" and many of the clips are of artists living in places I've visited or would like to visit. In 1993 while living in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, I taught math to disadvantaged students at the University of Natal. The students were Zulu, Sotho, and Khosa. My twenty year old daughter, Kari, was a math tutor and she was great buddies with the students. One common interest was music. The women in the video are from Umlazi, southeast of Pietermaritzburg. The video took ten years to make and is a reminder of the tenacity and creativity of the human spirit. It is part of an international effort by the Playing for Change Foundation , a group dedicated to building music and art schools around the world. One of the schools is in Guguletu, Cape Town and the site of the 1993 murder of Amy Biehl, a young American Exchange student. The Amy Biehl Foundation, founded by her parents is a moving example of the power of forgiveness.
Playing for Change: Song Around the World: Stand by Me
I also enjoyed the Bill Moyers PBS interview of the co-founder of Playing for Change, Mark Johnson.
May you all have a wonderful holiday season. Holiday newsletter will be sent after Christmas!
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