Jordan Meningitis Foundation

This is the thank you letter for Naji, Maher and Yousef for the music workshop they gave in December 2009 to children that survived Meningitis.
Although some of the children can not talk anymore and have problems expressing themselves, they all react very strongly on the music. The Jordan Meningitis Foundation is doing amazing work for these children and their families and we hope to visit them more often in the future!

Love&Peace for Childhood: SOS Children's Village Bethlehem

The SOS Children's Village Bethlehem provides family-based, long-term care of children who can no longer grow up with their biological families. In the Village they currently have 90 children and another 40 boys and girls living in the SOS youth houses. The village was established in 1966 (see also http://sos-palestine.org/). When the SOS children start to live independently after having finished university or a vocational training they are called SOS graduates. SOS Bethlehem's graduates have founded an association in order to keep a close link of the former SOS children to the ones that are still in the village. Furthermore this association is supposed to strengthen the SOS graduates in the society.

The recently-elected board of trustees of the Children's Village Graduates Association CVGA organized a Love & Peace for Childhood Day in Bethlehem on Sunday 13th June 2010.

"Love & Peace for Childhood is a day when we will attract the attention and concern to abandoned children, we believe that there are millions of children who do not get education, shelter, health… so on. If we succeed on that day, this day will be an anniversary that will be launch to the world from Bethlehem by Children’s Villages Graduates Association. This is why CVGA asked for you and other people for the entire world. Therefore we together have to do our best and pay hard work for that day."


Maher, Hisham and Anas gave a short music workshop during this event, in which 50 children actively participated and many others were watching.

Music workshop for Basma Society, Bethlehem

On Saturday the 12th of June, the Basma Society organized a birthday party, where Fadi and Maher gave a music workshop for the children and their mothers.
Basma Society provides moral and financial support and guidance to all age groups of cancer patients and their families. They organize recreational activities in which the children and their families get a chance to smile (Basma in Arabic means "smile").
For more information about the beautiful work of this organization, please write to the following address: basmasociety@yahoo.com

workshop for children in Beit Sahour

On Monday the 31st of May Fadi gave a music workshop to children that graduated that day from the kindergarten:

Workshop with children from the Basma foundation

Maher and Fadi gave a music workshop with the organization Basma. Fadi wrote the following text about this day:

"We love children and we love to work with them. That's why we did a workshop with children in Bethlehem that have cancer. The workshop was very successful and we managed to break the border between the children and us, the workshop leaders. we asked the children what kind of activities they liked and we played these games together. I hope the children felt the same as we did, because for us it was a very special and beautiful experience."

فادي و ماهرمن مخيم عايدة عملوا مع مؤسسة بسمة

فادي كتب عن هاذا اليوم:

"نحن نحب الأطفال كثيرا و نحب العمل معهم. لقد قمنا بعقدنا ورشة عمل مع اطفال مرضى السرطان في مدينة بيت لحم, كان تقييم الورشة ناجا جدا من قبل المشاركين , فقد استطعنا أن نكسر الجليد وبددنا الحاجز بيننا وبين الاطفال المشاركين. عبَّروا لنا عن العابهم المفضَّلة ولعبناها معهم كما شاركونا في جميع التمارين والألعاب الهادفة بحماس وشوق.

كان شعورا جميلا فاق العادي, أتمنى أن يحظى الجميع بمثلة."

Second music training for women

Benefit Concert in Denver, CO

The following invitation is written by the Association of Students for Human Rights (ASHR) from the Korbel School of International Studies at Denver University:

On Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm in the Mercury Cafe, the Association of Students for Human Rights (ASHR) from the Korbel School of International Studies at DU wishes to invite you to Composing Cultures of Peace, our second annual awareness concert that emphasizes the great need to support rehabilitation efforts in post-conflict areas. In addition to informative speakers on the topic of post-conflict rehabilitation, drawing prizes, and a cash bar, the concert will feature bands Sun Red, Kissing Party, and Action Packed Thrill Ride.

All proceeds from the concert will go to Musicians without Borders, an international non-profit organization who works in refugee camps and post-conflict zones throughout the world, providing struggling children and families with free community-based education, summer camps, and services focused around music, art, and recreation.

As witnessed in the well-known cases of Palestine, Rwanda, Haiti, and the Balkans, the cessation of conflict or tragedy rarely equals the cessation of suffering and hardship in any given region. ASHR supports rehabilitation organizations like Musicians Without Borders who realize that even after a conflict ends, physical, psychological, and social wounds require healing of all kinds.

Please join us on May 22 to learn more about this topic, see great bands, and fundraise for an incredible cause.

Tickets are just $10 and will be sold at the door.

We hope to see you there!