I'm working via SKYPE with students in the Cakike Music Program in Bogota, Colombia.
Over the past six weeks, the students have been sharing with me stories of their lives, of their greatest happiness, playing little songs that they're learning on guitar, piano, xylophone. I'm helping them connect to themselves--to their source of identity, strength and confidence--to that which nothing in their often difficult lives can touch.
For each child, I'm improvising a special piece inspired by his or her life and story. This morning's session with a class of young students exceeded my expectations. Two boys--brothers--entered into a spontaneous duet on xylophones, each taking turns improvising as the other accompanied. They used what they had learned to take a leap and begin to create their own music. The respect they extended to the other made this possible. That respect and care allowed the space for something new to happen. The Cakike teacher, Paola Medina and I were deeply moved to witness this! In that safe place, the spirit inside of us can ignite and come forth in such beautiful ways! This morning was an inspiring example!
In August, Mick Quinn and Debora Prieto interviewed me about my transformational work in music for their tele-series, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Actions." In the process, I learned about their "extraordinary actions" - to better the lives of impoverished children in Guatemala.
And I also learned these astounding facts: 43% of children in Guatemala under the age of 5 are chronically malnourished. This is one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. More than half of the population is below the national poverty line and 15% live in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups, which make up 38% of the population, averages 76% and extreme poverty rises to 28%.
In one of our conversations, Debora and Mick told me of a 13 year-old girl named Katy. When I first heard Katy's name and the tragic circumstances she has endured, I sensed a connection with her. In retrospect, as I reflect on my thirty years of teaching, I realize that I've experienced that special rapport a number of times. It has most often been with a woman or girl who has faced particularly challenging circumstances.
I was compelled to write Katy a piano composition. Last Saturday, thousands of miles from the slums of Guatemala, I turned on the mp3 recorder and began. What came to me was a sense of innocence and of joy. Katy was being robbed of these precious attributes--the birthright of childhood. I created a piece inspired by what I knew was in her, despite her tragic life. I called it, "Katy, Ray of Hope." Click here to listen
A few days later, I emailed the piano piece to Debora. She set up her computer so that I could meet Katy via SKYPE and speak with her as she listened to the composition. Katy is a student at The Scheel Center, an extraordinary place where Debora spends two days per week teaching children whom, as she describes, share one quality, "abject poverty."
There were many kids in the room finishing lunch, talking boisterously. But that didn't seem to matter. As Katy listened to the music she became completely absorbed. I watched her face on my computer screen here in the United States. Time was suspended. The piece seemed to go on forever. Finally, towards the end, Katy broke down in tears and threw her arms around Debora. Debora was my surrogate. I couldn't touch Katy or hug her. But we were connected. "No one has ever created something beautiful for me," Katy said. "This is so beautiful." I responded by telling her, it's the first piece I've composed especially for someone.
Katy has touched my heart. I have decided to sponsor her through Mick and Debora's program. It allows her to have books, shoes, a bed--it will fulfill her basic needs and the needs of her family. My hope--and this is the goal of their program--is for Katy to become educated, to rise out of poverty, to begin to make real her hopes and dreams.
There are many other children in Mick and Debora's program who need sponsorship. For $25/month your sponsorship will be their Ray of Hope. Please see this website to learn more about these children and how you, too, can sponsor a child in Guatemala.
This new video is a wonderful introduction to their program.
I want to share with you extraordinary evidence that music DOES, indeed, heal people, no matter what they have experienced and regardless of cultural background.
My good friends, Debora Prieto and Mick Quinn are working to better the lives of impoverished children in Guatemala. Debora decided to show a group of her teenagers the video of my piano duet with a 15 year-old girl named Hope Garner, who has Down syndrome. (This photo shows the teenagers as they are watching Hope's video.)
Debora explained how she came up with the idea to show the video: "When the teenagers first told me of their backgrounds, I had to make a huge effort not to cry in front of them. Every story was so sad and painful that just listening to them was like torture....I decided to use this video because I work in an environment where there is not room for vulnerability on the part of children. Any sign of "weakness" would open a huge space for abuse. The only way I could bring that intimacy back to my kids was to show them the video of you with Hope."
Here is the video these teenagers saw:
Hope's video had a profound impact. Debora described it to me this way:
"What happened was amazing. Most of the children couldn’t even talk, others said that they didn’t have words to express their feeling; it was too big for them to explain and to understand. One was almost crying. Then they began to express a deeper self-confidence. They began to realize that THEIR voice was important, too!"
Debora and Mick interviewed me recently for their "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Action" series. I highly recommend that you listen to the audio below, Debora describes these children in more depth and the extraordinary effect that seeing this video had on them. It is a VERY special conversation. Indeed, when music speaks from the heart, it touches the heart in another and gives a new sense of self-worth and of possibility, even amidst extreme hardship.
Click Here to Listen Mick and Debora run "The God's Child Project," a sponsorship program in Guatemala, which makes it possible for children in need to have their basic requirements met--shoes, a bed, books for school. For $25/month your sponsorship will give them new hope. Please see this website to learn more about these children and how you can sponsor a child in Guatemala.
For more information on Mick Quinn, author of the award-winning book, The Uncommon Path, and Debora Prieto click here.
Over the past six weeks, the students have been sharing with me stories of their lives, of their greatest happiness, playing little songs that they're learning on guitar, piano, xylophone. I'm helping them connect to themselves--to their source of identity, strength and confidence--to that which nothing in their often difficult lives can touch. 
The respect they extended to the other made this possible. That respect and care allowed the space for something new to happen. The Cakike teacher, Paola Medina and I were deeply moved to witness this! In that safe place, the spirit inside of us can ignite and come forth in such beautiful ways! This morning was an inspiring example!
