Music to Empower Youth, Out of Africa Comes Music
Funds raised in 2014 were used to graduate 24 youth from the program. They were also used to establish 16 new jobs and provide classes in art, music and drama; and establish a recording studio so that the program can begin to be self-sustaining.
To learn more about One Vibe Africa and its activities, you can visit www.onevibeafrica.org. There you can view amazing videos of students performing and instructors talking about their various programs. You can listen to the marvelous music, and hear the students telling, in their own language and voice, of their experiences at the school. In fact, there is so much material on the website, that you can immerse yourself for hours watching and listening to the many things that have been accomplished.
One of the accomplishments was an exchange program, where a group of African American women visited the school in Kenya. There, the women were able to experience first-hand the kinds of lessons the children were receiving – making musical instruments, learning songs through call and response, and much more. One woman remarked that this kind of learning that honored the traditions of Kenya strengthened everyone, and that this made the African American people in the United States stronger, and that this would strengthen the whole world. She implied that it was the sort of thing that would bond people everywhere – just as music and art have always done.
Should you be so lucky as to be able to attend Madaraka, they have a marvelous line-up of musicians, flocking from all over the world to participate. From Washington, there is JusMoni, Project Lion Heart and Larue ; from other parts of the United States, M1 of Dead Prez and Aisha Fukushima ; from Kenya, Sauti Sol and Zack Okello ; and from other parts of the world, Blitz the Ambassador, and Babaluku. With only a few short days before the festival, excitement is bubbling up as the community in Seattle prepares for the event.
Madaraka needs you in order to be successful. Many of the expenses need to be prepaid – that is where you come in. Your contribution will pay for many things – hall rental, musician’s fees and much more. Omprakash Foundation, the fiscal agent for One Vibe Africa, is a recognized 501 (3) non-profit organization, so your donations are completely tax deductible.
For people who love to get rewards, there are many. These include mention on websites, DVDs of music from the musicians who have performed at Madaraka, and from the students and teachers at One Vibe’s program in Kenya. There are bracelets – available only for concert attendees. And there are tickets to the festival concert. If you cannot make it to the concert, you can contribute at the $150 level, and access the concert through live streaming on the day of the event.
This event is so rich, so wound around with beneficial gifts to the world, so bursting with potential for growth throughout the coming year, that the real reward, the biggest perk of all, is knowing that you are helping to make that potential become a reality through your gift. This is a program that will take children off the street and give them something for themselves. It is a program that will give a gift of music, art and dramatic productions to the world. Yes, there are perks; really nice ones. But the real perk knows that you have taken part in a program that is connecting people, not driving them apart. In a world torn by terrorism, frequently disturbed with anger, One Vibe Africa is connecting two communities, teaching both how to create art work and music that make the world a more beautiful place for everyone to live.
About: One Vibe Africa (www.onevibeafrica.org) was started by Simon Okelo to provide youth with a focus and outlet for their creative energies; and to keep them off the streets, out of gangs; to provide an opportunity for constructive outlets for their talents – whether that might be music, art or drama.
Simon Okelo
One Vibe Africa
www.onevibeafrica.org
email us here
