G8 warned of ‘moral betrayal’ over AIDS funding

This article makes it all the more critical that we keep at fundraising for HIV/AIDS work!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/africa/g8-warned-of-moral-betrayal-over-aids-funding/article1583868/ 
Full article included below. 

G8 warned of ‘moral betrayal’ over AIDS funding
Summit’s emphasis on maternal health will mean little, critics say, without funding for treatment of one of the world’s leading killers of women
Geoffrey York
Johannesburg — From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, May. 28, 2010 4:04AM EDT Last updated on Friday, May. 28, 2010 8:04AM EDT
While the G8 is putting maternal health at the top of its agenda for next month’s summit, fears are growing that the club of wealthy nations is neglecting one of the biggest killers of women: AIDS.
Many of the biggest Western donors are freezing or reducing their budgets for AIDS treatment, leaving nine million people at growing risk of death because they cannot get medicine, including six million in Africa alone, activists say.

Hi everyone! Well, 6 concerts, 530 people in total attendance, and just over 400 cds sold! It's been a great couple of weeks singing and promoting MCC's work with HIV/AIDS, hopefully raising awareness, and raising money for the work of MCC's partners. Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support, hopefully enjoyed the music, bought cds, and donated money. Quite apart from the fun we have had, the issue is so critical and dire. Funding for HIV/AIDS is declining worldwide, from big governments and organizations, to individual donors. People are suffering even more, and no longer receiving the treatment they so desperately need.

I was caught off guard by a comment a few weeks ago by someone who said they didn't like AIDS, and would not give money to support the Generations Program, because "all of those people are just screwing around." Makes me want to weep. AIDS is far more complicated than unhealthy relationship choices. Rape has become a tool of war. Women and young girls are at such great risk. Poverty and hunger drive women to make awful choices to make sure that their children are fed. Cultural practices such as polygamy complicate the issue further. And so many more complexities in the crisis that is AIDS. And people that are suffering from no fault of their own, are stigmatized and left to suffer. It is tragic. But we know that there is also hope and amazing work happening around the world with MCC partners, and we want to continue to support them as much as we can.

We have met so many folks that have encouraged us to continue to raise awareness and money to support the work of Generations. Thank you!

Kim

Calgary Release Concert!

Hi everyone! We had a great time at Foothills! The gym was packed with friends and family! There was great food, lovely decorations, and hopefully some good music too! I find it way more nerve wracking singing in front of people I know, so tonight I think I hit the top in terms of nerves and stress...sorry Darryl and Jonny. But people seemed to enjoy themselves. On a couple of tunes we had Megan Enns, Heather Schellenberg, Rachel Braul and Jesse Thiessen join us. They, plus another 5 or 6 people, are on the cd on two tracks...The House and With My Own Two Hands. It was great fun to have them with us tonight!

Joseph called us today. It was so good to visit with him again. When he called he was having a late supper with Elizabeth and her family. After exchanging greetings, he told us about his week. The budget for the AIDS program in Najile is spent. They have no money to take on more patients, particularly those in the second stage of AIDS, who require more intensive care and treatment. So, on Joseph's regular rounds of walking and visiting clients, he was told about a man who was abandoned by his family because he had AIDS, and was living, suffering, on his own. Joseph decided to check in on him. Tepipe was very ill, and needed immediate treatment. Joseph spent much of the week with him, caring for him, getting home most nights long after midnight. He managed to take him to Nairobi on Friday. After being turned away at one hospital because of the cost of treatment, Joseph found a public hospital that was willing to give Tepipe a blood transfusion. Joseph will go to Nairobi tomorrow to visit him. I told him that the work he is doing is so good, so important, and hard. He said to me that God calls us to serve, but sometimes serving can be very complicated and difficult. The barriers that Joseph and the GAR staff and clients face are huge. Today Joseph challenged, moved, and inspired us again to do what we can to continue to raise awareness and money to support not only his work in Najile, but MCC partners worldwide who are involved in such critical work with AIDS. Humbling.

Calgary and Didsbury next!

Yup, Foothills Mennonite in Calgary this Saturday at 7:00pm.  Join us. Jonny G is coming with to provide vocals, viola and mandolin (if we can find one for him in Calgary).

Then it's out to the country for a show in Didsbury... the start time is 5:00pm, with a meal. Then on to the music.

Good Times

It really was fun to have a few extra folks join us.  JP, Joey, Julia, Clare...

Me again. I forgot to thank the students from Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, who spent a Saturday evening serving and cleaning, when they could have been at a birthday party! Thanks to all of you for being a part of the evening!

Hi everyone! Well, day 3, concert 3, and another amazing evening with folks that are so kind, affirming and bought a whack of cds! Tonight we had our cd release concert at Douglas Mennonite in Winnipeg. We think about 325 people came. They enjoyed the most amazing array of tortes, hummous, and other goodies! The organizers, bakers, setterr-uppers, and taker-downers were incredible, just as in Brandon and Morden. And then there were the musicians...this evening we had the great pleasure of having on stage with us Joey Penner on bass, John Paul Peters on key board, violin and electric guitar, Jonny Guenter on viola, mandolin and vocals, Julia Kasdorf on vocals, and Clare Schellenberg on banjo and vocals. What a treat it was to sing with them and enjoy the amazing music they made!

Grace Mennonite in Brandon, Morden Mennonite, Douglas Mennonite...thank you to everyone who organized the events and hosted us so well. We are grateful and humbled by the support and welcome and affirmation of our music. And what is most gratifying is the money that is being raised for people like Joseph to continue the amazing work that they are doing.

Tomorrow Steinbach!

Thanks everyone!

Kim

Morden

A great reception in Morden, Manitoba.  Little kids dancing in the front. The Bare Yogis opened up the evening with a set of classic rock hits. We slowed it all down with our future folk hits.  Good times. Big thanks to Harold Hildebrand-Schlegel and Stephanie Dueck, pastors at Morden Mennonite for getting the ball rolling and then all the folks who picked it up and ran.

First concert in Brandon

Kim and I had a very nice time in Brandon: A lovely turnout and very warm reception. Arnold Hildebrand and the folks at Grace Mennonite put on a very nice event including three song opening act, Peter Letkeman: a retired chemistry professor who loves country gospel.

What are all those words on the CD cover?

What, you can't read them?  (see the cover here)
OK, so they're a bit small... but they're good. It's a description Kim wrote up of the theme: "Take Your Place" and it's worth a read.

The first CD release is coming!! May 8, Winnipeg

So yes, we will formally release the CD on May 8, at Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. There will also be three other concerts outside Winnipeg that weekend... see the poster below and our concerts/performances page on the left.
The Douglas event will include a number of the musicians who played/sang on the CD. So far confirmed:  Joey Penner, Julia Kasdorf, Jon Guenter, John Paul Peters.

The Calgary Release is the following weekend. See the concerts listing on the left!

Sam, Pares, Anne and baby Karen

Sam Kiranto jumping!

Me and Sam Kiranto

We are missing Najile! I received a text message a few days ago from Joseph's brother, Sam, who told us that he had been in a very bad car accident, but thankfully was unhurt. He is a truck driver, and as he was driving down a very steep and rocky road, the brakes failed and the truck went out of control, hit the ditch and rolled a few times. He and his passenger both walked away unhurt. People could not believe that they survived because of the condition of the truck. We are so grateful that they are ok. Sadly, though, this leaves Sam without work. Anne and I visited with Sam on the phone today, and a comment that he made really sticks with me, "If I can make enough money for the children to eat that is good. If they go to bed having eaten, then it is less stressful." Honestly, even having lived within his family compound for 3 weeks, I don't think we understood how very difficult and close to the edge life is for Sam and his family, and for so many other people in Najile.

Please pray for Sam and his family, and for so many other people who daily face the reality of poverty and hunger. Their faith and hope is inspiring and humbling.

some good news!

Ok, so here's the thing...Darryl has been encouraging, cajoling, nagging, bugging, insisting that I get back on this blog and say something. So, here I am after a few months of silence. It isn't that I didn't want to post anything, it's just been that life is busy...weak, I know. But there is some very exciting news to share, and that is that the cd/dvd and beautiful artwork by Hellmut and Leona, is at the manufacturer in Toronto! We are so glad that it is done, gone, and we hope that it makes it back in time for the releases! 18 tracks, lots of great singers, musicians. Can't wait to see it all put together in one package.

We have been keeping in touch with Joseph and his family in Najile, and they are all doing well. It has been raining every day, and the grass and trees are lush. Joseph sent a note a few days ago saying that the goats and cows are all fat, and the vegetables in the gardens are growing. Such good news. Our group has done 15 public presentations about our time in Kenya, highlighting the work of MCC partners with AIDS, food and water security, and peace. It's all so compelling. I'm glad we have had lots of opportunities to talk to people about it. Remembering the folks in Najile and their work really does inspire us all to keep doing what we do on this end to raise awareness and money to support what they do.

TYP artwork

The artwork for the project is fantastic.  All four CDs have had the packaging designed by Hellmut and Leona Regehr who own/operate Spindrift Design. Here's a small shot of the cover... and there's lots more beautiful stuff in the booklet and packaging.
The picture was taken by Byron Thiessen.  These are a few of Joseph's siblings.

Take Your Place, Twice

We will have two songs entitled Take Your Place on the new CD by that same name. Yes it seems a bit much, but let me explain.

First, the whole title came about in discussion with our good friend Joseph Kiranto while he was still here in Canada. We were discussing a potential theme for this next CD... We had the book of Ruth in one hand, and some other Scripture passages in another, and the hope that we might connect these to the needs around HIV/AIDS around the world. I'm not exactly sure who came up with the name "Take Your Place", but Joseph sure expanded on it. It reflects the need for everyone to take their place in the fight against HIV/AIDS... from those with the disease, to the people trying to educate in communities, to community leaders who need to encourage further steps, to donors and supporters across the world... The phrase also invites those who might not have a place in the community, because of the stigma of AIDS, or whatever, to be welcome.

Once we had this theme in place, I invited my good friend Phil Campbell-Enns who wrote "Mountain of God" on the last CD, to take a shot at writing a theme song. He dug into some of the other Scripture we had in hand from Romans, and came up with a very dense and remarkable song, entitled, surprise: "Take Your Place". It spends time with some of the darkness and despair of life (like, if you have AIDS), and reflects the light and hope we have in God... it packs quite the punch lyrically/theologically.

The story continues... so, I was playing a demo of this song to certain MCC Alberta staff persons who shall remain unnamed... and in the course of debriefing the "meatiness" of the lyrics, said staff threw out the joke, maybe you two should do more bluegrass.  As you may know, blugrass tends to deal with matters of faith in a more simplistic, often cliched way.  It was a good laugh.

Something about the comment stuck, so, some weeks later, as a bit of a joke, I threw together a few nice cliches, a few old-timey type musical ideas, and a VERY short time later, Take Your Place (At the Table) was almost done. Oddly, something about the song didn't end up being the satire it was intended. The verses pointed to a simplistic take on discipleship... sort of like the faith of a child... less smarty-pants thinking and more working.

So, not only did Kim like it, the group out in Najile chose it as one of the few songs they would try to learn, so, the recording includes a mass choir of Maasai people... half or more who didn't speak English.  The Godly irony of the whole business is rather fantastic.  What kind of God takes dumb jokes and makes something of them???

Watch the recording video in the Video archive to enjoy seeing the people learning the song.  Then listen to the (almost) final versions of both songs on the Music page.  They will be on the CD.