Africa

Friday (Friday, November 13, 2009) is the concert to support building schools in Tanzania and Kenya. There are a million details still to do, especially with tech stuff, but it's getting done...the opportunity to do this concert came up a few months ago. I would have done it even without a personal connection to Kenya, but as I do have one, it makes it all the more special for me. The schools have already been established and this current fundraiser will support the need for a cistern and latrines. Most of the students are children who have lost either one or both parents to HIV. Here is a link to the pamphlet: http://taylorgiacoma.com/Files/AfricaSchools_booklet.pdf.
it is on Taylor's Giacoma's site, she, my sister Carrie Johnson and I, are doing the event together.

When I was living in Kenya, I lived on the outskirts of Nairobi. Our house was on a road that was surrounded by vast coffee farms, as coffee is a big export for Kenya. There were many small villages throughout the farms, and I used to walk to school and take a shortcut through them, starting when i was 14. Many of the kids did not go to school, as there were no schools nearby nor transportation to take them there. I made friends with some children whom I regularly saw. I made friends with an old man, his name was Karumido. I remember that because I wrote a song about him. I spoke a little bit of Swahili, which I have mostly have forgotten, and he spoke a little English. Everyone was barefoot, even the older women carrying firewood on their backs. It was unusual to find another european or american taking this route through the villages, I never saw any others but myself. I was never afraid and I was always grateful to have a the wealth of experience I had there. I remember everything in detail; the smells (flowers, smoke, curry and incense in the Indian bazaars); the sounds (birds, soft voices, laughter, drums); tastes (posho (cornmeal balls), roasted corn, bread, butter & date sandwiches); and all the people I met. I wandered far and wide while in Kenya. I did my first gig at the 'Impala Club" in the middle of nowhere, and it feels really amazing to be doing a concert like this where I can use music for something. It's a good fit for me now.