Compassion Art CD

CompassionArt is a charity that joins the dots between art and poverty. It raises money to help breathe life into the poorest communities, restoring hope and igniting justice.

By getting famous musicians to record an album and sending the proceeds to underdeveloped countries, this cause is unique in its direction and vision.

Every songwriter has chosen a charitable project that will share in half the PROCEEDS that these songs raise.

CompassionArt has "discovered is that we've only just scraped the surface when it comes to revealing the enormity of ways in which we who write and play and sing and dance and paint and act and sculpt and cut and paste can get involved in breaking poverty's strangle hold. This is a new day and we're so glad you've joined the team."

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Share the Well by Caedmons Call

"You know I've heard good people say

There's nothing I can do

That's half a world away

Well maybe you've got money

Maybe you've got time

Maybe you've got the Living Well

That ain't ever running dry"

In their 12-year history as a band, Caedmons call has been a strong supporter of international ministries like Compassion International and India's Peace Gospel Ministries. And, like many artists, they've taken some foreign missions trips. But few have incorporated their passion for world missions into an album as Caedmon's has on the self-produced Share the Well.
The band packed up their recording gear and traveled to Brazil, Ecuador, and most notably India, where they joined the Dalit Freedom Network in ministering to the oppressed bottom-rung caste of North Indian society. India's Dalits, who outnumber the total U.S. population, aren't even permitted to drink from wells until an upper-caste person draws water for them.

There's naturally a spiritual metaphor to be gleaned from this stark image, inspiring the album's title. Is it any wonder that the band members consider this their most important album?
The resulting songs are a natural hybrid of the band's familiar folk pop/rock with the sounds and styles of the countries they visited; some of the musicians the band met are in fact touring with Caedmon's in the U.S. this fall.

Though colored heavily with an array of ethnic instrumentation, the songs are thoroughly Western pop at the core. In the inspired "Wings of the Morning," there's an interesting interplay between minor-sounding traditional Indian Bhangra music and the major Western pop style, effectively contrasting doubt and hope. "International Love Song" is sparsely instrumented with just acoustic guitars and Indian tablas, demonstrating how the varying cultures are not that different in the relentless pursuit of love and peace. The closing "Dalit Hymn" is like an Indian folk protest song, boldly pleading for the Prime Minister to free the untouchables and expose the caste system as a lie that flies in the face of God's Word.

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Nothing But Nets

So this friday I went to a Jimmy Needham concert in college station over the weekend and it was amazing. Towards the end of the concert i realized that the show was actually a fundraiser, and all of the proceeds went to the organization: Nothing But Nets.

This cause focuses on the life-threatening illness, Malaria, and the pracitical ways to stay healthy amidst this spreading disease. There's a simple and cost-effective solution to prevent malaria deaths. For just $10, the organization can purchase a bed net, deliver it to a family, and explain its use. Bed nets work by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for up to four years. The benefits of bed nets extend even further than the family. When enough nets are used, the insecticide used to deter mosquitoes makes entire communities safer—including even those individuals who do not have nets.

Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or “bad air,” infects more than 500 million people a year and kills more than a million— one person dies about every 30 seconds.
Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In addition to being home to the deadliest strain of malaria and the mosquito best equipped to transmit the disease, many areas in Africa lack the proper infrastructure and resources to fight back.
The disease is a self-perpetuating problem with large-scale impact on societies and economies. Malaria accounts for up to half of all hospital admissions and outpatient visits in Africa. In addition to the burden on the health system, malaria illness and death cost Africa approximately $12 billion a year in lost productivity. The effects permeate almost every sector. Malaria increases school absenteeism, decreases tourism, inhibits foreign investment, and even affects the type of crops that are grown.

Books For Africa

At Books For Africa, they believe that education is the great equalizer in the world, and books are at the foundation of a strong educational system. For many children in Africa, the gift of books truly is a gift of hope.

Access to an education is one of the only opportunities young people have to end the cycle of poverty and attain a better quality of life than previous generations. Books For Africa works to help children who otherwise would not attend school by supplying educational materials to reduce or eliminate education costs.

According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 40 percent of school-age children in Africa do not attend school. Forty-six million African children have never set foot in a classroom. Most African children who attend school have never owned a book of their own. In many classrooms, 10-20 students share one textbook. Many people in the United States take these educational necessities for granted, but children in Africa cherish books.

Hydrate Hope

"is the first global project of "I Am Change" that began out of asking the question, “with so many needs in the world, where can we begin to make a difference”. Our answer…start with the biggest. With water being the #1 killer in the world, our passion is to engage this preventable global atrocity head on. Over 1.1 Billion people in our world have no access to clean water. That's basically 1 out of every 6 people on our planet. More than 2 million people, mostly children, die each year from preventable waterborne illnesses. 2.6 Billion people are without basic sanitation. Many women and children walk over than 2 hours each way to often fetch more than 40lbs of dirty water for their families. This creates an absence of time and energy necessary for education or small business. The heartbreaker...4 children die every minute...that means that every 15 seconds another child dies....we want this to change. This has to change!
With almost 1.2 Billion people in our world lacking access to a clean water supply and over 2.6 Billion having no means of healthy sanitation, water problems, directly or indirectly, plague virtually half of our world. More than thirst, a lack of clean water affects three primary areas of life: health, poverty, education."

Hydrate Hope "is committed to creating sustainable low-cost clean water solutions in the developing world. We do this by working directly through local partnerships who understand the exact needs and the best solutions in the area. Solutions include Shallow Well Drilling (Bore-Hole), Well Repair/Rehab, Bio-Sand Filters, Rain Catchment and the construction of Sanitation facilities. With every partnership that we work through, we require a sanitation and hygiene training course to happen in conjunction with the implementation of every project. Additionally our direct local partnerships enable us leverage the greatest return on investment and increase financial productivity in these developing world economies.
Project costs vary per country depending on the scope of work, import fees for supplies and strategy of implementation."

KSBJ's Mother's Day Concert '09

Who: Jimmy Needham, Chris and Conrad, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra

Location: Towne Lake Community
Barker Cypress @ West Rd (Behind Berry Center)
Cypress, TX

Date: Saturday, May 9th

Time: 12:00 pm

What: food, family, community, games, and a concert.