Local choir donates $400 to African school
It's a long way from Bonners Ferry to Tanzania in Eastern Africa, but there are many connections between these two locations, as well as, between here and other parts of our world.
'Give Peace a Chance' has been the theme of The Wild Mountain Thyme choir of Bonners Ferry this spring. The 20-voice choir directed by Vicki Blake and accompanied by Barb Nelson has already performed in Spokane, Wash., as well as here at home.
The music is beautiful to hear, and the message impossible to ignore. 'One Tin Soldier,' 'On Justice, Truth and Peace,' 'Fences,' 'Who Will Fight No More Forever' and 'Let There Be Peace on Earth' were a few of the titles that put more than 'music down in our souls.' It also put the hope and dream of peace in our hearts and minds.
We realize that a small choir from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, cannot bring peace to the whole world. But the message and the sincerity and enthusiasm with which this message was delivered by these 20 individuals and Bonners Ferry Children's Choir that accompanied them did propel the hope of peace to those fortunate enough to attend the concert.
And the giving did not stop there. There was no admission charged for these concerts, but attendees were encouraged to give a donation. Choir members decided to subtract necessary expenses from these contributions and to donate support for the children's choir after which they decided to reach further out into the world and send the excess to a school in the southern part of Tanzania ' a school called Tumaini, which in the Swahili language means 'Hope.'
Tumaini School is a boarding school located at the end of a long bumpy road in southern Tanzania. It has an enrollment of 360 high school students, who live there nine months of the year.
They are there to learn. Their families sacrifice to pay their school fees. The classrooms are crowded, the library is tiny and textbooks are few. Yet, the students work hard, and live far from their families in crowded dormitories.
They eat under the trees (when it is not raining) because they have no dining room yet. And they have no place for their choir to rehearse or perform. Their choir, which just took first place in their region, will go on to the national competition in June.
Wild Mountain Thyme members felt a connection with Tumaini and decided to send $400 to this school to help the students and faculty there build a dining room/assembly hall. The total project is budgeted at $42,000.
The amount of $400 will help financially, but perhaps more important than the money, is the message sent to these students and teachers ' the message that there are others in the world who care about their well-being, who encourage these students to continue to sing, to study, to hope for peace, and that many of these persons live in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
To experience some of the joy and enthusiasm of Tumaini's students, go to www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=475C2D176C168961.
Marj Nishek
Bonners Ferry