survivor girl ukulele band

bringing restoration and hope to survivors of human trafficking through the healing power of music and love

Archive for the tag “makala dolphin”

20 May 2015
2 Comments

girls of sanlaap rock survivor girl ukulele band song!!!

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faces are not shown to for privacy and security

a brief history of survivor girl ukulele band

six years ago, after a few months volunteering as communications coordinator for freedom firm, an anti-trafficking organization based in south india, i came back to the usa to help take care of my mom. she was dying in minnesota. and after she died i was back in pasadena california and pretty bummed out.

one of my friends who reached out to me was sharon hannah. she called me up and dragged me out to listen to live music at a little venue in south pasadena. sharon’s friend brad colerick hosted, and every wednesday there were new people standing up front a microphone with their guitars and singing their hearts out. i hadn’t ever seen anything like it, and it sure lifted my spirits.

the wednesday regular singer-songwriters soon became my friends, and in no time that circle of friends connected to other circles of friends who played guitar and sang, and it wasn’t long before i wanted to learn how to play the guitar, too. so i borrowed my friend amy’s beach guitar, learned a few chords, and was on my way.

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back in india with my guitar

soon i returned to india, guitar in hand, volunteering with another anti-trafficking organization hoping to find a meaningful way to be involved in rescue and restoration. one day i was invited to the field for a training event, and i brought my guitar. after the training, we sang “twinkle twinkle little star” and “happy birthday,” and then the girls zoomed up to the guitar and wanted to know how it worked and could they strum it. it was from that experience i got the idea for survivor girl ukulele band project. but i wouldn’t have had that guitar in india had it not been for my music community back home in pasadena — who are inspirational and foundational to survivor girl ukulele band project. sharon hannah, brad colerick, john o’kennedy, severin browne, tracy newman, alper akture, chauncey bowers, ed tree, and lorin hart, phil parlapiano, and mark pocket goldberg, to name a few. IMG_2582

survivor girl ukulele band song

so when i told my music friends about my idea to learn the ukulele and bring a bunch of ukuleles back to india to teach rescued girls, they all dove in and supported me. ed tree wrote this song for the girls:

survivor girl ukulele band

if you’re down, we’ll lend you a hand if you’re lost, we’ll show you a plan if you’re scared, we will understand, survivor girl ukulele band

no matter who you are, no matter where you’ve been, the door is always open, we will let you in

there’s a brighter day, there’s another choice, there’s a melody, waiting for your voice

(chorus)

see who you can be, see how you can grow, see what life will bring, blessings overflow

there’s a brighter day, there’s another choice, there’s a melody, waiting for your voice

(chorus)

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when i first introduced the song to my students at sanlaap, i sang the hindi version, but these girls didn’t want to learn the hindi version. they wanted to learn it in english! so even though most of them don’t speak or understand much english…

the girls of sanlaap rock the survivor girl ukulele band song!!

at the end of the song you can hear the girls saying “pyaar, pyaar, pyaar!”, which means “love, love love!” as you can tell from the recording, the girls lovelovelove this song!! and here’s the version back home at the 2014 benefit at bethany — with a little help from my friends.

music and love change lives

music and love change lives. and moving from listener to participator impacted my life on many levels, including this wild thing called survivor girl ukulele band project. who’da thunk i’d be teaching ukulele in india when i first went out to listen to some live music?

i wish you could be here and witness the perceptible change in the culture on this campus. the girls are not only excited about ukulele class, they’re happier. they’re kinder. they’re laughing more. and they’re feeling good about themselves and their accomplishments. all of this has a ripple effect, and even girls who are not in the ukulele classes are singing our songs!

looking for a positive change in your life? run out and get yourself a ukulele, find a ukulele jam, and experience the joy of playing ukulele with some new friends! 😉

thank you

thank you thank you thank you for your financial support, words of encouragement, and your friendship in telling a friend about survivor girl ukulele band project.

thank you for joining the band. IMG_3711

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30 Apr 2015

i am intelligent. i am brave. i can do this.

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faces are not shown for privacy and security.

you may remember my post about latika*, the girl who got discouraged and hid behind her ukulele because she didn’t think she could retain anything she had learned and wanted to quit. many of my students, like latika, have very little education and don’t have much confidence about learning. they’re only girls, they are poor. they have been neglected and abused. their experience has told them they are worthless. they are good for only one thing. these are the negative messages they have heard their whole lives.

i am intelligent. i am brave. i can do this.

i felt it was high time they start telling themselves some new things. some good things. so i went online and got a few phrases translated into bengali and printed them out and inserted the sheet at the back of their music books.

the next day we opened the books to the back page, and i gave a few instructions.

“ami buddhiman hoi!” i said.

the others repeated: “ami buddhiman hoi!” — i am intelligent.

they giggled a little at such a statement.

“ami shahoshi hoi! …. ami shahoshi hoi!” — i am brave.

they weren’t expecting this statement either, but they liked it.

“ami eta korte paree…. ami eta korta paree!” — I can do this!

now they were having fun.

“prabhu amake shahajo karun! amen…..prabhu amake shahajo karun! amen.” — lord, please help me! amen.

everyone clapped!

there was a charge, a new energy, in the room. just saying those words, out loud, together. then we said them all over again in english.

and then we took one minute of silence to meditate on those words. and in the silence they settled down and were ready to learn.

i wondered, would this new way to start the class work? was it helpful? was it meaningful?

the next day, the girls sat on the floor ready for class. and the first thing they did was open their music books to the last page. they were ready to say those good things to themselves again. and they said them with gusto.

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the next weeks when i walked by their building someone often yelled: “laurie auntie!! ami buddhiman hoi!! ami shahoshi hoi!” from their window. hurrah!IMG_1982

dental swat team arrives

some days after we started the opening meditation, a dental team led by dr bob zimmerman from the usa deposited stacks of big gray plastic trunks in the building where i live. IMG_0992
the next morning they came back, unpacked the trunks, and within a short time, had transformed the room into a working dental suite that included six colorful beach chairs fastened on top of the gray trunks. three dentists, their assistants, and a cadre of other helpers were ready for patients. they were like a dental swat team.
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i heard loud crying and wailing outside my door.

i was in my room getting ready to teach my morning ukulele class, when i heard loud crying and wailing outside my door. “that sounds like sanya*,” i thought to myself, and quickly went out to see what was going on.
there was sanya, in the beach/dentist chair, scared and crying and refusing treatment. she was surrounded by people trying to calm her down and convince her to get treatment, but she wasn’t having any. she jumped off the chair and scooted outside.
i followed her and gave her a hug. she was shaking. she clung to me. and all the girls who were waiting for treatment were wide-eyed with alarm.
never in my life did i think i would be using my in my meager bengali/hindi mix to convince these girls to get dental treatment, but that’s what happened. in the few words i knew, i told sanya that those people were my friends and they were good people. and then we repeated “ami shahoshi hoi. ami eta korta paree. prabhu amake shahajo karun.”  — i am brave. i can do this. lord please help me.
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and then i got out a ukulele and we started singing together.
for a while sanya continued to cling to me. she could have left. but she didn’t. and after a while she got back in line for treatment, dragging me with her.
she went back inside and got her treatment, and i held her hand.
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dr. bob zimmerman and son

i held a lot of hands that week. and sometimes they really crushed my hand. with a few phrases and a few songs i was able to convince a number of girls who had jumped out of the chair to go back and get treatment. and i held their hands too.
 dental team women
thank you, amazing dental team, for the great work you did at sanlaap. thank you for allowing me to participate on the fringe of your project. and thank you thank you thank you, everyone back home for your love and support in survivor girl ukulele band project. it was a privilege to hold those hands, and i wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.
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* names changed.
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30 Mar 2015
5 Comments

sounds of survivor girl ukulele band 2015 — kolkata!

the wait is over! it’s time to hear some of the sounds of survivor girl ukulele band 2015 — kolkata!

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for privacy and security, girls’ faces are not shown.

if you do nothing else today, listen to this girl sing and play a famous bollywood song, called “jeena jeena.” there are some fairly loud noises in the audio, so maybe don’t crank this on your earphones 😉

 

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and here’s a little bit of twinkle twinkle for your day!

 

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and here’s a little mash up i wrote to teach the girls the very common c, a minor, d minor, g7 chord progression. it’s called “ami tamake bhalo bashi / baby.” (ami tamake bhalo bashi means “i love you” in bengali.)

 

i hope from these recordings you can get a little sense of what it means to these girls to learn to play ukulele. it wouldn’t be possible without you. thank you thank you thank you for supporting this project financially, through your love and friendship, and through telling a friend about survivor girl ukulele band.

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07 Feb 2015
5 Comments

and when i play, my mind is free

survivor girl ukulele band 2015 — kolkata! — is underway, bringing hope and restoration to survivors of human trafficking through the healing power of music and love!!

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on january 22, after more than 40 hours of travel, i arrived at the sanlaap (pronounced shonglaap) shelter home in kolkata, the city formerly known as calcutta. it’s winter here, and the weather has been wonderful, but it’s quickly ramping up to soon be rainy, hot hot hot, and super humid.

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my first student!

the very night i arrived, tanvi* dropped by my room and started playing ukulele. yay!!

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currently i’m teaching two or three classes a day and have sixteen students. i also try to facilitate an evening practice session for my morning class.

and here’s part of the morning class! i wish you could see the struggles and triumphs and challenges and failures and obstacles and victories!! it’s pretty wild. stay tuned for a full post about this class!

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one of the first things i did was buy colorful new floor mats and two lamps to make the teaching area cozy and comfortable. can you see in the photo that one of the lamps is a ukulele?! when i saw that ukulele lamp in the shop, it said, “buy me!” and i said, “ok!!” hahah!!

in early march i will start new beginner classes, and already there are more than ten girls asking to get into the new classes.

twinkle twinkle little star

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one of my students has started a fabulous ukulele notebook, and as you can see from her notes, we’re learning “twinkle twinkle little star.” its a song both my students and i already know, which makes it much easier for them to learn and for me to teach.

the evening class has six students, and they are a dedicated bunch. the other night we’d been playing for over two hours, and i was getting hungry. “class hogaya?” i said (class finished?) “no!!” they said. “one more!!” we’re learning “purano sei diner katha,” a classic bengali love song, and between that and “twinkle twinkle little star” and pachelbel’s “canon in d” in c, they want to keep playing and learning.

and when i play, my mind is free.

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the other night i asked the girls what they thought of playing the ukulele. prem* said, “at first i thought it was hard. but now i think it’s easy. and when i play, my mind is free.”

it’s moments and journeys and outcomes like that that this survivor girl ukulele band project is all about.

thank you

it is such a privilege for me to be here and do this work called survivor girl ukulele band project, where i try to give these girls a glimpse of something else, something new, something good, something light, something joyful for their lives — as we strum on colorful little ukuleles and learn and laugh and play and sing.

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thank you thank you thank you for supporting me and this project through your friendship, your love, your financial gifts, your hugs, and your words of encouragement.

 

* names are changed.

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10 Jan 2015
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two benefit concerts raise support for sgub 2015 — kolkata!!!

sgub song finale -- sgub benefit 2014

the fifth annual survivor girl ukulele band project benefits last fall were the place to be!!! the artists and the audience and the cause combined to make magic and raise funds toward survivor girl ukulele band project 2015 — kolkata!!!

the first concert was at bethany church of sierra madre. we had some great volunteers helping again this year, ed tree repeated as musical director, and my bffla, sharon hannah, did an amazing job as producer and promoter.

sharon and laurie at sgub benefit 2014

we raised over $6000 for survivor girl ukulele band project!!!

chava pollack and corrine cunningham helped bring in the cash.

chava pollack and corrine cunningham

the evening started off with a lovely dinner of delicious indian food hosted by bethany, and then pastor briant gave a welcome and prayer.

pastor briant welcome

 

notable women in attendance, beverly thompson, lois tedrow, britta lee shain, and sharon hannah:

ladies at the sgub benefit 2014

 

we like to think the sparks first started flying for these two at a past sgub benefit. and here they are again in the same seats. heart.

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dana charnofsky and lorin hart.

dana chernovsky and lorin hart

 

two great talents, john cartright and beverly mickins.

john cartright and beverly mickins at sgub benefit 2014

berrington van campen and lynne popadak.berrington and lynne at sgub benefit 2014

 

the best dressed award goes again this year to rick and lisa mystic of the wild mountain mystics. don’t they look amazing?!!

rick and lisa mystic at sgub benefit 2014

laurie with frank schifani, and look who showed up — ukulele master, abe lagrimas!laurie frank schifani and abe lagrimas at sgub benefit 2014

 

lorin hart and valerie kuhns and aireene espritu.

lorin hart valerie kuhns and aireen espiritu
marcel shain shot some great video of the night, which follows. thanks, marcel!!!

and now for the music. first up, kendall forrey.

 

next up was aireen espiritu accompanied by ed tree.

 

followed by tim tedrow with john o’kennedy.

 

and now for lorin hart along with ed tree

 

john o’kennedy, who four years ago came up with idea of doing a benefit concert for my work, always puts together something very special. here he is with the fabulous beverly mickins, john cartright, mb gordy, and wes miller.

 

starting out the second half of the concert was special surprise guest: heidi swedberg!!!

heidi swedberg rocks the house -- sgub benefit 2014

 

the tall men were the featured act of the second half of the show, led off by marty axelrod.

all the tall men group -- sgub benefit 2014

 

then john stowers

 

next up, jeff kossack.

 

severin browne

 

jimmy yessian

 

and then ed tree got us dancing in the aisles.

 

and finally the survivor girl ukulele band song (written by ed tree) finale featuring lorin hart and bliss bowen along with all performers and anyone who had a ukulele!!

wow, what a night!

official group photo -- sgub benefit 2014

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****

brit rodriguez and heidi swedberg and the smoking jackets played the second benefit, a matinee at the coffee gallery. you can see some videos of that fabulous afternoon (and much more) at dave clausen’s emajor9productions youtube channel! thanks, dave!! here’s the link

but meanwhile here’s a few photos.

brit rodriguez at the coffee gallery

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what a super afternoon of music and fun and love for survivor girl ukulele band project!!!

coffee gallery benefit -- heidi swedberg and the smoking jackets

thank you thank you thank you all for joining the band!!!

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09 May 2013
2 Comments

sgub song in hindi!!

if you have a minute and forty-three seconds, this just might make your day.

it’s audio of day two of the girls working on the hindi version of the “survivor girl ukulele band song.”

back in december, with the survivor girl ukulele band benefit concert coming up, my friend record-producer-musician-singer-songwriter ed tree wrote the song for the girls. here’s the original lyrics:

survivor girl ukulele band

if you’re down, we’ll lend you a hand
if you’re lost, we’ll show you a plan
if you’re scared, we will understand
survivor girl ukulele band

no matter who you are
no matter where you’ve been
the door is always open
we will let you in

there’s a brighter day
there’s another choice
there’s a melody
waiting for your voice

(chorus)

see who you can be
see how you can grow
see what life will bring
blessings overflow

there’s a brighter day
there’s another choice
there’s a melody
waiting for your voice

(chorus)

and here’s chorus of the hindi version, written by my new friend joseph pawar.

kya ho tum gire, thaam lo ye haath
kya de khoge, tum ko hai yeh aas
kyu tum dare, hum hain denge saath
survivor girl ukulele band

and here is the hindi version of the song written phonetically in bangla by one of the bangladeshi girls. is that cool or what?

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and now for the audio:

as you can tell, they love this song, and they lovelovelove singing the last line. and i think it’s because they know its about them, and it makes them feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.

something special,

something good,

something strong:

a band.

a survivor

girl

ukulele

band.

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