Silvia Eller and Carlo St. Juste, head of Humble Lion Band, invite YOU to join our WEbenin fundraising event: August 9, 2009 @ CAVE54, Heidelberg – Germany’s oldest Student Jazz Cub.
Carlo was born and raised in Haiti, the Caribbean Island. He has a strong ancient spirit rhythm in his blood and soul. His professions are Percussion, drums, vocals, executive recording producer, and film producer assistant. He has done some national commercials in Lima, Peru for “Pilsen” bier, appeared in USA at Arsenio Hall with Shabba Rank, sound track for NBC Glitz Movie of the week, “soul train” with Lady Patra, “Big Break” with Natalie Cole ect.. Since through his music career he has formed many bands. One of his most successful bands was the “Magyk Band”. In 2005 he joined with songwriter, singer and guitarist Silvia Eller who immigrated from Germany to USA Los Angeles to do Rock Music. Carlo St Juste formed Humble Lion 2005 in Los Angeles and is currently in Europe/ Germany Humble Lion is World Fusion Music.
Here is our flyer – please spread the world!
The funds will go directly to ADRIA in Aledjo for microfinancing.
Thanks to Timmy from CAVE 54 in Heidelberg we are able to announce our first WEbenin Charity Concert. He gives us the venue for free!
When: August 9, 2009 at 8 pm Where: Cave 54, Kraemergasse 2, Heidelberg
The musicians will be announced shortly! So stay tuned ….
The idea is to charge an additional 1 Euro on each drink. Besides this we’ll have a piggy bank for special donations:-) No entrance fee!!
What for: The proceeds will be distributed to ADRIA, a Aledjo based institution, which provides people with micro financing. Here is a report about ADRIA and what we’ve done with them so far!
Special thanks to Silvia Reiter, Bea Gschwend, Gabi Iszat und Anja Breitenbuecher who are supporting this idea and help us to make it happen!
And for those who cannot come, you can donate here
A football made out of plastic bags … That’s the kind of football Mel Young talked about in his presentation @ HPVForum. You see them a lot in Africa ….
Sorry for the poor video quality but I really didn’t have a great place for videotyping ….
In August I am going back to Benin, West Africa with a stop over in Accra, Ghana, to visit the Makers Faire.
The aim of a Maker Faire-like event is to create a space on the continent where Afrigadget-type innovations, inventions and initiatives can be sought, identified, brought to life, supported, amplified, propagated, etc. Maker Faire Africa asks the question, “What happens when you put the drivers of ingenious concepts from Mali with those from Ghana and Kenya, and add resources to the mix?”
I will be there with 2 friends from Benin to check out what is possible for the Beninois. I am really looking forward to it, I’ve heard such a lot about these faires, but I never had a chance to visit one!
From Accra we will continue to Cotonou, Benin, where we welcome two young Germans: Anne udn Nadja. The two are planing to spent a year in Benin and support some of our projects. Most likely they will start out at Aledjo at the Youth Center (ADRIA), maybe they can help ADRIA to set up a branch with their microfinancing office at the school of Massi and then there is also the chance to support SEAM, our soccer guys in Benin. For them we might have a very special surprise soon, it seems that we’ll get a bus for them! A bus, that allow them to travel much easier around!
Besides welcoming the two girls I will visit Aledjo, Natintangou and Massi to see how our projects evolve. Hopefully we can raise some more money to continue our work …
Tomorrow, June 9, around 9 pm Tim will be interviewed by Lutz Berger about our mission Benin last April. Stay tuned and listen how Tim experienced our trip and what hes thinking about WE will continue our work.
Enjoy an interesting view about WEbenin and be a part of it:
Last Thursday Alexander and I did some brainstorming with friends, hosted by Simon from HomeBase Berlin. Thanks to all of them!
Our major takeaway: WEbenin will continue to be our private project – maybe we are cooperating with NGO’s or other institutions to achieve bigger funds for special projects, but our mission for Benin will remain to operate as open and as flexible as we started. We build on trust and personal relationship.
Thanks to our friends to remind us, that we have to reveal our mission over and over again. To start virtual networking (= using the internet) can be “good and evil” – especially in a poor country like Benin. But it is already there (even though with many, many restrictions). There is no way without it! People will live with it – sooner or later. So why not believe in the GOOD?
When we think about “good or evil” we look at the internet as a huge connection machine. Of course there is always the risk to destroy culture, when you “import” foreign thinking and behaviour. We’ve seen a lot of destruction in third world countries – especially when we look at business affairs and religion. We are aware of the narrow path we are taking and therefore we ask ourselves for each step we take: Does our networking destroy Benin culture? Is it helping the people to help themselves? Does it empower people to help themselves?
We do believe in the GOOD and we try to deliver the GOOD.
There are so many chances in the internet for the GOOD – not ignoring the huge challenges that are going along with them – it would be a shame NOT to use them.
This is our goal and we will work on that!
It is a narrow path, but manageable!
Another take-away is the idea of a big fundraising party at HomeBase Berlin. We will work on this one … If you have any ideas, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Anyhow, it was a great day for WEbenin.
Before our brainstorming session we’ve received some computers for Benin!
… crammed with a ten-pack soccer oufit for Adrien’s soccer players: shoes, pants, tricots, shoes and gaiters.
Anja, a friend of mine, who also donated for our Benin tour, connected me with Peter Martin, who is collecting sport stuff since four years now. This is how he bag came to WEbenin. I’ve met Peter 2 days ago and talked to him – I am sure there is more to come. WE share a vision!
… yesterday Alexander and I hosted 12 friends who were supporting our Benin activities. It was a great evening – we showed our pictures and some movies. To the “n-onliners” among them we had to explain over and over again our idea of an open Beninois network. There was always this “Yes, but …” coming up, which showed us, that there are still many, many people out there who are afraid of the internet and who are afraid of things they simply don’t know …
Over the weekend we were also re-thinking our Benin strategy and we came to the conclusion to focus on these things next:
- offering audio files for the African people for important websites
- find volunteers who support African analphabets in using the web
- supporting the technical infrastructure in Benin
- starting a music program
- finding a print medium who is willing to publish our Benin story
- checking solar energy for powering computers
So, we definitely will continue our work and we are more than happy if you continue to support us.
Thanks!
Our visit at Massi school made us think about how to support “education” in Benin. Of course there is always the possibility of fundraising to build new schools and set up an infrastructure or donate school materials. But WE are asking: Is this the best WE can do?
We clearly argue: NO, it is not!
Let´s look at US here in Germany. Do WE have confidence in our education system? Again another clear NO! WE are pretty much aware of the fact, that we have to restructure our existing system (see all the initiatives on open education, edu-hacking, self organization) in order to handle the complexity and challenges we are facing. We are practicing a system which is a 150 years old! Long live Humboldt ! But does this system still fit our needs? Many surveys and research studies come to the conclusion: NO!
Therefore we seriously ask: Why are we “exporting” an old system which does no longer fit the current needs and requirements? Why aren’t we “exporting” systems which could suit the current needs and requirements? We should support Third World Countries (education at all) in the best way WE can! This means that children should be educated – besides basic things like reading and writing – in self organization (helping to help themselves), in open education, in sharing, collaboration and networking!
One could argue that people in Third World Countries like Benin might have other needs and requirements than we have. Yes, that’s true. But anyhow – there is no argument to exclude them any longer from our progress!
So what can WE do? Here are some of our thoughts:
learning, working, living becomes one for all of us!
take them as partners (if they do well, we do even be better!)
start to think about the consequences if we don’t change our strategy ( If they fail, we fail even harder!)
let them participate in our connected world !
give them the chance NOT to make the same mistakes we’ve already made!
give them space to unfold their own skills and creativity!
let them define their own ideas, needs and requirements and then help them to succeed!
let them experimentize
All this sums up to something which WE haven’t achieve yet!
But why don’t WE learn and succeed together?
WE are one world!
Of course there are very basic problems waiting to be solved. Problems like electricity, technical infrastructure and equipment. But these problems can be solved easily, if WE want to solve them. Worldwide WE have enough of these resources! WE just have to share them wisely!
This is what WE are heading for!
This is our way to achieve progress in the education system.
Therefore WE stand!
(Thanks to Ulrike for translating. Hopefully my english becomes better soon!)
Thanks again to all of you who donated for Benin. We started our trip with 1120 Euro in our pockets. At the airport in Frankfurt and in Benin another 350 Euros were added. Thanks to Willms Buhse and Bernhard Thome!
Here is a summary of what we did with the money so far.
270 000 CHF 15 bags of fertilizer plus transportation, ADRIA
40 000 CHF sonafa.de
35 000 CHF SOS children village
320 000 CHF SEAM
200 000 CHF Internet ADRIA
40 000 CHF money orders
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905 000 CHF (ca. 1400 Euro)
