Recently in Causes Category

FILIPINO rock band Hale holds a recent a gig meant to raise funds for some charitable organizations. Watch this video report by INQUIRER.net production specialist Janie Octia.

Ever since the days of USA for Africa and Band Aid, music has become a vehicle for various causes. In the Philippines, MTV has been holding a music summit mainly geared towards protecting young people from the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). “Seemingly, there is a gap in bridging the message to the intended audience like the young people. The best way to reach them is through media and MTV,” says Dr. Jose Gerard Belimac, manager of AIDS & STI Prevention and Control Program of the Department of Health (DOH). Teresita Bagasao, Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), says young people comprise 40 percent of the new infections globally. “That means on a daily basis, we receive reports of 6,000 new infections among young people,” adds Bagasao. “For as long as there is one new infection, we cannot be complacent,” Bagasao says. In the Philippines, the DOH reported a cumulative number of 3,515 cases as of October 2008, according to Belimac. Belimac says there is also a shifting trend in the mode of transmission of AIDS from heterosexual to homosexual based on the study conducted by the epidemiology center of the DOH. Aside from the mentioned modes, AIDS can also be passed through injecting drug users, blood transfusion, occupational exposure of health workers and mother to child, Belimac says. On December 1, 1988, the World Aids campaign began to call the attention of the people about HIV. Since then, December 1 has been declared as World Aids Day. This year, the call for the people is to “lead, empower and deliver.” Bagasao says each sector of the society should lead in information campaign that would later empower people to make better decisions. He also says policies on prevention and treatment should also be encouraged. “These are ways we can defeat the epidemic,” said Bagasao. On December 3, thirty-six bands will play for the MTV Staying Alive Music Summit 2008 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert grounds. Rico Blanco, musician and spokesperson of the music summit, acknowledges that music continues to have a big influence on young people. “It’s a responsibility to do whatever I can, to help educate people regarding HIV and AIDS,” adds Blanco, as he explains his participation in this year’s summit. The bands that have confirmed to perform during the summit are 6cyclemind, Bamboo, Callalily, Chicosci, Franco, Grayhoundz, Hale, Imago, The Itchyworms, Kamikazee, Kitchie Nadal, Kjwan, Markus Highway, Moonstar88, The Out of Body Special, Overtone, Paraluman, Pramita, Parokya ni Edgar, Pedicab, Pupil, Radioactive Sago Project, Rivermaya, Sandwich, Session Road, Silent Sanctuary, Sinosikat?, Slapshock, Soapdish, Spongecola, Sugargree, Taken By Cars, Typecast, Up Dharma Down, Urbandub and Wolfgang.

By Erika Tapalla INQUIRER.net QUEZON CITY, Philippines -- In a world where the concept of community has transcended barrios and has grown to include social networks, viral campaigns have worked to extend its reach by using the Internet. KL Sol Cruz organized Project Savannah, a viral fund raising campaign aimed to raise some money to save “Savannah,” an unborn child who has been diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This is a condition in which the baby's diaphragm, the organ that separates the chest cavity (containing the heart and lungs) from the abdominal cavity (containing the stomach, liver and intestines), fails to develop completely. It also involves an underdeveloped diaphragm that leaves a hole where the intestines and the stomach can enter the chest cavity, thereby affecting the development of the lungs. After birth, the lungs may collapse and the child may not be able to breathe. Savannah must undergo a $100,000 operation, called intrauterine fetal surgery, which can only be performed in the United States. Parents Vida and Brian Samson have approached several foundations to shoulder the cost of the procedure and are awaiting a positive response. The Philippine Airlines has already given the couple roundtrip tickets to San Francisco. Meanwhile, Sol Cruz and a team of 13 other people have resorted to more creative ways to reach people. Through social networks Multiply and Facebook, they are gathering participants to attend "Rock the Cradle" and "Ultrasound," to raise more funds to help cover for travel, tax and other expenses of the couple. The advantages of Internet fund raising are many. It is quick, cheap and unobtrusive -- but will it be enough to save Savannah?

By Jeannette Andrade Inquirer MANILA, Philippines--It is not the type of music that sticks in your head. But it is a melody that the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Philippines hopes will sensitize a society that has become insensitive to privation. In launching the song “Poverty Requiem” locally, GCAP Philippines aims to join the worldwide call on Wednesday -- the International Day of Hunger and Poverty Eradication or the Whiteband Day -- to eliminate destitution through positive action. “Doing away with poverty is not a matter of charity but self-advocacy, where people are encouraged to act and empowered to do something about their situation,” May-i Fabros, GCAP Philippines media campaigner, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net. Introducing “Poverty Requiem” to naturally music-loving Filipinos is a new tack, Fabros said, of bringing back awareness to those who have started to take poverty for granted “because they see it around them every day.” She stressed that the message was hard to deliver but through music, her group hoped to “spark” some feeling back. “People should be made aware that if poverty happens to one person, it could ultimately happen to you,” she said. Fabros added that the song would also help people already in the grip of poverty “to understand their rights so they would know what to do to live above it.” She said that her group wanted to focus on the right of a person to see a better life and live decently. “Poverty Requiem,” Fabros said, “will hopefully start a fire within people to help them find ways in uplifting their lives. It encourages turning desperation to power. Art and music can do that.” “We are producing generations and generations of persons who see poverty as an inescapable fact of life. I was born poor therefore, I will always remain poor and I cannot do anything about it. That’s the mind-set we want to change,” she said. Artistic performance “Poverty Requiem” is an artistic performance against poverty that combines visual art, music and movement. Divided into five parts, the piece is a journey of standing up and speaking out against poverty, of the suffering, the anger, the mourning, the humor and the hope. The five-part song started from the Netherlands and was composed by Sylvia Borren, GCAP general director. It is more of a community choral presentation where people from all walks of life are anticipated to participate. “Even those who cannot sing well are encouraged to join and even those who do not want to sing. They can just dance to the music,” she stressed. The core performers of “Poverty Requiem” come from four sectors -- the youth, males, professionals and a “scratch or inexperienced” group that would be organized from the community, two solo singers, percussionists, and dancers. Bono of the Philippines Fabros said that her organization could not have found a better ambassador in singer-composer Noel Cabangon, who has been in the forefront of the campaign for the eradication of poverty even before GCAP Philippines was formed in 2005. “He is basically, the Nelson Mandela or U2’s Bono of the Philippines, who is not just doing this for publicity but for true advocacy. He has been doing this for years through his songs,” she noted. Cabangon is the coordinator of “Poverty Requiem” here and has tapped Malou Matute, a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Music, to act as the conductor of the community choir. Getting message across “Even if we only have a hundred participants, we know that we can get the message across. We have to be a community to make change,” Fabros pointed out, adding that “Poverty Requiem” will form part of a chain of countries on Wednesday, from First World to Third World, who want to erase poverty. “The call is around us, worldwide, and it is only fitting that we express our outrage against poverty through music, a universal language that everyone can understand and feel,” Fabros said.

AS I'm writing this, Eskimo Joe is playing at the Aussie Stadium in Sydney, Australia as part of the round-the-world Live Earth Concerts for a Climate in Crisis. Nope, I didn't fly to Sydney, heh :) You can watch the Live Earth concerts in Australia, Japan, China, Germany and other countries online via MSN. While you can use other browsers, for the best experience and to watch all the concerts in one player, you need Internet Explorer. Here's a promo video courtesy of Soapbox on MSN Video.
Video: Live Earth Concert 07.07.07 Photo of Eskimo Joe from the Live Earth MSN site. Here are photos courtesy of Associated Press. Here's former US vice president Al Gore checking out Giants Stadium as he gets a tour of the North American venue for the Live Earth concert by Live Earth workers Aaron Growsky (right) and Lily Sobhani (left) on July 6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Here are Australian Aboriginals dancing on stage while the band Blue King Brown performs during the first Live Earth concert in Sydney, Australia on July 7.

By Agence France-Presse SYDNEY--Australia kicked off a round-the-world series of music concerts designed to highlight climate change Saturday with a traditional Aboriginal welcome ceremony. Six Aboriginal performers danced across the stage at Sydney's Aussie stadium in front of a crowd of several thousand before former US vice president Al Gore appeared on video screens to launch the worldwide initiative. "Thank you for coming today," Gore said, as he reminded concert goers they were the first in the world to take part in the Live Earth concerts. The Live Earth initiative aims to raise awareness about climate change with concerts in Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hamburg, London, Johannesburg, New York, Washington and Rio De Janeiro. Performers in the all-day global extravaganza include Madonna, The Police and Metallica. A reformed Crowded House will headline the Sydney concert which is expected to draw an audience of 50,000 people. The televised event will stretch to seven continents with an amateur band playing at the British Antarctic Survey Station in Antarctica. The first act of the day, the little-known Australian band Blue King Brown, took to the stage shortly after a message from Australian politician and former rock star Peter Garrett. Garrett, who previously fronted Midnight Oil, said it was up to citizens of developed nations such as Australia, the US, Japan and Europe to push for action to reduce pollution before it resulted in catastrophic change. "Your voice matters, make it heard," he said. Campaigners argue if nothing is done to stop the build-up of so-called greenhouses gases which allow the light into the Earth's atmosphere but prevent heat from escaping, the consequences could prove disastrous. Live Earth will feature some 7,000 events in 129 countries but organizers have encountered some problems and criticism. A concert due to be held in Istanbul was called off due to security concerns while the Rio event was nearly stopped by a judge who feared for the safety of the 700,000 expected to attend the free concert in Copacabana. There has also been sharp criticism of the event, with skeptics charging that the luxury lifestyles lived by many jet-setting rock stars only add to global warming.

BAMBOO is bringing hope to remote villages in Mindanao via the Days of Peace campaign. Here's an excerpt from the INQUIRER.net Showbiz & Style article:

Lead vocalist Bamboo Mañalac, guitarist Ira Cruz, bassist Nathan Azarcon and drummer Vic Mercado expressed their support in song while lending a hand in distributing vitamin A drops and de-worming tablets to children who were missed out during routine immunization services.

Sitio Saramuray, which sits over sprawling hills in the hinterlands of Maguindanao, is almost four hours away from Cotabato City—a remote community run by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “We want to express what we feel in the best way we can,” said Bamboo. “We don’t speak their dialect but we can use our songs to speak to them. Kayang-kaya, sama-sama, bata muna! (Together we can if we put children first).”