Tag: Feba

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Chansons pour le Congo: Karrin Allyson

KarinAllyson2015_Ingrid_Hertfelder_6Now is the perfect time, says jazz artist Karrin Allyson, to revisit the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook. Two days after the release of her latest album,  Allyson will give a benefit concert “Chansons pour le Congo III” at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). The concert, which benefits two Congo-based charities, will be Sunday, September 20, at 3 p.m. at the Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing.

“These songs are innocent yet wise, hopeful yet nobody’s fool, calling us ever forward to be decent human beings,” says Allyson, who features Kenny Barron and John Patitucci on “Many a New Day” on the Motema label. “Sadly, the song ‘You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught,’  from ‘South Pacific’  (a musical that was written with the intention to fight racism) still resonates all too well today.”

The event is presented by the College of New Jersey, Women and Gender Studies Program, Women in Learning and Leadership and Office of the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.  Allyson will be accompanied by bass guitarist Ed Howard. A reception to meet the artists will follow the performance.

Tickets (available online here) are $70 for adults, $50 for seniors, and $30 for students, with a discount for TCNJ students.  Sponsorships range from Patron  at $240, including three tickets. to Karrin’s Circle for $1,000 with six tickets. For information  call 609-688-9979.

This will be the third concert that Allyson, a four-time Grammy nominee, has given to benefit the two charities. Founded  by an ecumenical group of Congolese women, Woman, Cradle of Abundance (FEBA) supports a sewing school for girls, medical care for women and children living with HIV/AIDS, counseling for survivors of rape and forced prostitution, and school fees for orphans .

UFAR, founded by PUMC member Dr. Daniel Shungu, is an African-inspired, Lawrenceville-based nonprofit charitable organization that aims, in partnership with other organizations, to eradicate onchocerciasis, a major public health problem in the Kasongo region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Women of the Congo have amazing strength,” says Allyson, “and I only want to help with their goals of a safe and healthy society, freed from diseases like AIDS and riverblindness, and to help the world see that they are FIRST class citizens.”

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Kuba Art at UFAR’s African Soiree

two menFascinating masks and textiles, intriguing pottery, carved figurines, and exquisite beading with cowrie shells — Kuba artwork from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be for sale at the African Soiree on Saturday, March 21, 5 to 9 p.m. in the main lounge of the Mackay Center at the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Many of these beautiful items will be for sale at the African Marketplace, which starts at 4:30 p.m., and a dozen of the choicest artworks will be up for auction. The Marketplace is open to the public. For $70 African Soiree tickets ($35 for children) go to the UFAR website, Riverblindness.org.

The Soiree  is always exciting and fun. Youth from PUMC will help serve the sumptuous buffet of African and international foods and this year we will enjoy gospel music by Selah, a seminary ensemble directed by La Thelma Armstrong.

Traditional Congolese “Kuba” art was affected by influences from abroad that arrived during the era of colonization, but the individuality and variety of tribal customs has been preserved. Proceeds from the sale will benefit  UFAR (United Front Against Riverblindness), founded by PUMC’s Daniel Shungu, and FEBA (Woman, Cradle of Abundance), founded in the DRC by an ecumenical group of women.

 

 

 

 

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Songs for Congo: November 9

Karrin and Bill

Here is a way to support a cause founded by PUMC’s own Daniel Shungu, United Front Against Riverblindness. Together with another worthy charity for Congo, Woman Cradle of Abundance, UFAR presents its second annual benefit concert with 4-Time Grammy Nominee Karrin Allyson.

When: Sunday, November 9 at 3:00 PM
Reception with the artist will follow. Doors open at 2:30 PM.

Where: Solley Theatre, Arts Council of Princeton
Corner of Paul Robeson Place and Witherspoon St. in Princeton, NJ

Tickets are $70, $30 for students, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

Many at PUMC know how UFAR is working to stamp out riverblindness. We sent a mission team to the DRC five years ago. One-third of the 60 million people in the DRC are at risk for getting riverblindness, which starts with a rash and leads to sight loss, forcing children to leave school to care for parents.

But what is Woman, Cradle of Abundance, also known as FEBA? It aims to change the dismal future for many women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a woman. Founded in 1999 by an ecumenical group of Congolese women, it supports a sewing school where girls learn a marketable trade. It also provides medical care and support for women and children living with HIV / AIDS, counseling for survivors of rape and forced prostitution, and school fees for orphans. The US partner is raising funds to help the Congo project build a Women’s Center.

Help both causes by enjoing a jazz afternoon with Karrin (shown here with her partner Bill McLaughlin). She is described as “always globetrotting and delighting audiences all over the world with her unique and personal style — straight from the heart.”

 

 

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African Women Extraordinaire: March 1 and 6

Elsie speakselsie and cake

Princeton Theological Seminary stages a one-day symposium on March 6:  African Women Extraordinaire: church, health, and women’s development. The full-day workshop is $50 and is being planned by Dr. Elsie A. McKee, who spoke at the UMM Men’s breakfast last month amd told of growing up in the Congo and of her connections with the Shungu family.

Elsie is Princeton Seminary’s professor of Reformation Studies and History of Worship. She is also the International Liaison and President of Women, Cradle of Abudance, a North America-based organization that promotes the work and ministry of Femme Berceau de l’Abondance.

If you go to the African Soiree this Saturday, March 1, you will see her there as well. Elsie is on the board of United Front Against Riverblindness and co-chair of the African Soiree.

So much good work!