#WATWB Engagement through music and song

#WATWB Engagement through music and song

32 Replies

On the last Friday of each month, We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. I join in as often as I can as we need to look beyond the alarmist headlines and see all the good that is happening in the world. If you would like to join in, please check out the rules and links below.

This month I am sharing a story of a small community in Western Australia that is using music and song to engage at-risk Indigenous youth. Since the town was established in 1992, the community has been suicide-free, reversing a trend that is all too common in Aboriginal communities.

The song in this video was written and recorded by the children of the town with the support of the youth engagement coordinator, Robert Binsiar. It is a song about their lives and their town.

Click to read the whole article:

WA town using music to engage at-risk Indigenous kids and keep town suicide free

As stated by #WATWB, “There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world.”

I think the world could do with some more light at the moment. Please join in and share positive stories to lift the clouds.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

2. Link to a human news story on your blog, one that shows love, humanity, and brotherhood. Paste in an excerpt and tell us why it touched you. The Link is important, because it actually makes us look through news to find the positive ones to post.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

Tweets, Facebook shares, Pins, Instagram, G+ shares using the #WATWB hashtag through the month most welcome. We’ll try and follow and share all those who post on the #WATWB hashtag, and we encourage you to do the same.

The co-hosts this month:
Sylvia McGrath,
Susan Scott,
Shilpa Garg,
Eric Lahti,
and Belinda Witzenhausen.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you blog post

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

32 thoughts on “#WATWB Engagement through music and song”

  1. Pingback: #WATWB Learning to code and a local Aboriginal language from a robot | Norah Colvin

  2. robinettercleave

    I absolutely loved this post, Norah. The power of music is so often too underestimated. I’ve had the opportunity to see this power unleashed so many times, with some amazing results – some positive and others not so positive. One of my first-hand experiences was with an elderly friend, Russell, who told me he that he “just lived” for Wednesdays – the day I organised live concerts each week at his nursing home. Russell was a cheeky, wheelchair-bound, seventy-something-year-old man who, although riddled with painful arthritis, was the forever optimist. He got rare visits from any family members or friends, which I found very sad, but still, he always seemed so happy. He called me his “girlfriend”, as I always came and wheeled him down to the concerts. I was all of 23! Unfortunately, the concerts stopped when I left town for work, but on my return at Christmas four months later, I popped by to see Russell. He wasn’t in his chair. I asked a nurse where he was, and I’ll never forget her answer. “You know when Russell said to you that he lived for the concerts? Well, he really did. Russell passed away shortly after the concerts stopped.” That’s when I truly realised the power of music. “Music hath power”, for sure. RIP, my biggest fan, Russell. Thanks again, Norah for such a heart-warming, poignant post. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for sharing Russell’s story, Robin. It’s wonderful that his story lives on with you and that it enables you to show the enormous power that music can have in one’s life. I’m sad that he passed when the music stopped though. It reminds me of that Don McLean song ‘The Day the Music Died’. I think your story also proves that the smallest of actions can have the most powerful effect and that oftentimes we are not even aware of the ripples that we send out. One person can make a difference. You’ve made many to many lives, Robin.

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. BWitzenhausen

    Great post! Music really can help heal. My husband a musician was orphaned at 13 and found solace in learning to play music. In his late 50’s it’s still an important part of his life. I suspect the singer is also healing through the process of helping others. Thanks so much for sharing this and for being a part of #WATWB.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you so much for popping over to read and comment, Belinda. I enjoy being a part of #WATWB and appreciate all you do to keep it going. The world can do with a little more positivity.
      Thanks for sharing your husband’s story which supports the value of music.

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    1. Norah Post author

      Oh, I so agree, Jacqui. I’d love to be able to sing. I think if anyone can sing, they’ve always got a musical instrument with them. Next time round for both of us, eh? 😉

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  10. Pingback: Engagement through music and song — Norah Colvin – aroused

  12. Marsha

    The kids’ faces are precious as they rejoice in their surroundings. So sad that the singer lost his wife and his friend. Hard to stay so positive during tragedies that serious. Great story of a great work.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thanks for reading so thoroughly, Marsha. The effect on the children is wonderful, but the other losses so tragic. I’m sure the situation would be far less positive without the music and song.

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. thecontentedcrafter

    This is such a tragic story Norah. That gentle, unassuming man who was still working through the suicide of his friend, suddenly also lost his wife….. The timelines are uncertain but clearly very recently. It seems like those two men are doing such good work in that tiny community – you can see the pain etched into those kids faces that eases as they sing about catching their dinners. I was/am deeply touched by watching the videos and reading the article. I hope Mr Biniar has all the love and support he needs now and can in time return to his work with the kids and the communities. Thank you for sharing this – and I hope we might hear more in future.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for your compassionate response to the article, Pauline. I, too, was shocked and touched by the news in the second video. It seemed almost incomprehensible and I couldn’t quite figure how both tragedies fitted with the headline. However, I thought the music program with the students was excellent and a wonderful way to engage the children and to help them feel valued. I do hope we hear more positive stories like this in the future (without the sadness in the tail).

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  15. Susan Scott

    Thanks Norah for this heart warming story for #WATWB. Robert Biniar is a real hero. People can’t help but respond to music, children maybe more so. It;s a wonderful medium of expression.

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