Director’s Message

December 2023

Dear friends and supporters of Musicians For World Harmony,

I want to reach out and express our gratitude for the support we have received over the years, enabling us to share the healing power of music with populations experiencing stress in various parts of the world. When we started, our focus was on former child soldiers and young AIDS orphans in Africa. We later expanded our reach to include victims of war in the Congo, Liberia, and Rwanda, working with survivors and rape victims from these conflict areas.

I am continually amazed by the transformative impact a simple flute melody or a few notes from a Kalimba can have on helping distressed individuals rediscover the ability to sing. Music plays a vital role in refocusing the spirit of traumatized persons in a positive direction. People open up and share their pains and losses, but, most importantly, I have found that regardless of their age, music helps them envision a future beyond the war.

What always touches my heart is when our audiences request that I sit down and let them entertain me for a change. They begin singing and laughing once more.

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, our ability to travel was severely limited. In order to continue our mission of sharing the healing power of music with those in distress, we redirected our focus towards a population that is often neglected and very lonely—our seniors, especially those dealing with dementia. Many family members, overwhelmed by multiple daily obligations, find themselves unable to spend sufficient time with their loved ones suffering from dementia, often leaving them in the care of a caregiver.

Over the past two years, we have researched how musicians can use their talents to virtually bring joy back into the lives of the sick and their caregivers. We discovered that when patients see the same musician for extended periods, a strong bond is formed. It becomes more than just about music; it becomes a safe space for them to share their stories and feelings with the musician. Numerous musicians could benefit from such an opportunity to make someone's life better through their music. Similarly, many lonely seniors, especially those with memory loss, can benefit from such an arrangement.

On behalf of Musicians for World Harmony, I extend an invitation for you to join us as we continue to share the healing power of music with those distressed by war or disease. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Musicians For World Harmony.

Join us in making the world a better place through the universal language of music.

Sincerely,

Samite Mulondo

April 2022

Dear Supporters,

It is my pleasure to introduce you to my friend Emilia. She is a very inspiring young woman from Idaho who embodies the healing power of music. When things began to shut down two years ago, Emilia and her mother wrote to me about my music, playing the kalimba, and the work that we do through MWH. Soon we had conversations about cooking Ugandan food and I often get updates about the recipes she is trying - including chapatis (traditional East African flatbread). Eventually we began kalimba lessons via Zoom and I was thrilled when Emilia announced that she would perform in senior centers with her father’s band. Rather than tell you second hand about her experience, I asked Emilia to be a guest columnist on our website. This is a powerful story of a selfless young person who cooks, sings, plays the kalimba, downhill skis, and goes after her dreams.  One of those dreams is to join MWH on a future MUSIC Heals trip to East Africa!  It is always rewarding to meet someone who thinks about others more than themselves and Emilia embodies this:  a young person who is blind and thinks about others and their comfort and care!  She is a true role model.  Here is her story!  - Mirembe (Peace), Samite

My name is Emilia. I am friends with Samite and I have been very inspired by the work he does using the healing power of music. I am going to tell you about it.

     We have had a tape of Samite's music for a long time. My parents used it as lullaby music for my sisters and I when we were babies. Samite's music has been part of my life since then. A little over a year ago, I  came across his Ted Talk, "Lessons Of Humanity," where he described his childhood in Uganda and how, when he came to the United States, he started exploring the healing power of music for people with difficult situations. This included people in hospitals, people in refugee camps, AIDS orphans and former child soldiers. I was very inspired by this and thought it would be  cool to get in touch with him. I wrote up a list of questions that I had for him and I somehow managed to find his  personal phone number. There was no answer when I called, so I left a voicemail. When I heard his voice on the voicemail message, I was shocked and I screamed with excitement. I wasn't sure if he would even respond. However, the next morning I woke up to a text message asking when I wanted to talk. We set up a time to talk that afternoon. I think our first conversation lasted about two hours. It was the beginning of a friendship that continues to this day.

     One of the questions I had for Samite was if he had any advice for beginning kalimba (thumb piano) players. This is because I wanted to learn how to play some of his songs on a kalimba that my dad had made a few years ago. The first piece of advice Samite gave me was to start with two notes. I played those two notes until I got comfortable, then added a third note. We went through a couple different ideas for the first songs that I could play. We finally decided on a song of his called “Zenina”. Samite recorded both a slowed-down and normal-speed version of the song so that I could work out the notes. When I thought I had the notes and rhythm figured out, I was very excited. I called Samite and played it for him, but I was so excited that I played too fast. I learned that it is more important to get the notes and rhythm correct than to play fast. After I had the rhythm down, I started singing the tune of the song. This exercise was to get me ready to add the actual lyrics. Now, I have been working on learning another song called “Kakokolo.” This is the first time I have learned a song by ear. It took a couple of tries, but I eventually got it. I am still working on it. I have played other instruments in the past, but didn't stick with any of them for very long. Also, when I played those other instruments, practicing felt more like a chore. Now, I practice because I enjoy it. Whenever I get discouraged, I remember that this is something that I won't get the hang of overnight. I also think about the fact that I am learning songs that I really like.

     My dad and I are part of a bluegrass jam group. My dad plays bass and I play the kalimba and sing. After my first practice with the group, they invited me to become a permanent member. Our first performance was at a nursing home. I was very excited to think that I was following in Samite's footsteps by performing for people who really needed music in their lives. The day of the performance, I felt very nervous. However, I realized that the residents wouldn't judge us, but just wanted to hear music. I then got very excited. We did the performance and I really enjoyed it. Several of the residents sang along. There was one lady in the audience whose eyes were closed and who didn't seem very responsive to anything. When the music started, however, she smiled and shook her hands and feet, as if she was trying to dance. I was very excited– this seemed like solid proof of the healing power of music. We are going to do another performance at the nursing home in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to it. If I hadn't met Samite and heard of all the work he does with the healing power of music, I don't think I would have had these experiences. This has become an important part of my life.  - Emilia.

May 2021

Hello!  I am excited to have this opportunity to reconnect with all of our supporters and those who are interested in the work of Musicians For World Harmony. 

Over the last several months, I have reflected on all of the successful trips we have taken to share the healing power of music with the distressed and displaced in different parts of the world.  Since we became a registered Not-for-Profit in 2002, we have managed to use our limited resources to visit and work with former child soldiers in Uganda, with refugees from war-torn countries like the Democratic Republic Of Congo, Sudan and Somalia, with children with HIV?AIDS in Kenya and in the United States, and we have worked with the elderly, especially those suffering from dementia. 

In the past few years, pre-COVID-19, the majority of our funding came from you, our supporters, when you gave so generously at our fundraising galas.  As you are all aware, since March of 2020, we have not been allowed to hold such gatherings.

Many of our supporters and sponsors have had to close their businesses and cannot continue to support our mission. We also had to close our offices and to pause our operations temporarily. 

I feel that now, since many people in the U.S. have been vaccinated, it's time for us to resume our contribution to making the world a better place by sharing the healing power of music. We have lost many people to COVID-19, and it has been a very difficult time for many. However, now it's time to think positively  and to try to reach out to one another.  Those of you who have supported us in the past, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have made a difference in many people’s lives. 

We have to build our operation back from scratch, we need your support again. Our services are needed now more than ever before. Please reach out to share your ideas of how we could resume our fundraising efforts.

Please stay positive and I look forward to hearing from you soon. You can write to me at:  samite@musiciansforworldharmony.org

I hope to hear from you soon. 

Mirembe(Peace), 

Samite

******

4 March 2020

Dear Supporters and Friends of Musicians for World Harmony,

Happy 2020!  We have already completed a successful M.U.S.I.C. Heals Residency this year (more about that in a minute) and I am feeling positive that 2020 is going to be a great year for Musicians for World Harmony!

As I write this we are putting the final touches on a very inspiring and meaningful M.U.S.I.C. Heals recording project that we completed with students at DeWitt Middle School in Ithaca, New York.  

This is our third M.U.S.I.C. Heals project at Dewitt in the same number of years and it just keeps getting better.  Nate Richardson and I spent two weeks working with the students as we taught them the 21st Century skills of collaboration and communication (and trust!) to work successfully in groups to express their thoughts and feelings through music.  These young people have a lot to teach us! Wait until you hear the music — coming soon.

Many of you know that when we bring our M.U.S.I.C. Heals Program to remote places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or Kenya, we rarely can continue communications with the participants of the workshops.  They are often minors, sometimes elderly or they are ill. All are going through a difficult time in their lives and do not want to be remembered or known for that problem. Because of this, we respect their privacy and do not try to contact them afterwards.

For example, when we work with former child soldiers we have to hide their identity.  These are young boys and girls that have been kidnapped and made to kill by the warlords that held them.  When they do manage to escape, they try to move back into their communities and assimilate into their former lives, they are often shunned and many commit suicide.

Because of these protocols that guide this type of work, we often share the healing power of music without hearing from the participants again.  This changed at the end of last year. Just before Thanksgiving, I was contacted by a 19 year old refugee whom I met in a camp in Mubende, Uganda ten years ago!  His life has completely changed since I first met him. He now attends college in the United States! When we first met, he had just lost his entire family due to the war in Congo.  It warmed my heart to learn that not only is he alive, he is in his first year of college and cannot wait to go back to Africa to help once he finishes his education. He still remembers the day when we brought music to him and how it made him feel positive about his life.

A few weeks ago I was contacted, via Facebook, by three former victims of Joseph Kony (the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] in northern Uganda).  At eight years old these young boys were kidnapped by the LRA and turned into child soldiers. When I met these young boys in Uganda, more than ten years ago, they had just escaped from the LRA.  They were struggling to move on with their lives after spending so much time fighting in the bush.

As you will see, in this short video, we gave them musical instruments to take home at the end of our time together.  Not only did we share the healing power of music with them through our M.U.S.I.C. Heals Program, we encouraged them to use that power to transform their lives after they escaped the LRA.  

I was thrilled to hear that they are all still together as friends and that they have continued to make music together!  They even have their own YouTube channel and they just released their first album! In their home village, THEY ARE HEALERS now and they share their joy through their own music.  This is why we do the work that we do!

Please check out their new CD and the send me and email and let me know what you think!

My wishes for a joyful, harmonious and successful year to you and yours.

Mirembe (peace),

Samite.

2019 Outreach Events

September 2019 - Samite conducted four outreach events in the Ithaca area in four different senior living and community centers. These events were made possible by a grant from Community Foundation of Tompkins County and in collaboration with Ithaca Neighborhood Housing and Lifelong. Nate Richardson joined Samite in performing at Lifelong.

August 2019 - Samite was interviewed and shared his story at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, NY during their annual Humanitarian Law Dialog.  He spoke to a full house of international prosecutors about the origins and work of Musicians for World Harmony. After the interview he performed and lead a talk-back for the audience. Robert H. Jackson was a U.S. Supreme Court justice who grew up in Western New York.  He was also Chief U.S. Prosecutor in Nuremberg, Germany where he created the first international military tribunal in 1945. The Jackson Center was created in 2001, to envision a global society where the universal principles of equality, fairness and justice prevail.

Samite also conducted two outreach events in August: one for youth at the YMCA and one for the community and public television with the Cuban pianist, composer and Julliard faculty member,  Elio VillaFranca in Springfield, MA, while he was there for a concert with this band. Nate Richardson, who was touring with him, joined him for the YMCA event.

June 2019 was a busy month for outreach:

• Samite was honored to receive the Award of Appreciation presented by ivoh (Images and Voices of Hope) for his decades-long humanitarian work with Musicians for World Harmony. This annual award recognizes media professionals who have done exceptional work with storytelling aimed at strengthening people, communities, and media as a whole. While at their summit at Peace Village in the Catskills, he served on a panel discussing how humanitarians cope with the demands of field work and performed his solo show.

• Samite was the Keynote Speaker for World Refugee Day in Syracuse.

  “The Refugee Alliance (of Syracuse) is an organization of organizations and associations who work to advance t he lives of newcomers to the community.  It includes leadership from various countries/communities, nonprofit services - such as the North Side Learning Center, and government agencies. 

  The organizers and attendees were thrilled to have Samite Mulondo as our keynote speaker at our first Training Symposium. The purpose of which was to equip people invested in and among the resettled refugee and New American communities in trauma-informed, culturally-humble, linguistically-accessible, genuinely-empowering ways that lead to flourishing communities.

  Samite's talk both entertained, and more importantly informed, the attendees. Many were also interested in learning more about Musicians for World Harmony.” - Mark Cass, The Refugee Alliance

• Two outreach events in Providence, RI were conducted while Samite was there for a concert at the First Works Music Festival.  He performed at a school in the city and then visited a senior center with a large West African population, and not only performed for them, but shared a home cooked meal with the residents.  Nate Richardson, who was touring with Samite, accompanied him at both events.

March and May 2019 - Samite spoke to high school classes in his community about his humanitarian work with Musicians for World Harmony and his experience as a refugee.

Finding our Voices

In January and February, a seventh grade class at DeWitt Middle School worked hard over just a few weeks to explore and express themselves and common themes in their lives with Musicians for World Harmony.  The project was part of the poetry unit in their English class, but the project had another goal – to help kids express themselves and build connections across differences.

Nineteen students worked in class with performing artists Samite and Nate Richardson, and their teachers Theresa Souchet and Isaac Kain.  In the words of Ms. Souchet, “We had several students take initiative as the project progressed.  One student brought in his instruments to "jam" with Samite and Nate during class and took it upon himself to rework melodies and lyrics.  Another student was very hesitant to participate at first, but seemed to find his voice, summarizing his experience by saying his lyrics were meant to encourage other students "to just go for it".  We had several new students (immigrants and international visitors) who joined the class midway through the project.  Because of the nature of the project, students were able to jump right in, which went a long way in helping them adopt their new school and get to know their classmates”.

At the end of the project, the students took a field trip to Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca to record their individual statements and to sing as a group.  At the end of the project, more than a few expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with Nate and Samite and to check out the studio.  A few noted they knew a little more about themselves or a classmate.  For some, the foray into self-expression took courage and they were proud to have found their voices. 

MWH is grateful to DeWitt Middle School and the Children and Youth Fund of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County for their resources to make the project a reality. 

Thanks to all who attended Music for the Ages 2018 - check out the photo gallery by clicking below!