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100 years old

By TanzaniaNo Comments
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What’s the biggest change in your life time?” was the question we asked the oldest man in the village. “Female circumcision” he replied whilst other men around laughed. An interesting statement from someone who has lived through so many other changes in his community – this practise has completely died out amongst the Wagogo people due to teaching and a governmental campaign throughout Tanzania. His answer may have been due to the season we were in – we had arrived during male circumcision time (a real celebration were the drummers played all night – every night) and many of the young boys were seen coming back early in the morning on the backs of bicycles from the special place. The old man then left to go and play an African game that requires good memory skills – not bad for 100!

5. June 2011
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Back to Tanzania

By TanzaniaNo Comments
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So good to be back in Tanzania – we have heard that Mnase village have had the best harvest for 8 years! It will be amazing to be there for the first time when they have an abundance. Every other trip has been when they were in a poor situation concerning crops. The land looks so green for June – amazingly beautiful.

3. June 2011
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Cambodia – The executioner

By Asia, CambodiaNo Comments

Just watched an amazing piece of journalism on BBC 4 … harrowing but well worth the watch.

It’s a documentary about Comrade Duch, who ran the Tuol Sleng prison camp in Phnom Penh and was the first Khmer Rouge leader to be tried by the Cambodian courts for the regime’s crimes. On 28 February 2009 Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, appeared in the ECCC courtroom and made a two-hour speech where he asked for forgiveness for the appalling torture and execution of at least 13,000 prisoners at Tuol Sleng and probably more in the security camps of M-13 and M-99. Until this date, with the exception of a handful of judges, lawyers and a priest, he had not been seen or heard of for the last thirty years. How did a man, known to be kind and generous to fellow students, possibly transform himself into Comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge’s infamous executioner? This documentary revisits and searches for clues.

1. June 2011
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Cambodia – video editing

By CambodiaNo Comments

Second trip to Passat 083We have been working on the 9 hours of video footage that we brought back from Cambodia. Interviews, dances, music and much more. The DVD that will be included with the music CD will have video clips from some of the beautiful traditional Khmer dancing and also CCAM’s traditional orchestra.  The process of putting together the video footage has been a steep learning curve and taken a lot longer than we expected but we have learned so much ….  sometimes time is what it takes to get it right.

18. April 2011
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STTW funds build medical dispensary

By TanzaniaOne Comment
Tanzania Feb 2009 gr3 170

We have some exciting news …. the medical dispensary that is being built in the village of Mnase, Tanzania has now been completed.  After finishing the water well renovation the village asked if we could help with the building of a dispensary. At the moment the only medical help is a visiting doctor, once a month, for pregnant women and children under 5. Men, children over 5 and all other women have to walk or cycle 10km to the nearest small dispensary. Inside the new unit will be a waiting room a doctor’s room, an inoculation room and dispensary hatch, a store room and 2 small bedrooms for men and women.

This new building will be a huge benefit to the village … we hope to go out this year to celebrate with the people.

28. January 2011
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Mixing Cambodia project

By CambodiaNo Comments

Tomorrow we start mixing the music for our new Cambodian project. The title of the project will be “Garlands for Ashes” and as you can see we now have a CD cover design in progress.  We have enlisted our good friend Dan Weeks from weeksweeksweeks to help with the mixing. We are hoping the project will be out for the summer … so we will keep you posted.

6. October 2010
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Bugs, bribes and bamboo buildings

By Asia, Cambodia2 Comments

Before the sun had risen we set out travelling from the city of Phnom Penn along increasingly bumpy roads to rural Prassat. As we watched Cambodia raise her sleepy head, even at this early hour we saw an impoverished yet industrious people busy trying to eke out a living. Reaching the Mekong River we waited to catch a small over-loaded car ferry whilst being accosted by traders repeatedly urging us to buy cockroaches, beetles, grubs and all manner of delicious traveller’s snacks! Having paid for our crossing, the next step was not so easy. Bribing is now common occurrence through all strands of life, (a legacy some say of having to find any means to survive the Pol Pot genocide), and because our host wouldn’t play the game we had to wait whilst others were put on the impossibly rickety ferry first. Read More

18. August 2010
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Haraka haraka haina baraka - 'Hurry, hurry has no blessings'

Tanzanian proverb
20. April 2010
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The river people of the Mekong

By Asia, CambodiaNo Comments
First trip to Passat 51

Sitting on the slatted wooden flooring covered with a beautiful woven mat … we looked out from the tall stilted house we had come to visit towards the nearby river. We had stepped into another world – a community who’s lifeblood is entangled with that of the Mekong and it’s tributaries, in all it’s wonder and treachery.

First trip to Passat 21

For 3 months of the year during monsoon season the river rises many feet and our hosts home becomes an island on stilts. The dug out canoe becomes the vehicle of choice for travel during this season and food comes to your doorstep – fish that is! When the waters recede the fields are perfect for growing rice.

7. February 2010
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Moments

By CambodiaNo Comments
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The last couple of days we have been recording tracks at a radio station called Trans-world radio with the smaller children from the orphanage. I couldn’t but notice one small girl who has a huge smile on her face as she sings. Six weeks ago she was on the streets and now with CCAM’s help she is having fun with newly found friends …. the only signs that remain of her street existence is the colour of her hair, still a shade of red at the ends due to past malnourishment. Another few weeks and  her hair will be completely jet black once again.

2. February 2010
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Travelling

By CambodiaNo Comments
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The legacy of a regime that killed so many in Cambodia in the 1970’s still rears its ugly head today. Distrust of country rulers and looking after number one is very evident even in the mundane and ordinariness of road travel. Driving licences can be bought on the black market filling the roads with unskilled drivers. Beautiful new traffic lights at major intersections with large glowing numbers count down to red and green changes, yet this is adhered to by some and largely ignored by others causing chaos on the roads.

First trip to Passat 45It is prohibited to ride motorcycles and tuk tuks without helmets, another law that is flouted by many. When caught by police they are fined but because of the widespread corruption amongst officials this is mostly pocketed – I asked one person if they believed that there were any good policemen and after thinking for a moment they said “Sadly none”.

31. January 2010
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Cambodia – Garlands for Ashes

By CambodiaNo Comments

During the Khmer Rouge dictatorship in the 70’s some of the first people that were taken into captivity were the creative artists. Those that held the traditional stories of Cambodia. In February Voices from the Nations will be filming and recording a new CD and DVD project in Phnom Penh. Working with CCAM (an arts school who give hope to street children by giving them a home and schooling in their traditional arts) we will be collecting the songs and dances of this younger generation who have re-imagined the stories of old for today. This short picture video tells the story so far.

26. November 2009
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CCAM pictures

By CambodiaOne Comment

The Idea is to go back maybe in Jan 2010 to help them tell their story through their arts. We will partner with them by recording their traditional Khmer music, their new songs written by the students and filming their cultural dances (our good friend Jerry Curd, a cameraman is available for the adventure). CCAMS have a dream of opening up an arts centre just outside Phnom Penh in Kompong Chnang (they have purchased land there) which would be a facility where they could grow their own food and have multiple buildings for school, auditorium and housing, enabling them to take in more children. 100% of funds from the sales of the recordings will go back to them to help in this endeavour to provide a new home for the community.

25. June 2009
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