Here’s a reflection by our community member Alex who traveled to Brazil to work with AmazonArt.
It´s been a bit more than a year ago now since I traveled to Amazonia in Brazil to support AmazonArt
It feels though as it was yesterday as it has been one of the most inspiring and beautiful moments of my life. But what has happened there since?
“We have received a few volunteers from the USA and now there is one Swedish violinist with us, she will be helping teaching for 3 months. In few weeks, we have a Belgium percussionist also helping us, however, we don‘t have funds to promote our events”, says Diego Carneiro, founder of AmazonArt.
“Really, we have so much problems here with sound pollution… I do realize how important it is to hear well. Music infection spreads quite loudly here in our state and that pollutes our minds and our forests. I am looking forward to creating orchestras, I have been trying hard, but our government doesn‘t help but exploits us. That‘s why we need volunteers here to teach arts, music and languages. If you know any travelers who want to join please send them here.”
“Life for me here is like a missionary and I pray in order to be a guide and make us see the necessary solutions. When travel2change came to Belém I saw the opportunity, which I always thought of: to create a link with Austria and the rest of the world. My plan is to keep doing and promote concerts with Lenita (pianist), she is already 75 and we play together since I am 12 years old. We have lots to give… but we need an electric piano, which is about 1.300 pounds, so we can carry it with us because the other one is not ours. We also need to travel very distant to the poor communities, and all this costs a lot of money. But we really want to perform and inspire and make new friends…we have suffered a lot without the opportunity to play, and if we manage to fundraise money, we can spread more good music in this beautiful land.”
I can only say from my very own experience that our friends from AmazonArt are amazing and caring people with a great musical talent and lots of motivation and love to give! Travelling to the different communities by boat and playing music to and with the children really touched my heart – and theirs. I have probably never met such kind people and experienced so much gratefulness and happiness in my life. Music is THE mean to inspire kids and communities in Brazil, a country that clearly lives through music. I can recommend to anyone to go there and support AmazonArt and experience this magic first hand!
Do you want to help one of their social, music, and environmental projects? Please visit this website to donate: http://www.justgiving.com/AmazonArt.
If you want to volunteer directly in Amazonia, please contact them by email: info@amazonart.info.