Survivor Girl Ukulele Band - Musical Therapy for Sex Traffic Survivors in India

And India being India, there are of course all sorts of musical things going on. I know for my part, I don't imagine everyone is sitting around with sitars, but if you listen closely, the Bollywood stuff is also borrowing from traditional music. It may do so badly, it may be in the background, but it IS there. Ya know, that "Hey ps - this is Indian" sound that those composers have made cliche. It's a musical trick. Fun with modes.

Anyway, for this lady, I hope she really knows what she's getting into, both musically and for the well being of these women. They're not there for the appeasement of white Western guilt.

Plainsong said:

They're not there for the appeasement of white Western guilt.

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Yikes! You went a bit too far with that comment, didn't you?

Someone is actually trying to do something, and all the "experts" here are picking-it-apart. Everyone who has worked in such outreach programs knows there will be successes and failures. Things evolve on-the-ground. Maybe it will work, and if it doesn't it may turn into something completely different.

Honestly, most of the criticisms are plain silly. I work in the inner-city schools of Chicago and have seen poor African American kids learning to play Chinese music and they got a lot out of it.
Were the instruments and music from their culture - No.
Was the program motivated by someone's "guilt"? - Who cares.

Good grief, the woman is bringing in little instruments with 4 strings, she isn't introducing pesticides, genetically modified seeds, or a new religion.
... let me know where to send a few bucks to support this program.

Yes, let's pick one fear that I voiced, and ignore where I said I hoped it would work out... Numerous times. I guess I have to say it in every post, or else I just didn't mean it. Look, I'm not the only one who thinks it's a problem rather beyond the uke, I'm just the only one of the few saying anything. Again, hope I'm wrong, but I'd also hate to see her do more harm than good.

Sense this will be twisted to mean something completely different, I'm out. Uke people need to get over themselves. It's just an instrument, like any other.

Plainsong said:

Uke people need to get over themselves. It's just an instrument, like any other.

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Hmmmm.... that actually sounds like good advice

Paul December said:

Yikes! You went a bit too far with that comment, didn't you?

Someone is actually trying to do something, and all the "experts" here are picking-it-apart. Everyone who has worked in such outreach programs knows there will be successes and failures. Things evolve on-the-ground. Maybe it will work, and if it doesn't it may turn into something completely different.

Honestly, most of the criticisms are plain silly. I work in the inner-city schools of Chicago and have seen poor African American kids learning to play Chinese music and they got a lot out of it.
Were the instruments and music from their culture - No.
Was the program motivated by someone's "guilt"? - Who cares.

Good grief, the woman is bringing in little instruments with 4 strings, she isn't introducing pesticides, genetically modified seeds, or a new religion.
... let me know where to send a few bucks to support this program.

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Agreeing with you 100%.

I think Indian culture is strong enough and resilient enough not to have to worry about being "bastardised" by the introduction of an affordable 4-strings instrument in one social programme - an instrument which is relatively not so different in terms of modes / scales / tuning from the already widespread guitar. People there are fully capable of figuring out by themselves whether they like playing the uke or not. It's up to them to decide, not us.

I want to support this programme too, let us know how to. Thanks!

Back in the early 90's I worked in a refugee camp for what was the end of the Boat people era from Vietnam and Cambodia. I essentially ran a psychiatric clinic. One of the tasks that I was assigned when I arrived was to develop a therapy group for SOV's (Survivor's of Violence). These women all had horrible stories and were in general looked down upon by the rest of the community. Their culture was so different than the west, there was no way these women were going to sit down and share their rape stories, even with each other. So, we asked them what they wanted to do, several of them answered they were interested in singing. So we started a singing group with one of my staff playing guitar. Initially we had to bribe them to come by giving away soap and stuff for attendance, but after awhile it was the highlight of their week and they even put on a play at a New Years show. Many of them became friends and supported each other when initially they were afraid to be seen talking to each other.
So from my personal experience, this is a fantastic idea.

Rick Turner said:

Being both a uke person and a fan of both North and South Indian classical music, I'm of two minds about this. While I love ukes...building them and playing them...I'm also a bit sensitive to cultural imperialism. The Indians have a number of very deep musical traditions that are extremely healing...Kirtan, Qawwali, Bhajans, etc. I wonder if the uke could be adapted to existing traditions in India.

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To play the Devil's advocate, Hawaii did alright with it.

hoosierhiver said:

To play the Devil's advocate, Hawaii did alright with it.

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With no history of stringed instruments! I'm thinking we're going to see ukuleles with drones and movable frets in the future.

(Of course, some boff has probably already made a situlele... anyone care to take credit?)

Making music is always a good idea. Commraderie, social cohesion, and support systems will develop organically. Music choice and preference will also develop as participants begin to feel comfortable and safe in making requests. Eventually, nearly all participants in Hum & Strum Singalongs make their preferences known.

hello to all you uu people who wrote on this thread! i had no idea my photo and article made it to the ukulele underground forum last january. i just happened upon this thread whilst googling something else. anyway, thanks for posting and for the great discussion.

i have to admit, i had no idea how the project was going to turn out. but in march i traveled to india with 20 ukuleles and was able to work with an amazing group of survivors, and the joy and fun and creativity they had with their ukuleles was amazing. if you are interested in more details or in some photos or videos of my work, please check out my blog at workingdraft.me.

i have also recently launched a website: survivorgirls.org, but the videos are not working in the blog portion of the website yet.

we're also on facebook at survivor girl ukulele band. that page is very new as well.

there was another benefit concert just last month, again in sierra madre, and i joined uu just prior to that to try to get the word out.

and to answer some of your questions, i don't have a music therapy background. but a few years ago i picked up the guitar and it really changed my life. so when i was in india last year and had a guitar -- people were so happy to try it out. and it gave me the idea to learn ukulele and go back to india and work with survivors. they said again and again, "we have been here so long. why didn't you come sooner?" and "never in my life would i have imagined someone would come here and teach me how to play a ukulele! i will go back to my village and teach them how to play!" they were so happy and thrilled to learn.

and many more of the girls came up to me and wanted to know how to get into the class.

also, the songs that we learned on the ukulele were songs that they already knew. as you all know, it is much easier to learn ukulele when you are playing and singing a song you really like, so i used songs they already knew and loved.

due to the nature of the home where i was teaching, the girls were not to be there for long, so they had to work really hard to "earn" a ukulele to take home with them. one of the assignments was to write an original song. wow, that turned out amazing. there's a post on my blog about that as well.

please keep in mind that most of the young women that i worked with were very undereducated. some with only 2nd grade or less. and they had no confidence that they could learn. but they kept at it. and if one girl learned something, then the others wanted to learn it too. so they were also learning how to learn -- how to take on a challenge and achieve more than they thought they could.

anyway, i just wanted to pipe in here and let you know that the survivor girl ukulele band project turned out great, and i am gearing up to go back again this fall!!

Yay! That is such good news!!!

Thanks for updating us. I've often wondered how it was going for all of you.

Laurie, I enjoyed reading and listening to your blog. You are a blessing for these young women. Good luck with your next trip.

http://survivorgirls.org/

Laurie, if you ever return to the San Gabriel Valley, please let me know. I missed this event but would definitely help out if you continue your work. And I applaud you for bringing some joy into their lives. Great work you do!

yay! i'm glad you guys are still interested in the survivor girl ukulele band project

hey cheeso, i am going to be in the san gabriel valley soon! i'll be presenting at distant lands travel store on monday november 11. here's the link: http://www.distantlands.com/events-calendar/

hope to see you there!!

laurie