EXTRA GOLDEN NEEDS YOUR HELP!

01-07-2008

The following is an email message from Alex Minoff and Ian Eagleson of the amazing DC/Kenya band Extra Golden that I felt more people need to be made aware of. For the price of a cheap beer, you can make a difference in the lives of some very talented people. Please check it out and consider helping (and check out the recent NPR story):

As many of you are probably aware, the political situation in Kenya is extremely volatile right now.  There was a general election on December 27 whose pro status quo results have been universally condemned as rigged by the international community.  Even the incumbent's hand-picked election manager is unwilling to confirm his boss's re-election as honest and fair.  While the integrity of  Kenya's fragile democracy is at stake, it is the people who are suffering the most.  Violence has spread throughout the country,  with hundreds already murdered and villages destroyed.  Businesses that haven't been destroyed are shut.

Opiyo Bilongo, Onyango Wuod Omari and Onyango Jagwasi are three members of Extra Golden who live in Nairobi.  They all have large extended families for whose well-being they are entirely responsible.  Of course, as musicians, that well-being is provided for through nightly work at clubs.  With dusk-to-dawn curfews in place, these men are all unable to work, and a subsistence that was already hand-to-mouth has become non-existent.  They have been forced to leave their homes, which have subsequently been looted. Their families have almost no food and no clean water.  Even with the swiftest possible resolution to the country's debilitating political situation, it is hard to foresee a time in the near  future when these men will be able to go back to work or find homes.

As the bandmates and friends of these guys, we are used to helping them out of financial jams but, as musicians ourselves, this critical situation is one that is simply beyond our own means. While the plights of Bilongo, Omari and Jagwasi are by no means unique in a country full of desperation, it is within our power to help them and their families directly.  We are asking for donations of $5.  Contributions of $5 we can make a huge difference in our  friends' lives.

To make a donation, please go to Paypal and choose "send money".  When asked for the email address of the recipient, enter service@kanyokanyo.com.  Please feel free to forward this message [or link].

We thank you in advance for your compassion and we hope that your help will enable us to compose a song of thanks for our next album.

Sincerely,

Alex Minoff
Ian Eagleson