Charity work

The African Workshop

The African Workshop is an independent project based in Bamako, Mali, West Africa and supported by a group of people from the UK. The project is run in Africa by a small group of musicians and so it is entirely appropriate that the musicians of our own Ryburn 3 Step in Yorkshire should be involved. The African Workshop sees around 100 children on a daily basis, giving them a place to meet, a simple meal, and some basic education. Maybe they'll learn some French language as an alternative to their own Bambara, or perhaps learn a skill to help them through life. It also encourages them to play and to discover life through art, music and sport.

I am one of several fund raisers, and am looking for donors who will give small or large amounts of cash on a regular basis, thus providing the measure of financial stability which enables proper planning to take place.

Full details of the project can be viewed on the project web site - click on the link in the left column.

The Doc Rowe Collection Support Group

Not exactly a charity, but a very good cause, especially since the English arts establishment seems unable to support a national folk archive.

Since the sixties, Doc Rowe has been recording and filming cultural tradition and vernacular arts, folklore, song and dance of Britain and Ireland. His collection currently represents the most extensive collection of audio and video material to celebrate the variety and richness of traditional folk culture of these islands. It concentrates on the continuing development of a living culture, rather than solely on interpretation or exploration of the past. His work is foremost a celebration of vernacular and participatory arts: those generally unknown, overlooked or treated trivially.

My Doc Rowe Collection Support Group welcomes donations to help fund the expenses of maintaining the Archive, and we run a scheme called "Buy Doc A Pint". Lots of people would be happy to buy Doc a pint, but the idea is that you donate the equivalent of that pint of beer every month to support the archive. He doesn't get to drink it, of course, but occasionally we meet him in a pub and buy him a real pint as well!

Details at The Doc Rowe Collection Support Group