a GRAM OF TRUTH . . . is worth a pound of insight!

The newest addition to the Circle of Existence series entitled Ambient Bach (variations and inspirations on the music of JSBach) is indeed an inspirational work from the composer of Circle of Existence, Graeme Chaves. Being a great admirer and lover of JSB’s music, it is my opionion that Graeme Chaves showed respect and didn’t damage the integrity of the Maestro’s great works-of-art. If you are a real Bach purist you may not connect with these variations when you hear Ambient Bach. However, I think most people would thoroughly enjoy this unique interpretation of JSB’s music.

Every well-crafted track offers themes of Bach taken from Goldberg’s Variations, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the B-minor Mass to a Violin Sonata, to name a few. The end result is that Graeme Chaves kept the spirit of JSB alive in Ambient Bach.

Click this link for a free Ambient Bach MP3 download of the first track called Gold Sleep/BWV988 (from Goldberg’s Variations). In addition to a free track you can also read a brief biography of Johann Sebastian Bach on the Circle of Existence website.

September 8, 2009, marks the annual International Literacy Day as proclaimed by UNESCO in 1965. Since its inception in 1946, UNESCO has remained a committed and dedicated champion of global literacy efforts. Yet, with over some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

What does literacy mean? The United Nations defines literacy as the ability to read and write a simple message in any language.

With the highest illiteracy rates found in the less developed nations of Africa, Asia, and South America; the lowest are in Australia, Japan, North Korea, and the more technologically advanced nations of Europe and North America. Using the UN definition of illiteracy, the United States and Canada have an overall illiteracy rate of about 1%. In certain disadvantaged areas, however, such as the rural South in the United States, the illiteracy rate is much higher.1

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for diminishing poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

You can participate in the International Literacy Day by organizing a marathon race, a 100-mile hike, a movie-fest in order to raise literacy awareness. You can blog about it, twitter it — but by all means remember the millions of illiterate children and adults who have not had the means to pursue a proper education. Find a charity and donate, or volunteer your services in promoting the building and managing of schools, raise funds to hire teachers, or teach the teachers if you are qualified to do so. Give back so that you may know how much has been given to you.

Increase literacy and you can increase self-empowerment!

www.bloggersunite.org/event/international-literacy-day

through every child’s joy, adults will enhance their own joy!

1See C. Jeffries, Illiteracy: A World Problem (1967); F. Laubach, Forty Years with the Silent Billion (1970); H. Graff, The Literacy Myth (1979) and The Legacies of Literacy (1987).

2UNESCO

BUILD A SCHOOL — SAVE A LIFE!

www.destineecharity.org

The Destinee Charity Foundation believe that in order to ensure the economic and social well being of each country, and subsequently, the world, we must start by investing in those most marginalized – our children – in addressing their basic human rights and needs.

“A child will forever benefit from primary education… “ as stated by Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations, reporting on the progress of Millennium Development Goals 2008.

By 2015, the Millennium Development Goals hope to achieve universal primary education. According to their statistics: Globally, 570 million children are enrolled in school. The number of children of primary school age who were out of school fell from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. In that year, primary school enrolment in developing countries reached 88 per cent on average, up from 83 per cent in 2000. In sub-Saharan Africa, the net primary school enrolment ratio has only recently reached 71 per cent, even after a significant jump in enrolment that began in 2000. Around 38 million children of primary school age in this region are still out of school. www.un.org/millenniumgoals.

Sadly, most of the indigenous communities in Cameroon in Western Africa lack the very basic educational facilities; therefore, the children remain uneducated and unskilled. An appalling ninety-nine percent (99%) of the children cannot read or write, and girls view their bodies, instead of their minds, as their only currency. Though the girls are the most marginalized and vulnerable members of these communities and though their future looks bleak, they are the most eager to learn and improve their lives.

To help them, Destinee Charity Foundation is in the process of constructing and equipping a fully functional basic primary school for the indigenous children of Kilombo-Kribi, in southern Cameroon. But right now, our resources are being stretched. Children in Kilombo desperately need our help now more than ever. The total cost of construction, equipment, and managing the school amounts to $50,000.00 USD. We’ve managed to start construction, raising almost half the budget of the project through government funding and private donations, but we need help making it the rest of the way.

With your extraordinary support, children can go to school for basic programs in math, reading, and writing; gain access to health care, better nutrition, and cleaner water; and ultimately help their communities find sustainable solutions for themselves. Please give in any way (money, supplies, clothing) and any amount that you can. Find out how you can help now by going to their website - www.destineecharity.org

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Running for health is always a good thing. But when you add another dynamic to being fit and healthy, like running for an important cause then it turns into something selfless and noble. The annual Sunfeast 10K 2009 Marathon run in Bangalore, which takes place on May 31st, is one of the noble causes you can become involved in, whether it is by running or donating.

Bangalorecares, a non-profit organization, is the Official Charity Partner and host of the Sunfeast Marathon event. They are inviting all non-government organizations (NGOs) that want to raise funds for their charitable causes through this event, to register with Bangalore Cares as soon as possible.

New Life is one of the NGO’s that is involved with the Marathon event. Their mission is to elevate women and their children, who are below the socio-economic standard of living, into the mainstream of modern-day society. Education is one of the areas that New Life has been focussing a lot of attention on. It is their belief that a proper education gives the children the building tools that are necessary for their own well-being and personal growth. The children, as well as women, can contribute to their communities and to society in general.

New Life In Action

In order to strengthen the academic performance of the children undergoing primary education, New Life has conceived a special system of identifying problematic areas of weaknesses in the educational methodology of Government run schools. Through rigorous coaching and tracking of improvement of performance (with UMECS Software), it has targeted 10,680 children that require remedial assistance (studying 1st std to 8th std) in the current academic year.

Therefore, New Life has partnered with Bangalorecares for “Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore 2009″ in order to generate awareness and funding for their Education assistance programs. By participating in the marathon through New Life, and by making donations in the name of New Life you will be supporting the noble causes they are championing.

For more details about New Life please visit their website at: www.newlifemfi.org/

Submit an entry or donation now at the Bangalorecares website: http://bangalorecares.in/ But remember to donate in the name of New Life. We only have until the end of May to generate as much enthusiasm and support for the Sunfeast 10k Marathon in Bangalore.