Central Pennsylvania Womyn's Chorus
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Wild Women... Just Get Better!

Fall 2001 Concert
Dan Krynak, Director
Carl Vandling, Guest Accompanist

We raised $472 for RAWA (see below) at this concert.
Thanks to everyone who attended, helped produce the concert, bought ads in our program book, sang, accompanied, and otherwise contributed to this exciting event.

The Inspiration for this Concert

(A list of the tunes performed at this concert follows these notes.)

The September 11 attacks were a devastating reminder that our world is unsafe. Since then, members of the chorus have given blood, made donations, and organized fundraisers for the victims. And while we grieved for the victims in our country, we were reminded of the unspeakable conditions to which the Taliban subjects the women of Afghanistan.

Following up on our highly popular concert, Wild Women Don't Get the Blues, presented in the fall of 1997, we chose the theme Wild Women Just Get Better for our December 1 concert. Empowering women is part of our mission. Now we have the opportunity to explore new meanings of the term "wild women" as we empower women in a profoundly important way.

We decided to donate a portion of the proceeds of our fall concert to RAWA, an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice in Afghanistan. These are the women who, at unimaginable risk, carry cameras under their bhurkas (mandatory head-to-toe shrouds) to document beatings, hangings, stonings, and other atrocities. They work to provide basic health care to refugees, to bring literacy to a country where few women can read (and it is illegal to teach girls to read), and to provide opportunities to eke out a living.

We urge you to visit RAWA's web site, at www.rawa.org. The atrocities to which the Taliban subjects the people of Afghanistan, and especially its women, are staggering. Yet the women of RAWA persevere. Not only do they struggle against increasingly difficult odds, simply to help people meet basic human needs; they continue to work for a future of freedom and democracy and "a civilized life in the 21st century."

We were especially moved to find this among their Plans for the Future : "We are aware of those women in our closed society who have their own sex preferences, but due to severe social and religious suppression, they live a tortured life. Thus we will publish magazines which such taboo subjects can be discussed in them. Those women may express themselves freely, and gradually, society comes to the conclusion that it should no longer ignore such a large community who have no other 'sin' but want to live as they are and love."

Thank your for joining us in honoring the truly wild women of RAWA and celebrate the wild woman in each of us.

Help Afghan Women Now

Contributions through all of these links support the work of RAWA:

OR make your check or money order payable to SEE/Afghan Women's Mission. Your contribution will be sent to RAWA. Mail individual checks, money order or cash (not recommended) to:

The Afghan Women's Mission
260 S. Lake Avenue
PMB 165
Pasadena, CA 91101
USA

Donations sent to THE ABOVE ADDRESS are tax deductible to the extent of the law.

Tunes Performed

Two of the most ethereal pieces the chorus sang at this concert were composed by Bill Douglas (this piece, and our encore, Deep Peace). We highly recommend all of his CDs. They are available through his web site, www.billdouglas.cc, and its connection to amazon.com. A good one to start with is the "greatest hits" compilation, Eternity's Sunrise.

Pat Lowther was a Canadian poet. She wrote What I Want while living in an abusive marriage, and later died at the hands of her husband. After her death, Stephen Smith set her poem to music. We sing it in her memory.

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