Date: August 27th 2008

If you remember Cameron and Kristina's presentations and felt that they were going in the right directions, now is a good time to follow the model below and form a Circle of Friends in your own community to help support the newly founded Iraqi music schools for Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria. See following message:

Hello Friends,

I want to invite you to the initial gathering of the Friendship Circles of the Musical Missions of Peace, Wednesday, Sept 3, 2008, 7:30 pm, at my home, Willow Way, at 6481 N. 63rd St. Boulder, CO (for directions, see below) The Friendship Circles will broaden the grass-roots support for this potent work. At this gathering, we'll begin shaping our strategy to support the new Arab music schools that Cameron and Kristina have begun to establish in Iraqi refugee camps.

As many of you know, Cameron Powers and Kristina Sophia have laid tracks in the sands of Arab-speaking lands in the shape of musical notes for many years. In five trips to the Middle East as "musical ambassadors" they have melted many boundaries as they stacked up magical stories: singing their way across the Iraqi border to make their way to Baghdad to sing Iraqi love songs on the streets just 5 days after the US bombing campaign began; singing to an audience of 60,000 for a Cairo children's cancer hospital benefit--the only non-Arab performers; offering over 200 presentations to American audiences in over half the States to help put a true face on Arab-speaking people and culture.

Even after over five years as the president of their board, I continued to be awestruck by the ingenuity and heart-power of this work. (Heart-power is to our times what horse-power was to our grandparents generation--I think heart-power is where the hope for positive change lies. It is the genuine power of our times and holds the solutions to our current dilemmas.) Decades of studying language, music and building relationships has made this work possible. Our beloved fearless troubadors are particularly well-positioned to yield potent effects on a crucial situation in which it is difficult to find any leverage. So far, all this has been done on a shoe-string budget.

In Cameron and Kristina's recent trip to Jordan and Syria in May/June of this year, they sowed seeds that are asking for a broader base of support from our community. In Iraqi refugee camps in Amman, Jordan and Damascus, Syria, they have begun to establish music schools for Iraqi children to learn the traditional music of their lands. This will help the cause of peace in four ways: 1) it will provide much-needed employment for adult master musicians, administrators, and eventually--performers to lighten the hearts of the camps 2) it will support the culture of these ancient lands 3) it will inspire the young people who will receive the schooling 4) it will improve relations between the our culture and theirs.

Jordan with a total population of 8 million, has now accepted 2 million Iraqi refugees. Syria, with a total population of 19 million, has accepted 4 million Iraqi refugees. The US with a total population of 300 million, has accepted 3000 Iraqi refugees (500/yr max with plans to increase this to 5000/yr).

We are now able to share photos of the first students of the school that has now been established in Amman, Jordan. Administrators for the schools have been established in Damascus, Syria and Amman. Three Iraqi women refugees that stayed in Cam and Kristina's house while they were on their recent trip have become involved in setting up the schools. Cameron and Kristina plan to return to the Middle East in the Fall to further the work.

We now need funds to keep the schools growing. The Friendship Circles will help us broaden our base of support. On September 3, we will be tallying the resources that we have amongst the group that shows up, and brain-storming support strategies. Just coming to this gathering will be a support in itself! Help us cook-up some creative grass-roots ideas. If you plan to come, invite a friend or two. If you would like to be involved, but can't make it on the 3rd, please reply with your contact information.

I hope to see you on September 3.

The best is yet to come,
Zia Parker
Willow Way Wellness
6481 N. 63rd St., Boulder, CO 80301
ziaparker@yahoo.com
303-530-1415 (home & office)

Mission Statement and Vision: www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org Musical Missions of Peace champions a non-violent way to peace worldwide through the power of music. We believe:

1. People who have learned and sung each others' popular love songs together are less likely to war with one another than those who have not.
2. Music fosters sincere, heart-to-heart communication which goes beyond treaties or political agreements.
3. Musicians make ideal international diplomats and ambassadors because they know how to work together in unifying and intuitive ways.
4. International cross-cultural sharing of popular songs easily dissolves fear-based perceptions.
5. Musical sharing promotes a healthy spiritual life, replaces materialistic orientations and is available to all, including children.
6. Musical proficiency opens the door to creating deep and trustworthy friendships across language and cultural boundaries and can heal the wounds of war.

For more details on Cameron and Kristina's work: Musical Missions
http://www.musicalmissions.com