NEED OF THE HOUR

Gulf Today
Oct 23, 2009
by Manjula Ramakrishnan


NEED OF THE HOUR


It was Nature's fury, unleashing terror of an extraordinary kind. By the time the floods let up a wee bit, it had poured an entire month's rain in 6 hours, flooding entire towns and cities of Philippines. These were unprecedented floods that swept away anything, that was unfortunate enough to be in its raging path, submerging houses, leaving the hapless population without food, water and shelter.

Sept. 26, 2009 is a day the people of Philippines will find it hard to erase from their memory. People scaled rooftops, waiting to be rescued. Women huddled up together on top of houses, watching the rising water level with abject fear on their faces. Children clung to their mother's bosom with unwavering faith that their parents would protect them. Brave men took their chances and swam against the raging flood, going in search of help for their families. Alas, plenty drowned, even as the storm raged relentlessly all around. This was the worst typhoon to hit the Philippines and Metro Manila since the last four decades.

And when Typhoon Ondoy - known as Ketsana internationally was done with the death and destruction, entire towns had gone under water, the remaining were under the daily danger of landslides. Cars were turned upside down; roads were covered covered in thick mud and debris. The typhoon hit a total of 25 provinces with over half a million people affected and still with no means of surfacing up and rebuilding their lives.

The government was quick to step in, with army troops, police and civilian volunteers rescuing victims and trying hard to clear up the debris, in order to bring some semblance of normalcy. Glenn Perry from the UAE, who quickly reached the shores of Philippines to offer help, gives a first-hand account of the tragedy.

"Heart wrenching cries of 'help me, please help me' were filling the sombre atmosphere. The flood victims were weeping, saying they couldn't bear to see their children hungry. Whenever I distribute food, the victims jumped on me, snatching food from my hand, so desperate was their situation. What would start as a group of hundred people, would soon swell, with a thousand people swarming around me, their eyes beseeching me for more food. Images of those grief-stricken faces will haunt me for a long time to come."

This is also why Perry has started the Charity Food Drive in aid of the flood victims and the thousands who are living in evacuation centres. The need of the hour is essentials such as easy-to-cook meats, soups, instant noodles, rice, soaps, vitamins and similar. Mothers are in dire need of milk and biscuits for their babies. Donation boxes are therefore, set up for food and other essentials to be dropped off at the Dubai Music School, located on Zabeel Road in Dubai.

During his first visit to the affected areas, Perry distributed rice, milk, canned meats, sardines, sugar, bath soap, detergent, toothpaste, coffee, nutrition biscuits, corn, water, juices, bread, instant noodles and similar contributions from generous individuals and similar contributions from generous individuals will take care of at least their bare minimum needs.

"I implore the Dubai community to step forward and assist me in helping those poor souls. Even if you donate just a can of food, that would go a long way at such trying times. Food brought in as part of the Food Drive will help to replenish the pantries of those most in need. With the onset of tough economic times, people during normal days have been struggling to bring food on to the table for their families. The flood disaster has multiplied the woes faced by the Filipinos. I am hoping the altruistic UAE residents will open their hearts and generously help those in need."
The floods devastated 25 provinces of the Philippines. The capital Manila and Rizal were badly affected. The water levels rose as high as 20 feet. Thousands of houses were destroyed. Fridges, refrigerators, washing machines were seen floating in the flooded houses. About 2.7 billion pesos in infrastructure - roads, bridges and schools - were also damaged.

"We have absolutely nothing and need to rebuild our lives from scratch," mourned Marino, a 42 year old resident of Pasiq. His house was completely submerged in the waters with all his life's belongings. Paddy fields in Tanay have been destroyed; farmers are therefore without an income. A musician like me was emotional about his prized piano that was floating in the floods. He had thus also lost his means to earn a living. Emanuale, an artist from the Rizal province, who had spent happy moments planning his art exhibition, lost all his paintings. Ricky was shattered having lost both his grandmother and his son in Marikina. "We had very little to live on before, but now we do not have anything," lamented a woman in her late fifties. Children were seen wandering the streets aimlessly, minus their families washed away by the floods."

"Amidst the pitiful whimpering of hungry babies, parents wait eagerly by the main road, praying for someone to arrive with relief goods. They are truly a population in need of help from the of the world community," sums up Glenn Perry.

Healing Tunes

by Carolina D'souza

Healing tunes

Healing tunes Published: August 02, 2007, 23:15 Gulf News

Glenn Perry, Dubai-based musician, director of Dubai Music School and charity worker You don't need permission to help someone. The palpable cries of orphaned children and from disaster regions need to be heard. I do. I am working with Kibera Children's Home. Kibera is a squalid area in Nairobi and Kenya's largest slum. It is a place most don't visit. Here the venom of poverty stings so hard there is no anodyne. Children subsist on one meal a day, if lucky. Abominable sanitation issues stare at you with belligerence and mockery. It is inhuman. Yet, I see Kibera's humaneness through the orphaned progeny. I work with 17 orphanages around the world. I have always been involved with charitable causes through my music, but after my father, Chris, passed away in 2002, I pursued such causes assiduously. Helping those in need is an edifying experience. Over the years, I have witnessed suffering and tragedy. I remember my meeting with 9-year-old Kagunda at the Cayole Children's Orphanage in Kenya this year. He was slovenly and forlorn. He asked me if I would meet his little sister. I said, "Yes." He smiled, held my hand and led me towards a derelict area of the complex. He pointed to the ground where his 7-year-old sister was buried. She had died of Aids the previous year. I was so overwhelmed with grief (that) I couldn't assuage Kagunda's pain. I have countless such stories to tell. In a maelstrom of poverty and lack of opportunity. At the Kibera Children's Home, the oldest child is 8. Some are terminally ill, most are malnourished. Many run away to beg. A few even engage in heinous street acts. I realised that rebuilding a housing structure isn't enough, so I started an education programme after contacting local volunteers. I spent two weeks in Kibera this year. In Kenya I also work in the Cayole and Mathare slum areas. Still, there is much to be done in Africa. I think of the epochal moment in 2000 when I met two Ethiopian children while travelling to London. Their parents told me they were suffering from Aids and were going back to Africa. They suggested I visit some day. I wasn't prepared to face a place embittered by poverty, but still I flew to Ethiopia. I went to various orphanages, each one more disturbing and devastatingly haunting than the last. One of them, Moses Children's Home, left me incensed and saddened. There were 40 children cramped in a warren-like place; never before had I seen such a dire human state. My decision to work with orphanages is providential. Every year, I visit various orphanages. I stay anywhere from a week to a month. Two months ago I held a benefit concert in Dubai titled Hope for Children to raise funds to build a new orphanage in Kibera. I hope to collect enough funds to be able to build it by this year-end. I heal through music, so do these orphaned children. One of the problems orphanages face is children running away. Yes, running away from a sanctum where they have a good chance of getting at least one meal a day. "They run away to beg so they can spend on trivial needs," explained the caretaker at the Kibera Children's Home, which has 32 children. "I have a solution," I told her. After a few days, I returned with music instruments: guitars, organs, drums, flutes and African percussion instruments. I set up a music centre in a part of the home. (And not for the first time; almost every orphanage I have worked with has a music centre.) The children squealed in delight. They picked up the flutes, drums and a few percussion instruments and put on an extemporaneous musical show! It was delightful. Their incandescent happy faces warmed my heart and moved me to tears. I was surprised to witness such precocious talent. The children don't run away anymore. Rhythm is at the heart of Africa and her people. I watched how these children's fears, insecurities and inadequacies disappear through music. I train local volunteers in music, who in turn, teach at various orphanages. I have worked with children for 28 years at my music school in Dubai. I know they love music. I allow these underprivileged children a form of recreation and try to explore their talents. I hope to introduce certification facilities at these centres in the future. In a few orphanages, I have opened dance centres. Again, local volunteers help run these operations. Dancing is inherent to the African pulse. Children love dancing and my centres help develop their dancing talent. Surprisingly, these charity projects have also proved to be a musical journey for me. I have been exposed to different African rhythms, mainly African jazz and reggae. There's not enough time to help everybody. In addition to my ongoing work with orphanages, I am working towards setting up charity missions and rehabilitation centres in Africa to deal with child prostitution, street children and ostracised women. I do the groundwork by contacting interested local agencies. Africa is full of orphaned children, but my work is not restricted there. I work with orphanages in the Philippines, Indonesia, New Orleans, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I hope to work with an orphanage in India soon. At times, my charity efforts have been parlous. I have faced destitution and danger, but it has not affected my alacrity to help. I work in disaster-ravaged regions. I was (part of) the rescue operations in the Philippines after it was hit by a typhoon earlier this year. I (participated in the) relief efforts after Indonesia and Sri Lanka were hit by the tsunami in 2004 and in Java, Indonesia, after it was hit by an earthquake in 2006. In 2005, after Kashmir and Pakistan were hit by earthquakes, I went there to help. And in 2005, I assisted relief operations in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and was in Mumbai in 2006 after the severe flooding. There's so much more to be done. The danger doesn't discourage me. Thus far, I have been fortunate. To contact Glenn Perry, e-mail glenn.perry@yahoo.com

PHILIPPINES TYPHOON DISASTER

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Philippine landslide bigger than Katrina

‘Philippine landslide bigger than Katrina’
By David Manuel david@eveningpost.ae

Dubai-based artist Glenn Perry to hold charity show for the victims of the Philippine landslide on Friday

Dubai UAE-based artist Glenn Perry will lend his voice and talent to sing for the Philippines’ typhoon victims in a charity concert to be held in Dubai this Friday.Perry, a singer, songwriter, and producer, lived with the typhoon victims in Albay province of the Philippines after Typhoon Durian triggered mudslides, which left thousands dead and many more homeless in December last year. He worked with relief organisation in the province.Previously, Perry has participated in various relief missions including Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, tsunami in Indonesia, earthquake in Kashmir.“I have seen the devastation caused by many calamities and have been to many relief camps. I think the destruction the mudslides have caused in the Philippines is bigger than what Hurricane Katrina caused,” Perry says.He adds that the typhoon victims are mostly orphaned children in need of blankets, food items and shelter.

Deeply touched by their plight, Perry wants to use the concert as a means of creating awareness about the extent of the disaster among Dubaites.“I have lived with the typhoon victims for tw0 weeks in Albay, at the foothill of Mount Mayon, the typhoon victims really need help. They asked me to return for them, and I promised to come back for them.” Perry single-handedly carried out a relief operation distributing food and clothes to the victims in all the affected areas of the disaster in Albay, but the singer-songwriter says it is not enough.“The children of Bicol in the Philippines have been left orphaned by the tragedy. They do not even have basic necessities like blankets.” Perry said. “The situation is really bad and the victims are in urgent need of help.”

“I urge the community in Dubai to come forward and assist me in helping these victims who are suffering. Even just a small donation of any kind will make a big difference to their lives say's Perry, who has lived in the UAE for almost thirty years. He is known for his charitable involvements with concerts organised for different causes in Dubai. Perry also opened the Dubai Music School and has been involved in community works both in Dubai and across the world.

You can help
* Glenn Perry is also collecting clothes, books, pencils, school bags, biscuits and medicines, packed or canned food and milk for the victims. For further details contact 04-396 4834 or email glenn.perry@yahoo.com* The concert will begin at 7.30 p.m. at the Mazaya Centre on February 9. Entry to the concert is free.

Glenn Perry distributing Relief Aid - food

Glenn Perry with Children in the Philippines afftected by Super Typhoon

HURRICANE KATRINA

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Gulf News - Eplus

HURRICANE KATRINA

Coming back to life
By Mubashera Asgher

When Glenn Perry visited New Orleans last month, it touched him so deeply he decided to hold a jazz concert to help out the musicians of the city.

Glenn Perry's not an easy one to peg. He grew up on rock, he loves jazz, he's quirky, eccentric, sentimental, secluded, artsy, contemplative, creative … He lives in a million different worlds all at once and when those worlds collide, as they often do, what we get is straight from Glen's heart. In this case, it's a jazz concert on April 12 inspired by Perrry's visit to New Orleans in the United States. "I was there last month, one and a half year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. It brought tears to my eyes. The worst hit areas still look like a graveyard." However, what touched Perry the most was the destruction of the well-known French Quarter, which was known for its bustling nightlife. The famous Bourbon Street, which was always rather energetic at nights with streets buzzing with jazz, blues and funk, is now often quiet. This hurts Perry, who lives his life for the music. "Once upon a time Bourbon Street never slept," he says. "But more than 50 per cent of the people have still not returned to New Orleans after the hurricane. They are frightened and don't want to come back." Sadly for many, New Orleans will never be the same. The charm has gone. It's missing its glamour, something Perry sincerely hopes will return someday.

While walking the streets of the once-bustling city, Perry met a lot of musicians. And it hurt him just as much, if not more, to hear of their loss. "The musicians had not only lost their lives, but also their personal instruments. Losing an instrument is like losing a baby. I met many homeless musicians who aimlessly wander the streets of their beloved city," says Perry.
Once such musician who touched him deeply was Benny, who is now homeless. "Each time I met Benny," says Perry, "he would say he wants his drum set. Another lady, Katy, would say she wants her piano. Many of the homeless musicians would only speak about their instruments."
Through this upcoming jazz concert at the Four Points Sheraton in Dubai, Glenn wants to help these musicians get back on their feet.

Jazz albums
Perry spent the last two months recording his second jazz album in New York at the same studios that Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Alicia Keys, Will Smith and Celine Dion use. On it, Perry jams with Miles Davis' musicians: Ron Carter on acoustic bass, Lenny White on drums and Gary Thomas on the saxophone. The album, which is still untitled is due for release this summer and will feature 7 original songs. His current album, also dedicated to his father, might just be one of his most personal ones yet. You see, although it was 4 years ago that Glen lost his dad, the pain never left him. There was no closure, no matter how hard he tried. Until it dawned upon him to make this album, and to make it all jazz, a genre that his father Chris loved. Sitting in his office in Karama, Perry gets misty eyed when he tell us "Late one night I was all alone in the studio. I don't know why, but I started to cry. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked around but there was no one. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Glenn, I have taken something away from you, but I have given you something in return.'"
And so was born the idea of this album. Recording it served a dual purpose for Glen. Besides, the knowledge that he was doing it for his dad, the recording process also worked at a sounding board for him. "I have always been able to express best through music," says Perry. "With music, I want to reach out to others who are hurting. It was music that healed me from the excruciating pain of my father's death."

And it's a sorrow that shows in the tracks. There are plenty of haunting, heartbreaking moments on the album, that will bring tears to the eye. There are moments of raw pain, a pain that Perry still finds hard to express in words. "After Dad was gone, I was lost. I left home, slept on the street, forgot to eat, didn't know what day or time it was. It was only when I got news that my Mum had medical problems that I was jolted back to reality." Caring for her brought some sense of normalcy in Perry's life. It took him back to the studio. It gave him reason to live again. In fact, at one point during the recording of the album, he was euphoric. "I had the guys from Chic Corea in the studio with me, performing and recording my compositions – and I was conducting and directing these incredible world class musicians!" It's moments such as those that shine through in the album. Although inspired by loss, Glenn goes through quite a few highs on many of the tracks. Some sound happy, some hopeful, others peaceful. However, the journey there was long and hard. "One evening when I was at the Santa Monica beach in Los Angeles, someone came and sat besides me. He held my hand and told me to be brave. He told me to get real and to move on with my life. Before I could speak, he let go of my hand. I looked around, but there was no one. But I knew it was my dad. That's when I wrote the song I Love You Endlessly," says Perry.

Another song that Chris inspired him to write was Forever in My Heart. Although Perry originally planned to get to the studio to record a song he had written called On The Wings Of A Cloud, he had a dream the night before. A dream that gave him a brand new song. "I dreamt that I met my dad at the airport. It was a cold, snowy day, very beautiful, and as I got off the plane, there was my dad, dressed in a sparkling white suit, holding his beloved trumpet. I hugged him as hard as I could, whipped out my guitar and had a jam session with him. The music we played in my dream was Forever In My Heart."

September 20, 2006

INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY

In support of the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Peace, Glenn Perry joins the United Nations to celebrate the International Day of Peace on 21st September by producing a music concert for peace. The International Day Peace Concert, a show celebrating the message of the worldwide event will be held at the Mazaya Centre in Dubai on the 21st of September commencing at 7.00pm. Everyone is invited to attend the Peace concert which is free. "This is a wonderful opportunity for people of all walks of life to reach out and communicate with each other how we can all join together in the road towards peace," At 12.00 noon on the 21st of September, Perry urges everyone to observe a minutes silence for Peace in this world.

The International Peace Day concert will be hosted by Glenn Perry and will feature talented young musicians from the UAE. In addition to music, Perry will also feature dance performances, poetry recitals, childrens art show and peace readings. Perry will then take stage and render an exclusive performance of popular songs including his very own hits in celebration of the International Peace Day. Perry has especially composed a new peace song entitled "A Smile Is The Answer" which he will debut at the concert. "Music, I believe is a catalyst for unity. Music has the power to hold cultures together. There are not many other factors that bring people together. Through my music I want touch peoples hearts and to move them to bring about a positive change in this world".

Perry's Peace concert in Dubai is a part of a global association for peace. On this Peace Day, 2500 peace events in more than 175 countries are being held around the world. The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The United Nations Assembly declared that the 21st of September every year, should be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. Since over a decade Perry has been organizing peace events on the 21st of September to mark the International Day of Peace. Throughout the years, Perry has also been very active in the organization of various Peace events which involved all sectors of society, including students of all ages. The goal was to help create an atmosphere and spread the message of tolerance, respect, and love for ones neighbour.

Perry is a committed peace activist. Some of the peace events Perry has organized include Harmony for Peace, Music for Peace, Walk for Peace, Art for Peace, Hope of Joy, Dance for Peace, Drive for Peace, Actors for Peace, March for Peace, Fast for Peace and Peace Vigils. He even recorded two CD albums dedicated to peace. Perry says to achieve real peace, "We must first find peace within ourselves. After we find peace within ourselves we should then spread this peace into our families, schools, community, country and finally the entire world. Peace cannot be bought in a supermarket or a department store. Unfortunately peace cannot even be bought with a credit card. But the great news is that peace is available, free of cost, and it is lurking right in front of us. Peace is possible if we try and if we give peace a chance".

"Aiming at peace means giving ourselves the possibility to see beyond materialism. Peace can only be built one step at a time and through individual and public actions. To achieve peace, we must first accept human diversity, acknowledge and respect other people's dignity, make an effort to understand others, try and solve conflicts peacefully and encourage solidarity" says Perry.