survivor girl ukulele band project:
bringing restoration and hope
to survivors of human trafficking
through the healing power of music and love.
fall 2023 thank you note
thank you! for being a vital part of survivor girl ukulele band project! ten years ago i got on a jet plane and traveled to india with 20 ukuleles and a mission — to bring restoration and hope to survivors of human trafficking through the healing power of music and love. your financial investment, your friendship and prayers, and the love you send have been lifting me up and positively impacting the lives of girls and young women in india for a decade! wow. thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart.
mug’s best friend! in may of 2022 i launched mugsbestfriend.com, a small business aimed at bringing life-changing economic opportunity to some of my former ukulele students. our niche product line started with handcrafted 100% wool felt coasters and koozies embellished with beautiful handwoven bands. the young women (two now have small children!) earn as they learn and gain skill in weaving. plus, they get to work from home and on their own schedule. they are so proud of the work of their hands!
return to kolkata! fall of 2022 marked my first return to kolkata since the early days of the pandemic. in the two years that i had been away, much had changed at the shelter home, and yet when i arrived, a trove of new girls welcomed me with peals of “laurie aunty!” and big hugs. they could hardly wait to start learning ukulele! yayyy!!!
my niece! this warli art inspired 2023 survivor girl ukulele band card was again block-printed at the shelter home, this time with the excellent help of my very own niece,
elise kallevig, who joined me in kolkata last spring! what a blessing to have my niece’s apt assistance in ukulele class, gung-ho companionship traversing the city, unmatched organizational skills, thoughtful counsel on difficult days, sustaining egg burritos, and kind-hearted connection to the survivor girls for those very special weeks. lovelovelove.
reno ukefest! i was invited to the fabulous reno ukefest, the perfect place to launch mug’s best friend’s debut collection of “uke it forward®” handwoven ukulele and mandolin straps. the launch of these gorgeous limited edition high end straps was successful because two dear ukulele celebrity friends gave two very big shoutouts about my work from the stage at the ukefest’s main event. people then understood the value, wanted to be part of it, and responded. i get by with a little help from my friends!
new doors for 2024!! last spring, exciting new doors opened for survivor girl ukulele band project, with invitations to conduct ukulele classes through two awesome non-profit organizations in kolkata; both of these organizations serve women who are in the process of building new lives, and i am thrilled at the opportunity to bring the healing power of music and love through ukulele to these communities. stay tuned!
i need you! i plan to return to india again very soon and am so grateful to have you alongside me in this work. because i cannot do it without you!!
thank you thank you thank you for joining the band!!!
TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION: https://mrds.org/donate/SurvivorGirlUB001
or join us ON PATREON! PATREON.COM/SGUB
big news for 2022 - 2023!
survivor girl ukulele band is back and going strong again at the shelter home in kolkata, india. after being away for two and a half years, we’re definitely in a re-building phase, which is both exciting and challenging. all the girls who were in my ukulele classes prior to the pandemic have been repatriated and returned to their homes or other safe place, so the project was at a stand still for a number of months.
but the legend lives on. the current girls in the shelter home had heard all about me and my ukulele classes and welcomed me to the shelter home and couldn’t wait to get going with ukulele. they are very motivated to learn and doing very well.
thank you for your support of survivor girl ukulele band. i couldn’t do this work without you.
thank you thank you thank you for joining the band!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
small batch handcrafted coasters your mug will love
small batch handcrafted coasters your mug will love
june 2022 news!
just launched: mugsbestfriend.com — small batch handcrafted coasters your mug will love. this is what i’ve been working on during the pandemic, a small business idea to bring economic opportunity to some of my former ukulele students in kolkata. each coaster is 5mm thick hand cut 100% wool felt from germany, with a decorative band hand woven from swedish linen; the hand stamped uke it forward™ insignia of copper, brass, or nickel is a cool reminder that your purchase helps disadvantaged women in india. for the whole story go to mugsbestfriend.com.
thank you thank you thank you for your support!! ❤️
thank you!
thank you for your support of survivor girl ukulele band project: bringing restoration and hope to survivors of human trafficking through the healing power of music and love. your financial gifts and the love you send bring cheering rays of light into the difficult lives of many girls and young women. you are a vital member of the band. thank you!
november 2019 marked the start of my eighth year teaching ukulele to survivor girls in india and a six-peat at the same shelter home in kolkata!! wow!!
from the get-go sgub 2019 - 2020 was awesome. my talented student ukulele teachers kept classes going over the summer, so when i arrived, the beginner classes were full to the brim. many new girls began learning ukulele and experiencing the joy of being part of the music. a weekly highlight was friday’s “chocolate champion” contest, with competition that was collaborative, fierce, and fun. hurrah!!
thanks to your gifts, christmas at the shelter home included a much anticipated special meal, a jubilant christmas program, a lovely assortment of hair clips wrapped up for each girl, and a beautiful tree with lights. joy to the world!!
oh how the girls love to show off their ukulele skills to an audience! three events at the shelter home in january and february gave the girls the chance to shine. they even gave a ukulele lesson to visitors from nepal. wheee!!
things were going very well for sgub, and then came the pandemic. all of india went into a super-strict lockdown, i had to leave the shelter home, anti-foreigner sentiment was growing, and all flights into and out of india were cancelled. soon i was isolated in my blazing hot apartment wondering how long my rice and lentils would last. not great!!
in early april 2020, the u.s. state department arranged humanitarian evacuation flights from india. after 59 hours of strange travel through eerily empty streets and airports, i was home in minnesota, where i’ve been pretty much ever since. grateful!!
i wish you could sit on the floor with the girls and hear them sing “500 miles.” it never fails to make my eyes sting with tears. “not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name, lord i can’t go a-home, this a-way”— the words are so painfully apropos of their situation, including those who have left the shelter home and were impacted by the pandemic and hurricane that swept through kolkata. through your generosity, i was able to help some of them keep food on the table. lentils and rice!!
since last july i’ve been immersed in learning and development of “the next thing” for survivor girl ukulele band project. my plan is to not only teach ukulele in the shelter home, but also start up a niche handicraft business with some of the young women who are transitioning out of the shelter home and desperately need income. stay tuned!
i am so very grateful to have you alongside me in this work. i can’t do it without you!!
TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION: https://mrds.org/donate/SurvivorGirlUB001
or join us ON PATREON! PATREON.COM/SGUB
thank you thank you thank you for joining the band!!!
with a grateful heart,
laurie
uke it forward® for survivor girl ukulele band...
ukeing it forward™ for survivor girl ukulele band project! half the proceeds from this book will go to sgub.org. wow! thank you harry thomas and hugh mcelveen!!
is a global invitation to all ukulele lovers, ukulele jams, ukulele orchestras, ukulele clubs, and ukulele superstars to support survivor girl ukulele band project.
uke it forward® brochures, fliers, and handouts are available for download at the uke it forward page!
join the band -- and uke it forward® for survivor girl ukulele band!!!
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two amazing uke it forward® efforts to check out!
1) paul mansell’s ukulele sessions interview with me about sgub.
2) dowlandia: fifteen solos for ukulele (see below). half the proceeds go to sgub!!
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