uke it forward®:
sparking positive change in the world
through the healing power of music and love.
update october 2025
thank you thank you! thank you for being a part of survivor girl ukulele band project over the years. this is a team effort, and through your financial investment, your friendship, prayers, and the love you send, we have been positively impacting the lives of girls (and some boys!) and young women in india for 13 years! i am so very grateful to have you by my side in this work. thank you thank you!
uke it forward®! you may have noticed the handmade card shown above says “uke it forward®” rather than the usual “survivor girl ukulele band.” there’s a reason for that.
over the years, aspects of my project have evolved, including my student demographic. it’s not just girls anymore. i’ve taught ukulele to rescued boys, women coming out of the trade, and teenagers from the slums. so it’s time to reimagine and evolve how to describe my work and those we serve. therefore my ukulele students will be called just that — “ukulele students,” and the project name to be phased in is: “uke it forward®.”
but why “uke it forward®”?? well, a few years ago i trademarked the phrase, which is a play on the concept of “pay it forward”: someone performs a small act of kindness for another without expecting anything in return, and then that small act of kindness can make a big difference in that person’s life — and then potentially spread a ripple of positivity out into the world. this encapsulates much of what my ukulele project has always been about. so the time now feels right to phase out “survivor girl ukulele band” and replace it with “uke it forward®: sparking positive change in the world through the healing power of music and love.” i hope you like these changes as much as i do.
will they or won’t they? for the past two years, the jewelry team in a vocational center in the heart of a red light area has been learning ukulele. the goal was that each student would earn their very own ukulele to keep if they passed the skills test. unfortunately, test time came and everyone failed. so they banded together, practiced, and helped each other until everyone passed the test — and earned their very own ukulele! yay!!
return 2025! i soon return to india and plan to again teach ukulele at community centers near two notorious red light areas of kolkata; i also hope to expand our freedom weaving business, where we create gorgeous uke it forward® hand woven ukulele straps while providing educational support and economic opportunities for the artisans.
i invite you to be a part of the team again this year, and uke it forward® with me! ❤️
thank you thank you thank you for joining the band!!!
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!!!
💟 💟 💟
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!!
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
join the band!!
events
click on "events" at the top of the page for details on recent and upcoming events.
images and content of this website are copyrighted by survivor girl ukulele band.
all rights reserved.