The concert
How wonderful to see so many young people with such talent voluntarily giving their time and focusing their efforts and energy on such a project. Encouraging young people to perform in front of an audience, to use their talents and have fun at the same time have been the concert’s primary aims. From Pink Floyd and Queen to Zucchero and the Blues Brothers, you will get a show that is guaranteed to wow the crowd.
The latest addition to the Strummin’ Home concert is Symphonik – the ZHN choir which was assembled for last year’s Strummin’ Home. Following its debut, the Symphonik choir was officially launched in July through a successful concert held at the WOW auditorium at the Millennium Chapel in Paceville.
A small-scale pilot project back in 2002, the Strummin’ Home concert was a dream that became a reality. Following the concert’s success then, it has been ZHN’s annual appointment ever since. Each concert has been continuously improving, getting bigger and better than the one before it.
The movement
ZHN (Zghazagh Haddiema Nsara) is the Maltese branch of the International Coordination of the Young Christian Workers (ICYCW) movement based in Rome. The local branch was founded in 1945 by Fr Michael Galea SJ. Adopting the Review of Life Method of the movement – see, judge, act – the movement has since been on the forefront in the youth work field, striving to promote youth empowerment, as well as creating awareness of, and fighting against, social injustice.
The main purpose of ZHN in other words is instilling the presence of God within the community of young workers and encouraging Christian leaders to be active in society and in the Church.
Currently active in over 100 countries, the International Coordination of Young Christian Workers has been a dynamic force for change these past 70 years. Valuing the dignity and worth of each young person, it enables its members to challenge social exclusion and take action to bring about change in their home, workplace and social life. All young people are welcome to become members irrespective of their faith.
“We are still at the beginning, we are always at the beginning. We must persevere.” The golden words of Josef Cardijn, founder of the (ICYCW), are what encourages the movement to bring about positive change.
So action, rather than reaction, is the order of the day. And as they say, “actions speak louder than words,” don’t they? Everything connected to Strummin’ Home is, excuse the cliché, for a good cause. What sort of name is Strummin’ Home, I hear you ask. The answer: all profits go to the Suret il-Bniedem Foundation.
Suret il-Bniedem: Help for the homeless
Founded in 1993 by Fr Leopold Tabone OFM Cap, the Suret il-Bniedem Foundation is an organisation which provides temporary shelter for the homeless. Fr Tabone had been working with detainees at the Correctional Facility in Kordin and was well aware of the problems the detainees faced once out of prison. After a lot of hard work, he succeeded in opening the first Welcome Home in Fgura. In 1999, Welcome Home officially became Il-Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem with the aim of providing temporary housing for the homeless, a mission Fr Tabone bequeathed to the Capuchin order.
The foundation currently takes care of three different homes – one in Gzira for men, which replaced the one in Fgura after it had to close down; Dar Teresa Spinelli for women in Valletta which opened in 2002 and was donated to the foundation by the Housing Authority; and Dar Victoria in Marsa which Suret il-Bniedem opened in August 2006 – a project in conjunction with the Mount Carmel hospital – which will permanently house ex-patients from the same hospital. The aim is to help these people live as normal a life as possible.
We’ll keep on strummin’
It is this satisfaction of knowing that with each effort and with each concert, a difference is being made. This makes us at ZHN strive to make Strummin’ Home bigger and better every time, making the show all the more worthwhile. More young people join as guitarists, performers and organisers each year, ensuring the show is a success. And the positive comments by both participants and spectators are encouraging to say the least.
After last year’s show – Strummin’ Home 5: Strummin’ for Life, one participant said, “We’ve come a long way since we started five years ago. Putting up a show of such high quality that is warmly welcomed by the public, now that’s an achievement! Last year we performed on two nights in front of hundreds of people and we could tell that Strummin’ Home was a huge success.” One of the guitarists also gave us his comments, “I enjoy playing the guitar with my mates in front of an audience and performing songs by my favourite bands as well as other popular songs to suit everybody’s tastes. This is an event which the public is bound to like.” And a member from the audience said, “This event is a family outing for us. And it’s nice to see young people use their talents for such a noble cause.”
There you have it! So how’s that for a
family night out? Visit
our website www.
zhnmalta.org for more
information, phone on:
7924-4418 or send an
email to: strummin@
zhnmalta.org.
Financial help is also appreciated. Donations can be made to ZHN by sending a blank SMS to: 5061-6116 (50c/EUR1.16); 5061-7360 (Lm1/EUR2.33); 5061-8061 (Lm2/EUR4.66); 5061-9204 (Lm5/EUR11.64).
Join us for this year’s Strummin’ Home concert which will be held on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 September at 7pm at Sir Temi Zammit Hall, University of Malta. Tickets are Lm3/EUR6.99 for adults, Lm2/EUR4.66 for children while groups of 15 individuals will benefit from the group rate of Lm2.50/
EUR5.82 each.