Where does the money go??

This month Rea had the privilage of giving three cheques on behalf of Saving an Angel, to three worthy organisations.
To read more on this go to News & Events and hear from the man himself tell you how and why these organisations were the ones chosen.

Clear Water

Standing on the other side of the world I found myself kicking football with some of the children and teenagers from The Cofan tribe. We had been in Ecuador a few days and became accustomed to the amicable nature of the people and the knowledge that the jungle was not the enemy portrayed in so many films of my childhood it is the mother that provides everything you need. At least it was.

The rivers are contaminated as is the earth surrounding the oil pits, as is the rain that carries the toxins released by the constant burning of Natural gas since 1964. Everything is contaminated the people can no longer live the life their fore fathers had lived for so many generations before now they must survive the attack of nature’s most expensive asset OIL.

You may think that Gold or diamonds would rank above that of Oil but it depends how you do your math. Gold is valuable metal supporting and endorsing the currency of many countries. Although many have killed or been killed for Gold it has not polluted our waters nor poisoned our air. Diamonds maybe a girls best friend and may have been the root of many criminal outings but they have never destroyed our coastlines nor caused irreparable damage to our ECO system. Oil is our most expensive natural asset because the drilling of oil is costing the world more lives through its contamination and reckless spillage. Oil is costing us the air that we breath, we think we can ignore the constant damage being caused by the immoral practices carried out by Oil companies in countries where they obviously put the price of the Barrel above the worth of human life.

We are all shocked daily by natural or other disasters, which constantly give cause for thought, but we feel our hands are tied. I have been in countries where starvation and civil war or dictatorship, lead to a frustration which robs you of every reason to hope. But when you see the abuse of Human rights and realize that you yourself are a part of the cause then you have to be a part of the resolution, it is your duty. Oil has become the instrument we use to maintain the machine we have created. Our lives could not function without it but in using oil we are damaging our planet the place we live and so we need to confront our environmental responsibilities so that our children’s children will have a 50-50 chance of clean air. We all know this so if we don’t accept it then we are idiots straight and simple and it is not someone else’s problem it is everyone’s problem again straight and simple.

This may strike you as an info sheet you receive regularly to help you not to forget your environmental responsibilities and so it should but now I want to take you down a side street in this topic.

While drilling for oil in Ecuador the oil companies disregarded any regulations they were prepared for and had in place in other western countries to save on expenses increasing profit per barrel. An Oil spillage is one thing, but for each pump, three large pools were dug to larger the first oil sewage to measure it’s consistency in an attempt to measure how much oil was below the earth’s surface. These pools of crude oil (approximately 1000 in Ecuador) were left to sit there for 40 years. The 4 meters depth now reaches 20 meters of oil contamination leaving the produce within a large radius poisoned and inedible.

The toxic water ran into the rivers and killed the Eco system, the rivers which provided a life-line for so many living a long their banks became sick and in a lot of cases died due to contamination. Children born with deformities attributed to the contamination lined the streets in the small villages of Ecuador. The ever present flame of the flares burning off natural gas kills over 100,000 insects and birds daily leaving the balance of nature on it’s knees.

It is ridiculous to think of oil and water coming together we all know of their inability to fuse and so it was in Ecuador the coming of oil saw the departure of clean water running down the Amazon rivers it saw the departure of clean rain water falling from the sky and it saw the departure of the rich life the people of Ecuador once knew.

I am not in the position to change the history of Ecuador and it would be a lie to say that I think I have the political prowess to confront the wrong doers in this case and bring them to justice. People who are willing to sacrifice the lives of others for money are already dead inside and there is little left to save. My fight is to try and clear the way for clean water! These people have suffered for some 40 years due to the contamination caused by oil companies and I want the children of the Cofan, the Quichua, the Secoya and the Siona and all those suffering from contaminated water to be able to drink clean water.

It is a right we expect for our children, it is not ok to support the denial of their rights. If we use oil related products, which we all do then, this is our fault and our responsibility. We can help restore the life that these people once had by giving their children clean water. The health issues and educational issues are secondary if we do not attack the source. Should we not secure clean water for the guardians of the rain forest then we will lose a part of our purpose on this earth. The following the project that we are undertaking in Ecuador and after that is the possibility for you to get involved. I am very grateful to you for your time and look forward to the future! Rea

Warum gründet die Band Reamonn eine eigene Stiftung?

Reamonn hat in der Vergangenheit bereits bei verschiedenen Benefiz-Konzerten mitgewirkt. Häufig blieb jedoch im Nachhinein ein flaues Gefühl, dass die gesammelten Gelder nicht wirklich den jeweiligen Projekten zu Gute kommen.

Der Besuch des Kinderkrankenhauses in Minsk bestärkt die Band in ihrem Willen, sich kontinuierlich sozial zu engagieren.

Der Gedanke, selbst aktiv über unterstützenswerte Projekte zu entscheiden, Kontrolle über die Verwendung von Spenden zu haben und sich langfristig zu engagieren, er führt zur Gründung von Saving An Angel.

Warum setzt sich die Stiftung gerade für Kinder ein?

Immer wieder sind Kinder die Opfer der Gesellschaft oder der politischen Umstände in ihrem jeweiligen Land. Sie selbst sind noch zu klein und zu schwach, um sich zu behaupten.

Kinder sind unsere Zukunft und wir tragen die Verantwortung, ihnen Liebe und Fürsorge zu geben.

Saving An Angel möchte möglichst vielen Kindern dieser Welt helfen, ihnen eine reelle Chance auf ihren individuellen Lebensweg zu geben.