This article is from page 42 of the 2007-09-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 42 JPG
ST COLMAN’S Church in Gort will be the venue for a_ special charity concert which will bring together the talents of the Gort based Coole Voic- es and the legendary Lismourahaun Singers for the very first time.
The concert, which is in aid of the Tractors for Africa Project, will unite two of the regions most talented vo- cal groups for an evening of heavenly singing
Coole Voices was started in 2002 by Katharina Baker, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and founder of the Coole Music School. The Lismourahaun was founded by Archie Simpson and
has gained national and international renown in recent years because of the quality of their method and per- formances.
All proceeds from the evening will go towards the provision of a tractor, to aid in the construction and mainte- nance of a Christian Brothers school in the Zambian village of Kasama.
“T went to Africa to visit a friend of mine a year ago. Out there I met with the White Fathers and a Christian Brother called Brother Dominic. He was sent out there by the Christian Brother to set up schools. All he had with him was what he was able to carry himself,” said Pat Canavan of the Tractor for Africa Project.
“He had a group of blocklayers
from Waterford who built a shed for him for the school. But he said that if I was able to get him a tractor that it would be a great help to him.
“When I got back in Ireland I came across a guy who was repairing old tractors. He had a small tractor, a Massy Ferguson 135 I think, and he agreed to give me the tractor and I told him I would pay him something KOvms DOO som ab ine I Rone
There are many children orphaned in this area of Africa due to the Aids epidemic and other diseases. These children depend on education as a means of living a happy and full Tate
A friend of Mr Canavan arranged for the tractor to be transported to
Zambia where it will now be used for essential building work and farming.
‘They have no machinery out there whatsoever,’ continued Mr Canavan. “They have to do almost everything by hand. When the tractor arrived in the shipping container they had no way of taking it off the lorry. So they had to tie the container to a big tree and slowly drive away. That was the only way of getting it off the truck.”
The concert takes place on October 6. Tickets, at a cost of €15, are avail- able from the post office in Gort or on the door on the night.