While music is an everyday business for many, a number of Rwandan artistes believe it can also be used as a tool to create positive change and to raise awareness as well as inspire their supporters to join the campaign. That is what to expect from ‘You and I’, a brand-new song that features five local artistes, The Ben, Yvan Buravan, Christopher, Andy Bumuntu, Mani Martin and Catherine Bashabe, aka Kate Bashabe, the brains behind the campaign song. The entrepreneur and socialist, believes the song will have a positive impact on our communities, and restore hope to those who feel helpless due to different circumstances surrounding them. “I like to help needy people, but unfortunately some of these seem to have lost hope, and not sure of their future, or the future of their children,” said Bashabe, adding: “Some of the people I support ask me, “well, you’ve supported us today…but we do not know what the future holds for us!” “I thought passing my message through music would help such people to believe in themselves and try to overcome the challenging situations in their lives,” Bashabe added. Kate Bashabe is the brains behind ‘You and I’ track. Courtesy The audio was produced by Bob Pro and the video was shot and directed by producer Meddy Saleh. Both producers also contributed to the song free of charge to participate in the movement. Composed both in Kinyarwanda and English, the song gives people a reason to live, no matter what situation they are in given the message of hope it carries. According to the artistes, the song was not released for any purposes related to fund raising. People can instead copy the message and join the movement to not only support but also spread the word to people with special needs that the future is bright as long as people are cooperative during good and bad situations. “We are not talking about fund raising and that is not what we intend to do. We made it just to inspire music lovers, besides entertainment, they should take a look back and be informed that there are people around who need support nad be able to give a helping hand. I am confident that the message in this song will bring change and more will be more committed to help,” she added. The artistes who feature in the song are all on the same page when it comes to using their talent to preach to their fans to give a helping hand to vulnerable people and no one is doing it to target financial returns. “Singing is a talent that we were given, with no price, and I am convinced that we can use it to bring a positive change to all music lovers and anybody who has the heart to help. It is not only us, artistes, but also our fans and music lovers in general whom communities with special needs are relying on. We should, therefore, join hands to bring hope for them to live,” said Buravan. After releasing the song yesterday, the artistes are planning to visit families and individuals with special needs, and support them with basic materials, starting with vulnerable patients at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, (CHUK) next weekend. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
