Over the last few years I have had the privilege of travelling to some of the poorest parts of the world and seeing first hand the plight of humanity.
As a song writer and a person with a microphone I made a promise to try and do something about it. What better than to call on my friends and do something together. To be people that can make a change rather than just singing about it.
So the dream was born to gather some of the best-known writers in the gospel/Christian music scene and spend the week writing songs that could impact these issues on a long-term basis.
So after many phone calls, the team was assembled, Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Israel Houghton, Graham Kendrick, Steven Curtis-Chapman, Andy Park, Stu Garrard, Martin Smith.
So, with so many songwriters gathering it felt like we needed a new structure to compliment and carry this dream.
The usual way of doing things is for a publisher to own the songs and then distribute them to the writers. Although there's nothing wrong with this it felt like we needed a more radical approach to maximising all the income
from these songs as the intention of the writers is to give every cent away. Also a lot of the publishers and managers were excited about being involved too and making a contribution.
So CompassionArt was born, a charity dedicated to seeing works of art generate income for the poorest of the poor. So these songs that will be written in Scotland in January will be owned by the charity meaning that every penny will come to it and the trust will own these copyrights forever. The publishers, the managers, the agents and the writers have waived all their rights to see something historic happen, the music business coming together for something great, something that is about something greater than any individual could achieve.
So January 7th-11th 2008 we will be in Scotland, 13 people giving something of themselves for a big cause. We hope we will write some of the great songs together, watch this space, watch the future.
What is Poverty?
CompassionArt exists to fight poverty. But what does that mean in practise? What do we really mean by 'poverty'?
It's a good question. And like all good questions the answer comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.
One of the world's richest men, John Paul Getty, was once asked for his definition of 'enough'. His five word reply said it all: "Just a little bit more."
Poverty's not that simple. It's not just a case of 'a little bit less' or some other soundbite. But there are a couple of ways of defining poverty – or types of poverty – that CompassionArt is committed to fighting as much as we can.
Extreme Poverty
Right now – today, as you read this – there are people dying because they do not have enough money to survive.
According to the United Nations there are roughly 1 billion people worldwide living – and dying – on less than $1 per day. It is this level of poverty that makes simple, treatable diseases like diarrhoea into a lethal killer. Floods, droughts, unclean drinking water and a lack of food become nightmare figures in a life and death struggle.
One in three of the world's population live on less than $2 per day. This is poverty too. Schooling and access to medical treatment are too expensive for many of these people, increasing their vulnerability to sex traffickers and employers that exploit their desperate workers.
CompassionArt works to break extreme poverty around the world. We support local – and national - projects that meet the needs of those whose lives are at risk because of their poverty.
Lack Of Choice
Everyone who faces extreme poverty also lacks the choices that we take for granted, yet not everyone who has limited choices lives in extreme poverty.
The truth is that poverty of choice touches even more than 2 billion of our us. When choice and options are limited, lives are held back and hope is far harder to find.
CompassionArt supports projects restoring choice and hope to people's lives. We provide funding to projects working with children in Uganda – some of whom have already endured the brutality of life as a child soldier – as well as children of sex workers in Indian slums. There are homeless shelters in the middle of wealthy western cities and orphanages in the middle of developing nations that are helped financially - as a result of the sale of CompassionArt albums, songs and books - all of them breathing hope back into lives that have been conditioned to believe that life may never get any better.
Why Fight Poverty?
One more question; why are we doing this?
Isn't poverty one of those things that will always be around? Or isn't this something that's best left to world leaders and kind-hearted charity workers?
This time the answer's simple; we fight poverty because it is there and because its presence brings shame on us all. Today, poverty should not exist, but it does. Why? Greed. But that's nowhere near being an excuse for doing nothing about it.