Playing for Change Foundation

2022 was a year of exciting growth and the deepening of our work and mission. Bizung school founder mohammed alidu traveled with pfcf executive director jake groshong and director of program development thomas duncan to visit the salam music program in the bidi bidi refugee settlement in northern uganda. Alidu met with music teachers and students at the school, and recorded music with salam music principal teacher victor aluonzi. There was an international collaboration with our programs in mali, and ghana. Musicians, teachers and students came together to learn about each other, play and record music as part of a cross-cultural residency. In september the joudour sahara program hosted the zamane festival in m'hamid el ghizlane, morocco, a celebration of the cultural diversity, cultural heritage, and environmental heritage of the region. Pfcf advisor aziza chaouni visited the tintale village, nepal working with the local team to create a vision for a future school for the udayapur program. The mother's society hosted important workshops and activities throughout the year focused on women's health, child protection and the rights of women & girls. Popular nepali musician kiran nepali led impactful workshops and a performance in tintale village, nepal for the students, teachers and community. It was the first time kiran had visited tintale. Pfcf worked to expand our reach and impact to new communities along the caribbean sea in central america. We partnered with the united nations population fund (unfpa) to bring new creative opportunities to youth and musicians from predominantly afro-caribbean communities in both costa rica and panama. Also in 2022 we have significantly increased the investment to purchase musical instruments, audio and tech equipment for our programs. We've also significantly increased our structural investment on the ground. This trend will certainly continue over the following years as we see a need for growth and expansion in our existing programs as well as expanding to new countries and new areas.it was a year filled with joy, challenges, and the strengthening of our work and the relationships of the global community that is pfcf.

Pfc day as community cohesion events. Pfcf worked with local programs to use music as the key to driving social cohesion in the communities where we operate. We supported the implementation of pfc day events reaching several thousand people across five countries. A highlight was a traditional music and dance showcase at pfc day in tamale, ghana, where several musicians and dancers participated.