I thought readers and residents of Martinborough and visitors might be interested in what I’ve been up to since March this year.
That month I took delivery of a small Dutch hand operated street organ, what we call in England a “busker organ”. It was new, made by a retired engineer in Holland, his name Hans Peters. Unlike the original instruments from Victorian days it doesn’t use perforated paper tape or card to operate the organ pipes, but a MIDI controller, so it’s modern electronics allied to old fashioned craftsmanship. So at the age of 78 years, and you may have seen and heard this old man near the square, I decided to make some use of my retirement by busking in the local towns to collect money for Médicins sans Frontières (aka Doctors without Borders), a French based international medical charity who work in some of the most deprived and violent areas of the world. (NB. I did get permission from the SWDC first!).
MSF have been working in Gaza and I am sad (and angry) that, since the start of Israel’s assault on the people of Gaza in response to Hamas’s own murderous attack, twelve members of MSF’s medical staff and volunteers have been killed in Israeli attacks. However I am happier to report I have today just passed the total of $1,000 collected from the generous passing public mainly in Martinborough but also Featherston and Greytown. So this letter is by way of a GREAT BIG THANK YOU on my and MSF’s behalf to all those who have been so generous in the last five months or so.
But you haven’t got rid of me, the need is as great as ever, and even if the violence stops in Gaza the ruins of that population will need care for a long, long time, and troubles elsewhere in the world won’t be going away. So this old man will still feature for an hour or two most weekends in the town; please give me a friendly smile, and a generous contribution too if you can manage it. My internet donation page is fundraise.msf.org.au/fundraisers/johnmonro/busking-for-msf
