“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” 

Martin Luther King Jr., August 23, 1963

A refugee crisis. A war crisis. A hunger crisis. A climate crisis…

If ever there was a time of fierce urgency, it is now. If ever there was a time when healing, connecting, and community building was urgent, it is now.

Musicians Without Borders understands the power of music to achieve exactly that. We work to bring music to people and places affected by war, armed conflict, and displacement.

• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where hundreds of thousands of children have been displaced by climate disaster and armed conflict,
• In the Western Balkans, where young people grow up isolated and fearful of each other, without a perspective for the future,
• In Rwanda, where children and youth living with HIV are stigmatized and isolated,
• In Palestine, where the violence of occupation leaves children and their families hopeless and traumatized,
• in El Salvador, where children’s lives are dominated by a culture of violence,
• In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country not yet recovered from its own horrific war, where people fleeing wars in Asia and Africa are stranded in isolated refugee camps,
• In the Netherlands, where governmental policies of exclusion have led to refugees living in squalid tents, or without shelter, food and water, or medical care.

In every one of these urgent places, Musicians Without Borders brings the hope, relief, creativity, connection, and joy of music to people in need.

Fierce urgency can be overwhelming. It may seem that there is nothing to be done.

But there is much that can be done. Leaders like MLK taught us that in the moments of fierce urgency, change is waiting to happen. In this moment, we can plant the seeds of justice and peace, we can be the agents of change—with music.

Please help us to continue this work, by giving generously to our 2022 year-end campaign.