Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) and the local Amnesty International Club used their vocal chords to raise money in this year’s Amnesty Concert on March 7 to get aid for Yemen, a Middle Eastern country currently wrapped in a three-year civil war.
“We try to focus each year on a current human rights issue going on but also something people might not have heard about a lot and try to bring attention on,” said Lydia Kinaswich, a four-year member of the club who helped organize the concert.
The Yemeni Civil War has caused a refugee crisis, much like Syria. The club comes together to discuss current issues and ideas and vote on where the money should go. In total, they raised $500, which will go to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
“It’s really good. I think it has been one of our more successful concerts raising that much money. It’s so nice to have the student body supporting this and being able to raise this awareness for the crisis,” said Kinaswich. “I feel really great about the impact we had with the concert.”
Several students performed in front of their peers, playing covers or traditional material on various mediums including banjos, guitars, pianos or just vocals. The entire band, which included Kinaswich, performed as well as the teachers’ band.
“They were all really amazing. Just seeing all the talents people have was really awesome,” said Kinaswich.
“It’s always great having all the staff and students involved in the concert.”
