A Song For Everyone: Young Women's Education in Africa

Grammy Award-winning composer/philanthropist Peter Buffett and Grammy Award-winning UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo teamed up to create “A Song for Everyone” in support of the Batonga Foundation, Angelique's non-profit dedicated to advancing young womens' education in Africa.

Song will be released on Feb 12th, 2010

The song features Angelique's vibrant, uplifting signature World sound, Peter's pop-rock songwriting and catchy melody, and lyrics in both artists' native tongues: English and Yoruba.

100% of proceeds from downloads of the single will benefit the Batonga Foundation, whose mission is to give girls a higher education so they can take leadership roles in Africa. Another crucial part of their mission is advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls by addressing gender prejudice.

Donating is simple: Download the single for yourself, "gift" the track to your friends using iTunes or Peter's online store at www.peterbuffett.com/store, or donate to the organization directly: www.batongafoundation.org/donate.

Peter and Angelique encourage fans to share the music with friends and support the Batonga Foundation simultaneously, by using the “gift” function on iTunes or Peter’s online store at www.peterbuffett.com/store. 

Every cent helps: 2 downloads buys a girl a math set; 3 downloads buys a girl lunch during the school day; 5 downloads buys a girl a textbook; 10 downloads buys a girl a school bag or uniform; and 1,000 downloads pays school fees for an entire classroom of 45 girls to go to school for a year!

he Batonga Foundation gives girls a secondary school and higher education so they can take leadership roles in Africa. They are doing this by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models, and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls by addressing gender prejudice.  The foundation currently has an active presence in the countries of Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, and Sierra Leone.  The name “Batonga” stems from a word Angelique made up as a response to taunts when she was going to school-- the boys didn’t know what the word meant, but to her it was an assertion of the rights of girls to education. To donate to the foundation, please visit www.batongafoundation.org/donate.

“Collaborating with Angelique was a wonderful surprise - her passion, energy and commitment - both to her music and in support of girl's education was incredibly inspiring,” says Peter Buffett.

Angelique states, “Our ancestors fought for our freedom and the pride of human kind. Each one of us has a responsibility to hold the torch and pass it on intact to the next generation.”  She hopes to give the next generation of young African girls the chance to realize their dreams and create a better future for their children through her work with Batonga.

Peter’s social action site, IsThereSomethingICanDo.com, has recently partnered with Do Something and is currently working towards a site re-launch this spring.  Fans can visit Do Something’s “Celebs Gone Good” blog to see behind-the-scenes video of Angelique and Peter, at www.dosomething.org/celebsgonegood.