[srahman24]

Originally Posted by glo32

from Damien's page on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/no...id=46071287361 ) and iLike ( http://www.ilike.com/artist/Damien+Rice )

The Florianopolis show is a benefit concert for a children's charity set up by a friend of Damien's in Brazil. For more information visit: www.alastairramsay.net

Seu Jorge will be joining Damien at the concert as a special guest

Found some more info on this so I thought I'd put it up here!

There's some more about the project here

And then more about how Damien helped launch the project

The energy of commitment and excitement for Recontar´s work was enhanced at the second big achievement over the last month: the successful official launch of Recontar on 1st of February. We had decided to link a launch into Damien Rice´s benefit gig for Recontar here in Florianopolis. Damien, who is only outshone in his musical talent by his talent as my friend over the last almost 20 years, had organized a mini-tour around doing a benefit gig for Recontar. He donated his fee of US$7000 and provided us with a free space to launch Recontar before the gig.

The launch was held in a large room with big windows looking out at the sea. The sun caught the water in its wink and there was a sparkle to the room as the launch began. 50 people sat in a circle; staff, volunteers and Board members in Recontar t-shirts, a couple of journalists and members of the local community, the Rotary club and local business.

First, like a Mexican wave, everyone quickly said their first name and a number between 0 and 9 to show how much they knew about Recontar. Damien participated, couldn´t understand a word of Portuguese and provided good comic relief for the group. Then we moved to a guided visualization of a child in need and what they would receive from Recontar.

...

We then toasted Recontar´s launch with a glass of wine, before heading in to watch Damien´s show. During the show, Damien invited one of the mothers, Gislane, and me to say a few words about Recontar and the service we will offer. To an audience of approximately 1000, we summarized Recontar´s objectives and Gislane spoke of her experience. Recontar´s message was launched further and an emerging groundswell of support was palpable at the evening´s celebrations. Recontar was mentioned in the main paper Diário Cateriense and various online news sources and we succeeded in initiating relationships with two journalists, who are keen to accompany Recontar´s progress and provide meaningful media support. Thus, Recontar takes its first careful steps as a recognized presence in Florianopolis.

This week has been a whirlwind of emotions, as well as a culmination of our efforts to date. After the Board meeting and the launch, I celebrated my 33rd birthday. I ate delicious bread and drank wine on the beach in our nearby village with Damien and some Brazilian friends, as the boys tried to catch crabs and roasted marshmallows until they collapsed by the fire in happy exhaustion at midnight. What crazy, beautiful world is this?

As Damien would sing it: ´And so it is, just like you said it would be …. life goes easy on me … most of the time.´