Chai Lifeline is a nice Jewish organization that does amazing things for children with terminal diseases and other medical problems. They have a nice website where you can see their mission statement and some of the other things that they do here: Chai Lifeline.
Their flagship program is called Camp Simcha.
Camp Simcha is a camp for cancer children and they vow to give these children the most fun and inspiring summer of their life (until next summer, hopefully).
Camp Simcha pulled off a really great stunt in Times Square this week. They got permits and arranged all the necessary medical logistics to make it happen.
Apparently, the camp adopted the theme song of the World Cup for their camp theme song. The song is Wavin Flags by K’naan. It is a great song with a really powerful and inspiring message. But for these kids, the messages impact is compounded. (Videos all the way at the bottom of the post)
Here are the lyrics:
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, oh
Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
A violent prone, poor people zone
But it’s my home, all I have known
Where I got grown, streets we would roam
Out of the darkness, I came the farthest
Among the hardest survival
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak
Accept no defeat, surrender, retreat
So we struggling, fighting to eat
And we wondering when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait for that fateful day
It’s not far away, but for now we say
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, oh
So many wars, settling scores
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
I heard them say ‘love is the way’
‘Love is the answer,’ that’s what they say
But look how they treat us, make us believers
We fight their battles, then they deceive us
Try to control us, they couldn’t hold us
‘Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers
But we struggling, fighting to eat
And we wondering, when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait for that faithful day
It’s not far away but for now we say
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, and then is goes
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, and then it goes
And then it goes
And everybody will be singing it
And you and I will be singing it
And we all will be singing it
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, and then it goes
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, oh
When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger just like a wavin’ flag
Just like a wavin’ flag, just like a wavin’ flag
Flag, flag, just like a wavin’ flag
Anyway, the kids and staff sang this song with their flags in Times Square. It was pretty awesome, unfortunately the videos are pretty poor. But you get the idea anyway.
Enjoy.
View from the front:
View from the back:
And a real version of the song:
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