Cat Stevens sings for orphans
2005-03-20 21:51
London - Yusuf Islam, the pop musician known as Cat Stevens until he converted to Islam 30 years ago, was set to release a new record on Monday in aid of tsunami-orphaned children in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
"The tsunami disaster has changed the world in an extraordinary way and it requires an extraordinary response from everyone," said the 56-year-old, who sold 50 million records in the 1970s with hits such as Matthew and Son, Peace Train and Wild World.
The new song in response to the disaster, Indian Ocean, features Magne Furuholmen of Norwegian group A-Ha and Neil Primrose of Britpop band Travis.
The British singer's own charity, Small Kindness, set up a regional office in Indonesia and will work on projects "to keep families together" by helping orphans in the predominantly-Muslim Aceh.
"We try to find other family members who would look after the orphans and then keep the family together in that way and then pay them subsistence every month," he said on his website.
The total number of tsunami victims is 273 435 dead or missing, 220 172 of them from Indonesia.