Gelukskinders - "Lucky Children"

Some people may wonder why Amira's fans are such zeolots. After all there are many talented young singers. Why is our obsession so singular? What is it about Amira that stands out for us above and beyond the others?

There are many dimensions to this. First of course is the indescribable tone of her voice that we believe is second to none and moves hearts like no other. In fact the veterans of Arizona have come to use her music for therapy. But on top of that is her character, her humility, her intensity in achieving perfection in all she does that can only be called incredible. And then there is her almost unbelievable kindness. For a taste of this kindness of character I suggest reading the account of a fan here.

But there is yet another, though related, aspect of Amira's character that stands out for us, and sets her far apart from her contempoaries. That is her heartfelt devotion to helping others she sees as less fortunate than herself. To get this across I wish to tell the story of her nonprofit Gelukskinders, a foundation she named and established at the almost impossible age of 10. Gelukskinders is Afrikaans and means 'lucky children.'

Amira's mother was raised in South Africa. She moved to the Netherlands to marry Amira's father and they had two children, Amira and Fincent, who they raised in a pleasant home in the beautiful ancient city of Nijmegen. But due to her grandmother being in South Africa Amira grew up taking many trips there to see her in her nursing home.

One day on one such trip, when Amira was 7, Amira's mother stopped to visit an old friend in one of the provinces. To pass the time Amira and her brother wandered away from the house in search of some place to play outdoors. But wherever they went they could find no playground. Then Amira saw something that shocked her and changed her life forever. She saw a shanty town.

As soon as she rejoined her mother she asked her, "What is that?" And her mother replied that that is where some people have to live. Amira saw that the children there had nowhere to play and saw children throwing rocks with nothing to do.

This never left Amira's heart and she swore out loud to her mother that one day when she had money, she would return and build a playground for those children. Her mother was astonished.

Now let's jump forward two years. When Amira was 9 she went on a talent show in Holland and became an instant YouTube sensation as the video of her singing an opera song went viral. Immediately the press was beating a path to her door. Four days later she appeared in her first television interview. The host Umberto Tan asked her if she had any other dreams. She said that all her dreams had already come true, as all she had really wanted was to be on TV once.

But then she admitted there on TV that she had one other desire. She proceded to tell the story of the township in Africa she had visited and her dream of returning to build the children there a playground. She said that she could not enjoy any money she might win in the contest unless she could share it with others. That was the beginning of what would become her foundation. Amira did win the contest, and immediately embarked with her financial winnings to build a playground in Africa. I strongly suggest watching this 2 minute video.

This was the beginning of Gelukskinders, a nonprofit organization that her fans helped her to legally establish a year later in the Netherlands. Its stated purpose is to build and maintain playgrounds in underpriveleged South African pronvinces. So far Amira has personally overseen the building of fifteen playgrounds. Below 10 year old Amira signs her Gelukskinders Foundation into law in a room full of lawyers and agents. Initially Amira and her fans organized charity concerts to raise money for her foundation. The famous Paul Potts even joined her on these charity ventures. However, these self-sponsored concerts turned out to cost more than they raised. In time Amira resigned herself to giving money from her performance fees as well as raising money from fans on her website.

But playgrounds are not the limit of Amira's generosity. She has also promoted the singing careers of other girls less fortunate than herself. And she is constantly conceiving of what they call in her foundation 'actions.' Durring the lockdowns of the last year she has been especially active, giving food and toys to poor families. These pictures are from last year's Christmas action.

Many singers do 'charity concerts' that are sponsored. But their personal involvement in reaching out to those in need is next to nil. They do it for self-promotion. But Amira is hands on, and literally conceives of the ways to help these children.

Making others happy literally makes Amira happy. This and her deep Christian faith seem to be her only motivates.

Ray Vandenburg, a fan in the Netherlands, recently made a video depicting Amira's beautiful heart, put to the sound of her title track from her last album, "With All My Heart." He brings new meaning to the words.