Singing from the undercurrent

Fifteen people of diverse backgrounds, all with experience in poverty, form the choir ‘Onze Rijkdom’. They bring songs with self-written lyrics inspired by their existence. Simple, moving, recognizable but also with a good dose of humor. They sing, rap, and tell stories about loneliness and happiness, friendship, saying goodbye, mothers who cut the tops off sausages, about not seeing your children or your mother for years, about how we are all different and yet the same... It is about how people in poverty are and stand in the world. What they tell touches deeply. Onze Rijkdom performed for the first time in 2011 and toured from Ostend to Amsterdam, in schools, cultural centers, the Antwerpse Kathedraal, the Vlaams Parlement, and even for Koningin Mathilde. The choir continues to move and amaze a wide audience. A band of professional musicians accompanies the choir. Singer and actor Hans Van Cauwenberghe leads everything in the right direction. This performance is a collaboration between CC Binder, CC Ter Dilft, and poverty association De Schakel, in the context of 17/10, World Day for Overcoming Poverty. www.onzerijkdom.be