Dear Friends,

Some of you are already aware of this but for those who aren't our dear friend, colleague, comrade and beautiful soul Fatou Sow was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer this past July. She has since begun chemotherapy which will go for another three and a half months followed by surgery (ablation of her left breast) next February, then radiotherapy and last but not least hormone-therapy for at least 5 years. 

This has created an upheaval in an already complicated life, in which Fatou was just getting back on her feet after leaving a successful career in the music industry in the United States to return to her home in Mali in order to help build its music industry.  She successfully completed the first edition of her Festival Acoustik Bamako in partnership with Toumani Diabate and with the support of the likes of Songhoy Blues, Damon Albarn and Tony Allen this past January in Mali and she was gearing to make it a yearly event. Having been very lucky to participate in the festival and its preparation, I can say without reservation that its wonderful success would never have been possible without Fatou's amazing energy, skill and dedication, especially given the ongoing struggles of Mali both to recover from the shock of the extreme violence in the north of the country and the economic difficulties of everyday life. 

This illness has effectively forced Fatou to move back to Paris where she can get better health care and most importantly a good portion of her health costs covered by the social security system. But there is a big void she needs to fill. Along with medical costs that are not covered, Fatou is unable to work and cannot get unemployment insurance, and she does not have a place to stay. She is currently staying with generous friends until December, but then she has to find a place to live. She has filed for public housing but this can take up to three years. 

So in the meantime, I am seeking your support and help to get Fatou through the hardest part of this journey to health.  She needs to take the next year  to go through her various treatment protocols and hopefully be well enough to be able to look for a job while in Paris.  Our support will allow her to focus on her health with a roof over her head and the essentials covered for the next year, starting in December. You all know Fatou.  She is usually a workaholic.  But life forces you sometimes to slow down and take care of yourself, something most of us rarely take enough time to do until life forces us to reorient our perspective.

Fatou has helped create so much beautiful music and brought so much joy and peace to so many of us, now is our chance to help her when she, reluctantly, needs our assistance. Please help her do so.

If you would like to see any medical records, or have any advice based on your own health experiences that you think would benefit Fatou, you can be in touch with her or me at fatoushealingfunds@gmail.com, the account I have set up specifically for this fund. Fatou is aware of the crowdfunding effort I initiated and will help me keep all of you updated as her journey progresses. We are using this method to help raise money rather than do a campaign on a more open social media platform like Facebook because that would be far too public for her taste. I trust you will respect Fatou's wish for privacy and not post anything on her and your walls. If you would like to help or know people who would like to contribute in some way, please forward this page to them.

Also for our U.S. friends, keep in mind that your donations are tax deductible up to $14,000. I expect it is somewhat similar in Europe. 

Thank you all for helping our dear friend Fatou return to wellness and continue her important work, which has helped so many of us and spread such good music! Please don't hesitate to contact me or her through the above email with any questions, suggestions or advice. 

Mark LeVine