Palliative care for children has a poor global profile generally and is regularly misunderstood by the man in the street. This is why the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) is thrilled that two talented young musicians are willing to become Global Champions for children’s palliative care by making music and speaking about it to their audiences. They have committed to tell their followers about the rights of those children around the world living with life threatening and life limiting conditions to receive palliative care.
The ICPCN is delighted to introduce two young musicians who are willing to speak out for these children as ICPCN Global Champions for life limited children.
Marquardt Petersen
Marquardt Petersen is a talented 19-year-old trumpeter who hails from 20km outside of Flensburg in Germany. Marquardt has been playing the trumpet since he was just 8 years old.
Just a quick glance through his impressive biography leaves one in no doubt that this young man has excelled in his musical career and is going far. He has won numerous awards and prizes for his performances in Germany with his biggest performance to date taking place in Hamburg in 2012 where he gave a live performance of the German National Anthem in front of more than 13,000 spectators and millions of television viewers worldwide at the handball finals for the DHB (German Handball Federation) Cup.
In January of 2014 Marquardt was appointed as an ambassador for the Bundesverband Kinderhospiz eV in Kisdorf. All proceeds of the download of one of the songs he plays, “Trag ‘ein Licht durch alle Welt”, a sensitive song that describes the terminal care of a child (song and lyrics: Doris Müller) will be donated to children’s hospices and outpatient children’s hospice services. You can learn more about Marquardt and his achievements from his website.
Cateline Khoo
Our second global champion is a talented 15-year-old singer, songwriter and musician from Singapore who sang one of her own compositions ‘Live Now’ at the premiere of the Little Stars full length documentary film held in Taipei in April of this year. Cateline is a young girl with a passion for music who started writing her own songs at the age of 12. She performs at school events, outside gigs and serves in the worship team at her church, hoping to inspire people with her music.
Cateline wrote this beautiful message to ICPCN after watching the Little Stars film and learning about the ICPCN NOW campaign at the premiere:
Sometimes in life we face really hard situations and we wonder why God makes us go through what seems like hell at that point in time. We feel so daunted by the sudden changes in our lives, but sometimes change can be a good thing. Over time, we learn to adapt and we are able to get through it. We change and become stronger. The things we go through make us who we are today. I think it is important to look back and realise how far we have come.
When you are finally able to cope, that is a really exciting moment because you can be proud of yourself for making it this far. For me, this is something that pushes me to persevere because eventually you will make it and God will not allow you to go through anything you cannot handle.
Some people are stigmatised when they are diagnosed with an illness and we should try not to allow this to happen. It must be terrible to be treated like an outcast because of something you did not choose to get.
I think that it is wonderful that the NOW campaign has been launched! It is very important for vulnerable children who are ill to make the most of their lives and to live in the Now. We need to afford them with the right care and to show them that they are loved and that their lives have value. We need them to believe in themselves and to have dreams and to have joy in the face of suffering.
You can watch Cateline singing her beautiful song, Live Now, on her YouTube channel. You can also follow Cateline on Instagram.
Privilege
Reacting to the announcement of these two inspirational young musicians commitment to ICPCN, Joan Marston said,
“It is such a privilege to have met both these young people and witness first hand not only their passion for their musical careers but also their compassion for others, particularly children who are not always able to speak out for themselves. We would like to thank both Marquardt and Cateline for being prepared to be ICPCN Champions for Children and look forward to working with both of them in the future.”
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