“We sing poverty goodbye,” a young African girl in a school uniform says. Then, the choir sets in. Men and women dressed in white sing to tell the story of injustice and poverty – and the need to change—in the Poverty Requiem, a new musical piece for choir and percussion.

The Poverty Requiem is a musical manifestation asking for international attention to the Millennium Development Goals. Internationally the Poverty Requiem is performed in the context of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP).

The song is written by the Dutch composer Peter Maissan and lyrics are by Sylvia Borren, executive director Oxfam Novib Netherlands.  In a collaboration with the music department of Kunst Factor, International Foundation for Choir Music and Europa Cantat the Requiem is distributed among international choirs, umbrella organizations of choirs, and individual singers.