M.A.M.A. Earth Meets the Q Side

After the excitement of the recent M.A.M.A. Earth fundraiser in Hollywood is officially over, Stuart Brazell went in search of two of the event’s top stars: its creator Kailani Bayot and The Q Side‘s Quddus who put his star power behind the high profile gathering. In this two-part interview, the pair chat about M.A.M.A. Earth and the Q Side, Haiti and what we can all do to make a difference.

Kailani Bayot

How did M.A.M.A. Earth start?

Well M.A.M.A. Earth all started with a bead. I work with crystals and precious stones as a hobby making jewelry and I came across this bead called Malachite-Azurite its such a beautiful stone. It looked so much like the like the earth. Blue and green. I looked it up in my crystal dictionary and it is a stone that promotes healing and aids in transformation. Hence the M.A.M.A. E a r t h wish bracelet. You tie it on make a wish and when it falls off your wish is put into the universe. I thought kids selling these as their school fundraiser would be better than selling chocolate and the best thing is that they get to learn about a different charities and the proceeds are donated to a charity of their choice.

How did you get together with the Q side?

I met Quddus from the Q side at my little brothers first music video shoot. We chatted a bit and realized that were doing a lot of the same kind of work so we partnered up for our Haiti event raising money for Yayasan Bumi Sehat in Haiti. This organization of midwives and teachers started in Indonesia after the Tsunamis and now they are they are in Haiti They just open the doors to their clinic in this past Friday its so cool you should check out their website to see some pictures: bumisehatbali.org.

How important is it to have an event like the recent one to raise the organization’s profile?

I have realized that everyone wants to help and give. It feels good to know you can make a difference. I think why not facilitate these fun events where everyone benefits. Good fun, entertainment for a good cause while raising an awareness of the issues going on in our community and the world.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

We have a mothers day charity event coming up in Hawaii. Thats where Im from. We are in the talks of bringing El Debarge there for a mothers day concert. Proceeds will benefit a local charity for mothers. You know that M.A.M.A. Earth stands for Mothers about Making Amends right? Im a mama of two boys (above). Oh yah we also have a follow up event at the VS-65 Skid Row to plant a spring vegetable garden. We planted a fall one in October.

What was M.A.M.A. Earth able to achieve in the past 12 months?

Well in June we hosted a event for a organization called ” Shine on Sierra Leone” to help build their school based in South Africa. Then in August we hosted a red carpet charity event in honor of Michael Jackson for the Volunteers of America VS-65 a organization for homeless veterans. In October we planted a fall vegetable garden with the help of a local high school poetry class at VS-65 skid row, that was a special day. Then we had our last event this past Saturday for Yayasan Bumi Sehat and the mamas in Haiti. We are mamas ourselves so we kinda have to pace ourselves.

How do you choose what causes to support?

It sort of just comes to us in different ways.

M.A.M.A. Earth obviously began because someone put an idea into action. What would you say to those who want to help change the world, but do little to nothing because they think one person couldn’t possibly make a difference?

I say every little bit counts.