Falling Whistles is a small window into our world’s largest war. We
started a year and a half ago with no home, no office, and no plan -
just $5, a whole lot of heart, and an emergency that demanded our
everything. Friends helped us pull desks out of a dumpster and put
together a ramshackle office in our garage. Our goal was simply to
grow human freedom by asking others to speak up. Slowly we met others
who felt the same, and we have been organizing a coalition to speak
for peace in Congo ever since.
Darrylynn came to us when she was launching the Good Works Space at
Zero Minus Plus and invited us in. For something like this there was no
precedent, so it was risky business, but the history of change has
always been pushed forward on the shoulders of the courageous few who
were first to speak - whistleblowers. Though we didn't have all the
answers, Darrylynn defaulted toward action to elevate conversations in
her community about a dream that most call impossible - peace in
Congo.
The whistle is our symbol of protest, it's about you and me, me and
we, we the free, and our part to play in peace. By working together
we were able to illuminate stories that historically have remained in
the shadows through a beautiful storytelling display made with
reclaimed materials. It gave the community a tool to teach - and we
saw supporters coming back dozens of times with new friends to pull
into the story. In only two months nearly nine-hundred people stepped out
of Fred Segal and into their communities with whistles around their
necks, ready to rally a coalition of whistleblowers that will have a
global voice on this issue. The proceeds from the whistles they
bought went to rehabilitate more than 270 war-affected kids through local
leaders in Congo.
It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said "The saving of our world will
come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming
majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming
minority.” The Good Works Space has been demonstrative of that kind
of creative courage. Darrylynn simply did what she could with what she
had and now an industry is following, poised with the question - Could
this little whistle end our world’s deadliest war?
David E. Lewis
Director of Operations
Falling Whistles
