Hansons rocking and walking

Megan Petta

The Hamilton Spectator

(Dec 1, 2007)

Setting out to make a difference, the three brothers of Hanson underwent a life-changing journey to South Africa, hoping to find a choir of children to sing for their next album.Two South African children's choirs welcomed the band and sang phrases such as I Have Hope in their native tongue. The recording sessions inspired the Hanson brothers to give something back. So they gave the children of South Africa Great Divide.A single to be released on iTunes in December, Great Divide can be purchased for 99 cents, with all proceeds going directly to a hospital in South Africa, specifically the prenatal AIDS-HIV research unit.Isaac Hanson, eldest of the three brothers, is on his cellphone. He's telling the story about the kids in South Africa while walking down the street, drinking a coffee, during a tour stop in San Francisco.Isaac saw things in Africa that shocked him. Children without shoes. Children with HIV. Children without even the most basic medical treatment."We need to do something about it," Isaac says, his voice rising with urgency. "We need to give people shoes on their feet so they can do something about their problem. We need to give them medicine so they can live with the virus .... And we need to educate them."According to Isaac, the funds raised by Great Divide have helped to reduce the transmission rate from HIV positive mothers to their unborn children from 40 per cent to 2 per cent.Hanson has also paired with a company called Toms Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes to the cause for every pair you buy. Right now, two Toms employees and 50 volunteers are in South Africa fitting 50,000 pairs on the feet of disadvantaged children. It's called a "shoe drop."Isaac, 27, is married with a child. His younger brother Taylor is married and has four children. Zac, the youngest at 21, is married, too.The band, however, is still known as a "boy band" from their 1997 hit MMMBop. They're still idolized by their old fans, and the band is consciously using that adoration to open the eyes of North American teens to the plight of the less privileged.

Hanson has been doing this through The Walk, a public demonstration of the band's involvement in third-world issues. In each city Hanson performs, the band organizes a one-mile walk to raise awareness.Hanson encourages local fans to join them as they walk Dec. 3, before they perform here. Fans can meet at about 3 p.m. in front of Hamilton Place. Isaac estimates as many as 15,000 people have joined them on other such walks."We don't have to wait until tomorrow to make a difference," Isaac says. "We're looking for ways and opportunities to enable our fans to be lifesavers and world-changers."The Walk is also the title of their latest CD, released on their own 3CG.

On the web: tomsshoes.com and hanson.netMegan Petta is a Spectator co-op student.

Showtime

What: Hanson, with Roz Bell and GeorgeWhen: Monday, Dec. 3, 8 p.m.

Where: Hamilton Place Studio TheatreTickets: $35 at Copps Coliseum box office or ticketmaster.ca

fonte: http://www.thespec.com/article/290007