'Marching Mountains: Helping children in poverty in Appalachia' documentary transcript

For many children living in poverty in Appalachia, there are not many highlights in the day. In Appalachia, poverty, alcoholism and domestic abuse are problems that affect many children. These aren't abstract concepts. The horrible effects of poverty are still deeply ingrained in Appalachia and children are still being left to fend for themselves. I know because that was my childhood.

This is the house I grew up in. It wasn't really a house. It was a pony barn that had some drywall put up for walls and a few dangling light-switches installed. In the middle of the living room was a coal stove that belched smoke in the middle of the night. For years, it seemed that if I wasn't awakened by my step-father beating my mother, I was awakened by thick, black smoke choking me.

We didn't have drinking water. For years we carried it from relatives houses until one day, we were able to draw it from a well across the road. The water was drinkable but still contained creatures like salamanders which would end up in the jugs we drew from the well across the road.

For children who are still living this way in Appalachia, and there are tens of thousands, poverty and the abuse that comes with it can lead to feelings of isolation and helplessness. It can dimish talent and lead to wasted human resources that may never be recovered and ultimately will become a drain on our society's resources and a shame to our country's achievements.

The gift of music can help them. Music is one outlet that can lift the spirits of children living in the darkest of conditions. In Appalachia, the band programs in the public school system offers these children the opportunity to belong and feel light and alive. In remote, rural areas like where I grew up, the band program was my only connection to something positive before being carried by a bus back to a bleak life.

But in Appalachia, the schools are dying. In the county I grew up the story is told again and again. This school was condemned. The community around dying.

Many Appalachian people fear that the birth of a modernized Appalachia will lead to a death of their traditional values and heritage. Because of the isolation of the region, Appalachian people have been unable to catch up to the modernization that others have achieved. These once thriving streets now have boarded-up shops and empty homes. This town's story is common. This is the town my family is from. (courtesy Wikipedia)

Since the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965, the region has seen dramatic progress. New roads, schools, health care facilities, water and sewer systems, and other improvements have brought a better life to many Appalachian residents. (courtesy Wikipedia)

Nevertheless, after 40 years poverty remains undefeated in Appalachia. The footage in the video all took place in a county that isn't considered distressed, Just an average county in Appalachia. This town as bad as it seems isn't in a distressed county. The town was wiped out by flood and replaced with trailers. There are a few remaining homes that are in disrepair. The school was closed.

In 1960, 219 counties in the 13-state Appalachian Region were considered economically distressed. Now that list has been cut in half, to 108 counties, but these are "hard-core" pockets of poverty, seemingly impervious to all efforts at improving their lot. (courtesy Wikipedia)

In the county seat, another school: condemned. The children are taught in trailers that are barely usable. The households, most of which live on less than $25,000 a year haven't passed a school bond in years.

A fourth school in this same county is now on the verge of being condemned as well. This was the school where I first felt the power of band and the lasting change it can have. This was the small room where we crowded day after day. For several years, this tiny room was the highlight of my life.

Marching Mountains goal is to create a network to supply public middle school and high school band programs in distressed counties in Appalachia with new and used supplies and instruments. Our goal is to make sure that children will not be deprived of the chance to feel something alive and meaningful in their formative years.

Appalachia is a beautiful place. Its mountains stretch to the sky and fill the land with an ancient power. Its been trapped in a cycle of poverty that it still has not been able to breach. We may never be able to change this. It may always be this way, but for a moment, if we try, together, we may see the mountains marching and the children making music in the hills.