In a world too often numbed by statistics and headlines, We Will Overcome lands as a rallying cry born from pain, resilience, and radical hope. The British-Filipino duo Ooberfuse has long made music that matters. Still, with this powerful new single, released in collaboration with the children of the PREDA Foundation, they step into the spotlight not only as artists but as advocates for the voiceless.
Set against a poignant backdrop of child exploitation and systemic neglect in the Philippines, ‘We Will Overcome’ transcends borders with its universal message that truth-telling is resistance, and healing begins when silence is broken. Written and performed alongside young survivors, the song’s refrain, “we will overcome by speaking truth to power”, soars as both a promise and a demand. It’s a defiant declaration from those who’ve been silenced, sung with an innocence that pierces through the noise.
Producer Hal St John masterfully balances uplifting melodies with sobering themes, allowing Cherrie Anderson’s breathy and emotive vocals to guide the listener through this transformational journey. What makes this single even more potent is its raw sincerity. These are not fictional tales, but lived realities of children finding their voices after unspeakable trauma, amplified through music that refuses to look away.
In the words of Hal St John: “My heart was quite literally bursting with joy when we first heard the children singing at the top of their lungs “we will overcome” by “speaking truth to power”. The children, although they arrive at PREDA broken in two by their unspeakable experiences, nevertheless leave transformed after healing therapies that reassemble the broken pieces. Father Shay’s incredible work is at the very frontier of a brave new world where all traces of child abuse is erased once and for all.”
At its heart, ‘We Will Overcome’ is a protest wrapped in poetry, a hymn of resistance that refuses to bow to apathy. Its release on Right to Truth Day is no coincidence- it’s a pointed reminder that justice begins with recognition. And Ooberfuse, alongside Father Shay Cullen and the brave children of PREDA, are making sure we hear them loud and clear.