Join the “Pabien” Challenge

The objective of Child First Foundation (CFF) is to stimulate the positive, active presence of fathers so that children can grow up to be successful world citizens. With this CFF contributes to the development of people who have a conscious life purpose, productive, happy and significant life.

Realizing this objective requires passing through processes that lead to awareness of people about (their) habits, traditions and forms of expression. In this context CFF is having a campaign to improve/replace the supposed congratulation song in Papiamentu ‘ Salú ku bolo’.

The text of this song to be improved is: ‘We want a drink and a cake. If there are none, we are leaving. On a horse.’ By analyzing this supposed congratulation song, one becomes aware of the fact that the person to be congratulated, is not being congratulated at all with this song. Even worse, the person to be congratulated doesn’t even appear once in the song. A congratulation of for instance a person whose birthday it is, or reference to his birthday is missing completely in this song.

Because of this, CFF is of the opinion that this song cannot and may not qualify as being a song to sing during a celebration. Different are thus ‘Happy Birthday to you’ in English, ‘Cumpleaños feliz, te deseamos a ti’ in Spanish and ‘Lang zal je leven’ in the Dutch language. In the Surinamese language they sing ‘A di mi yere yu ferjari, dang mi kon fersteri ju’ (When I heard that it’s your birthday, I came to congratulate you).

Mr. Christian A. Peterson and Ms. Maritza Beaujon, have composed a new song that can be sung at every celebration. Because they donated the intellectual property right of their composition to CFF, the composition of the new ‘Pabien’ is registered at the Bureau for Intellectual Property on behalf of the foundation.

To create a support base for the new congratulation song in Papiamentu, CFF is conducting a special internet campaign. In celebration of its twelfth-anniversary celebration on November 12, 2021, CFF will award a prize of USD 1,200.00 to the most impressive, heartwarming, and special performance of the song ‘Pabien’. At exactly 12.00 p.m. a prestigious jury will announce the winning entry via social media. People from all over the world can participate!*

Watch our video entries:

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Competition rules: 

Video clip recordings must be shared on social media channels with a reference to ‘CFF Pabien Challenge’. Sing and record as a group or alone, with or without an instrument, in your own original way, for up to 30 seconds to the melody of Happy Birthday with the lyrics of the “Pabien” song

“Pabien riba bo dia.

Nos tei pa kompartí.

Hopi aña, hopi aña, hopi aña felis!

Bo ta di fiesta, awe.

Nos tei pa selebrá.

Hopi aña,

Hopi aña,

hopi aña felis!”


Please submit video clip before coming October 31 at 12:00 AM.

Like, follow and tag us and send your video clip to one of our social media accounts.

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Andres Belloweg 3, Brievengat, Curaçao

Call Us: (5999) 737 7312