December update!
After school closed for the holidays, we returned to the US to share the message of ESK more broadly. We were incredibly fortunate to receive kind donations from several individuals and organizations, including Meyer Music in Grand Rapids, the People to People Project in Pennsylvania, and the Fieldston School in New York City.
Each donated several violins and violas, meaning we increased our instruments from 8 to 26! We were equally fortunate to have a number of friends traveling from the US to Kenya in January, meaning we were able to bring back all of our instruments without additional cost.
Growing by leaps and bounds: January and February
Once school resumed in January, we were able to welcome another 36 students to our program, bringing us to a total of 60 young musicians. By mid-February several of our first students were advanced enough to become “helpers,” teaching the beginners. This has been a big help and will enable us to grow even faster, once we have more instruments.
Because of the speed of our students’ progress and the success of our first concert, we have now been invited to perform at other schools, churches, and community centers around Nairobi. In March, we expect 3 concerts, with one coming up at Moi Avenue Primary tomorrow afternoon!
We also received more great news in February: the Martyn Donaldson Trust in the UK decided to donate $750 to help us grow. This means we can purchase our first cellos, which we are very excited about.
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| Students from our new groups started in January |
Looking forward
We’re more excited than ever to grow our program in 2015. We’ve already been approached by teachers in our Primary School, who say that over 200 students have asked if they can take part in our program. We also have been approached by several other schools and organizations in Nairobi about setting up new programs.
Our new goal is to find a source for more used instruments, so we can expand to more children. All our teachers are volunteering, so our expenses currently remain low. Once we receive another 30 instruments, we will reach enough students to approach larger organizations to provide longer-term funding. This will allow us to pay ourselves and give ESK the ability to expand and set a foundation for future. If you are interested in helping to fund El Sistema Kenya, this will go a long ways towards helping us expand our program beyond Kawangware to other areas in Nairobi and across the country, spreading the joy of music and creating positive change in these communities.
Thanks again for all your support and please let us know if you are ever in Kenya and able to see us in action!
