Buying Container Loads of Musical Instruments -

For some time now, Food for the Poor, through the generosity of its donors, has been buying container-loads of musical instruments and sending them to the poorest areas of our countries, to schools and communities, hoping that the young people who receive them will choose a musical instrument over a knife or gun. The program has been successful beyond our expectations. On a visit to Cite Soleil, in Haiti, considered one of the most dangerous slums of the Western Hemisphere, a newly formed musical group, proudly brandishing their recently acquired instruments, played for us the most soulful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that I had ever heard. It’s ironic that my most emotional response to our national anthem happened in the worst slum of the Caribbean. Amazingly, they had received those instruments only a few months before. Music victorious over violence; the sound of music conquering the blast of gunfire!In my most recent trip to Nicaragua, we were welcomed at one of our Angels of Hope orphanages by a marching band of boys and girls from a nearby high school. It was amazing to look at the faces of the young people as they played their horns and drums. There was the fire and energy of passion in their eyes and great joy in their faces and smiles. The entire group that traveled with us felt truly welcomed!

Some weeks ago I traveled to Honduras and landed in the beautiful city of San Pedro Sula. My very first visit was my very favorite of the entire trip. We had sent a variety of instruments to this city and a talented musician and teacher called “Fonchin” (don’t ask – we Hispanics have a strange relationship with nicknames!) decided that he was going to use a number of these instruments and begin a music school for underprivileged kids. Anyone who knows of my love of the arts would realize how thrilled I would be with this type of project; particularly since that evening they were performing their first public concert in my honor. I felt like royalty!

Considering that we had sent them the musical instruments only 3 months before my visit, I was expecting to hear a few scales and at best some simple songs that could be performed with a few chords. Instead, they played Bach, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Beethoven… I was stunned! Did they make mistakes? Many. Did they detract from the joy of listening to them? Not at all. There were solos, duets, trios and quarters that showcased the shining stars of their talent and the errors here were almost eliminated. Yet, my greatest joy was listening to the songs of the entire ensemble and seeing the look of pride and joy in their faces as they made every effort to entertain their appreciative audience. But that wasn’t all, immediately after the concert was over, the kids went directly back into the practice rooms and started practicing their respective instruments. Talk about devotion to their art! We are sending them some violins and kettledrums soon, as a complement to their existing instruments. These were kids that may never have had the opportunity to hold a musical instrument in their hands – and now they were music lovers and musicians!!!

There was something that truly saddened me, though. Before the concert, I was taken on a tour of the facility. The building is large, the walls are solid, but unfortunately the roof is severely damaged which caused many of the rooms on one side of the building to be flooded from the previous day’s rain. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The roof was made of materials containing asbestos. If it were in the U.S., the building would have been condemned, but in San Pedro, they had no other choice. I promised them that as soon as they sent us a project proposal for the replacement of the roof we would try to get one or more of our caring donors to save those beautiful children from that dangerous hazard. I have faith that it won’t be long…

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