Thirty kilometres outside Ermelo, Mpumalanga, some children at Umzimvelo Agricultural School walked for hours each day to attend classes. Opportunities for additional activities, particularly music lessons, were limited.
But maths teacher Cea du Plooy had an idea.
She had established the Shabach music initiative in Ermelo, bringing together six qualified music teachers willing to share their skills in their spare time. There was just one problem. They had only two keyboards and were using Sunday-school rooms at a local church for their lessons.
When Cea heard of Proud Partners' music initiatives, she contacted us.
Inspired by her enthusiasm, Proud Partners donated five keyboards and two guitars to Shabach, allowing the teachers to offer affordable individual and group lessons to the community.
But the music didn't stop there.
Following the successful model developed at Belhar, Proud Partners extended the initiative to three schools: Umzimvelo Agricultural School, Ermelo English Primary School and Nooitgedacht Primary School.
Each received a keyboard, while Proud Partners funded weekly music lessons for six Grade 5 learners and six teachers, two of each from every school.
In return, each participating teacher undertook to teach two more children, allowing the benefits to spread even further.
From two keyboards and a handful of dedicated teachers, a growing network of musical opportunities began taking shape.