Give the joy of music to disabled kids in Lagos

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Hi,

My name is Kunbi Osinoiki and I run a music school in Lagos, Nigeria. On the 16th of June 2022, on my 50th birthday, I decided I would ask friends and family to support my ambition to reach children in undeserved communities in Nigeria with music. A few people kindly responded to my appeal and the Making A Difference (MAD) Initiative was born.

In October 2022, we had raised enough support to pay for a music teacher to teach in two schools in Lagos for one academic year.

One of the schools we chose is a school for children with special needs children in Lagos and we have been keeping a video blog of some of our sessions there on our YouTube channel. The joy that the children experience from the sessions is palpable and it is clear that many of them wish to go beyond merely singing but also wish to be able to make music too.

As many of the children have cerebal palsy, we decided we would try to teach the piano to the most able children, however, not wishing to be left out, ALL the children stay for the piano class, and they are ALL keen to have a go.

Their motor challenges mean that playing an instrument like the piano which requires well coordinated fine motor skills, will not be achievable for the majority of them.

This is where Soundbeam comes in. While searching the web for music learning strategies for people living with cerebral palsy, I came across soundbeam.co.uk. They have invented a fantastic instrument that hand gestures and even facial expressions can play. You can see the Soundbeam in action below:

Impressed by what I saw, I got in touch and was given an online demo by Adrian Price, who told me that they have never sold a Soundbeam to Africa. With your support, we can purchase the first of what I hope will be many of its kind for our dear continent.

As the principal of Great Expectations school shared in this video, music is life, and we would greatly improve the quality of life of these children if we can give them accessible music learning experiences.

Thank you for your support.x