Ghetto Classics is transforming young lives in Nairobi, Kenya, through the power of classical music, offering a blend of classical education and life skills that guide kids away from crime and to a brighter future.
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00:00With your eyes closed and enjoying this music, can you guess where it's coming from?
00:08Surprisingly, it's from the ghettos of Kenya.
00:10This is how Simon and his companions from the slums perform their classical jazz music
00:16to their audience.
00:17Their group is known as the famous Ghetto Classics.
00:21Being a Ghetto Classics, I'll define it as a land of opportunities.
00:24It has given us lots and immense opportunities to learn music, number one.
00:29And number two, it also has helped us academically.
00:33But above all, you know, the main reason for Ghetto Classics is making music and making a difference.
00:48Trombone player Simon Mungai was born and bred in Korogosho, one of Kenya's largest slums.
00:54People here face severe economic challenges.
00:56How did it happen that he didn't fall for drugs or gangs like many other ghetto kids?
01:24And she's the one to make it all happen, Elizabeth Njoroge.
01:30Why did the pharmacist leave her career in 2008 to offer ghetto kids the opportunity to study music and play in orchestra?
01:53He reached out to me the following day and he said, oh, I've got these 14 children who sing in the church.
01:58Do you think you can teach them music?
02:00And at that time I was like, sure.
02:03But I was like, no problem. We can do this.
02:05And so I gathered a few teachers to come and they started teaching music to 14 singers.
02:10And that is what has grown into Ghetto Classics.
02:13I just feel that everybody deserves to have music in their lives.
02:16I think our biggest challenge was the life of the kids themselves.
02:20You have a child coming and then they disappear.
02:22You try to look for them, you find out that their life circumstances really are working against them.
02:28The other thing was finding the resources in terms of instruments, in terms of the teachers, in terms of the parts for the instruments, but also money to keep the lights on.
02:41Simon has been with the Ghetto Classics for over seven years.
02:45And the medical student has now even made it to the position of an instructor and a deputy conductor.
02:50What does he think?
02:52Is it true that underprivileged people have no understanding of classical music?
02:57Which is why crime prevention with classical music is supposed to work because the kids don't like the sound.
03:03They stay away. Is that true?
03:06Ghetto Classics dealt with instruments, especially Western instruments, things we had never seen in our life.
03:14We were used to guitars, you know, piano, keyboards, drum sets.
03:18And then all of a sudden you see trombones, trumpets, violins, things you have never seen.
03:25Giving back to Ghetto Classics, I'll say they have really helped us in our community, you know, shaped the life of many.
03:31So I decided to become a tutor, start mentoring other people to make sure more and more kids are being enrolled to the program.
03:45Since its inception, Ghetto Classics has not only perfected their talents, but also discovered a path to international stages.
03:54From performing for notable figures like Jill Biden, Barack Obama, Pope Francis and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, to traveling to the world.
04:04Today, Simon and his friends are rehearsing for another upcoming concert.
04:10For any performance, you have to go to preparations, including going to practices, of course.
04:14And make sure you know the music that's being played.
04:17Most of our music are chat music, so you have to read.
04:20So you have to be very good at reading. Make sure you go through your music beforehand. That's all I would say.
04:25The pieces that we play are picked by our music team.
04:28Western classical pieces that they feel teach something to the kids.
04:31The kids play with their heart when they are playing African songs.
04:34As long as they play well and they play with expression and they are giving what is coming out of their heart, I love what they play.
04:42Elizabeth has made life easier for many kids with the Ghetto Classics.
04:46And with the Safaricom International Jazz Festival, she has created a springboard and a platform where young music lovers from everywhere can meet.
04:57How do the kids, and especially the ghetto kids, benefit from these festivals?
05:02Our proceeds are not huge, but we work hard at getting partners who help us to pay school fees.
05:09From primary school level all the way to university level.
05:12So we look for partners who can give us in kind, in order to make sure the welfare of our kids is okay.
05:18Since its start, Ghetto Classic Music Program has involved more than 1,500 young people from the areas of Korogosho.
05:26How did life change for them?
05:27Over the years, I can 100% positively say that for most of the kids who come through, it is a positive experience.
05:34It's not like we go to each child and take them out of poverty.
05:39But I believe what we give them is the strength, the hope, the endurance and a desire for a better life.
05:50Ghetto Classic is like a home to me.
05:52Here I have made new friends who have now become like a family.
05:58Ghetto Classic is proof that music saves children from crime.
06:03Because music knows no boundaries and reaches from the ghetto out into the world.