Music Hub’s top brass donation
Council department sends broken instruments to repair workshop
HILLINGDON Council’s Music Hub has donated more than 90 old instruments to Brass for Africa, a charity that works with disadvantaged children in Uganda and Liberia.
Although it is not economically viable to repair the council’s old but functioning brass instruments here in the UK, the Brass For Africa project was very keen to take them.
The charity helped set up Uganda’s only instrument repair workshop, training local children and equipping them with the skills to repair and maintain the instruments.
A number of Brass for Africa’s trainees have gone on to work for other organisations, including the Ugandan Military Band.
Disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, orphans, ex-street children and refugees in Uganda and Liberia will also get the opportunity to learn and perform using the instruments Hillingdon Council has donated.
Brass for Africa currently supports nine brass bands projects for children living in Ugandan orphanage homes.
Cllr David Simmonds, cabinet member for education and children’s services, said: “Hillingdon Music Hub is glad of this opportunity to help disadvantaged children in Uganda, by donating these old brass instruments.
“We hope they will enable children to play and create music and also give them the opportunity to learn technical workshop skills.”
Jim Trott, executive director at Brass for Africa, said: “The fantastic donation from Hillingdon Music Hub of over 90 used brass instruments is gratefully received by us here at Brass for Africa.
“This is a hugely enabling donation.
“Brass instruments are the lifeblood of our music education programmes and this significant donation will allow us to provide many extremely disadvantaged children in Africa with the life changing and enhancing opportunity to learn and play music.”
Brass for Africa are now busy fundraising to ship the instruments to Kampala in the very near future.
Go to the campaign page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving. com/fund/brasstoafrica.