Musical memories inspiring Ugandans
ARETIRED brass band member is raising money to send instruments to Uganda by selling booklets of drawings and stories about his childhood memories.
Geoffrey Howard, 76, has been a brass band player since the age of 12 and moved to Southport six years ago where he played the cornet in the town’s Marshside Brass Band.
He has recently had to retire due to ill health, and is now raising money to send instruments to children in the deprived African village of Kamuli, 100 miles from the capital Kampala.
Geoffrey said: “These kids have nothing much in their lives. So providing them with instruments is just giving them that something extra” extra.”
Through Facebook, Geoffrey found Tibagalika Geofrey, a college graduate from Kamuli who is teaching around 80 children how to play an instrument.
Geoffrey said: “He’s a brilliant trumpet player and is teaching children how to play brass instruments. “He has about 80 students and only 20 instruments. I send over mouth- piecesp because they’re all sharingin the same one.
“We keep in touch online an and he’ll let me know how the ki kids are doing and will send me so sound clips from their classes.”
Geoffrey has given music sheets, CDs, and mouthpieces to the village, and has also managed to send his first instrument there.
He said: “To send over just one instrument costs me about £70 to £80, which is probably more than the instrument is worth itself!”
To help fund the postage prices, Geoffrey has been putting together booklets of stories and drawings from his childhood and has managed to raise £200 by selling them.
He said: “I have been putting together a booklet of drawings of tales from when I was a little lad.
“They’re just daft and funny but people seem to like them.
“If I can raise some money then I can send out another cornet or trombone.”
And it’s not just money that he needs. Geoffrey has been asking people to donate instruments so he can send them to Uganda.
He said: “We all have a spare recorder somewhere in a drawer from when our kids tried to take it up. So it doesn’t have to be just brass. “These children love music and are keen to learn so it would be a pleasure for them to have even a recorder.” Geoffrey is collecting items to send over and has a couple of instruments waiting to be posted.
He said: “When I had to retire due to arthritis and other illnesses, it absolutely devastated me. I’ve been in a brass band for 65 years so this has given me something to give back.”
If you would like to donate an instrument or buy one of Geoffrey’s booklets of poems and drawings you can email him on: geoffh41@live. co.uk or phone him at: 01704 225656.