It is said that music is the universal language of mankind and this statement found its expression when music united 500 kids participating in a holiday programme hosted by NPO Music Movement.
Music Movement was founded in 2021 by vocal coach Stacy De Villiers and co-director Doné Le Roux.  Having worked with a music-based educational programme for children from predominantly affluent schools, Stacy, who originally comes from Athlone on the Cape Flats, was stirred to offer something similar to children in previously disadvantaged communities.
âI really want to give children from underserved and under-resourced communities the opportunity to have the benefit of music at their disposal within a secure environment to aid their learning and development,â says Stacy.
Music Movement is a music-based education programme that aims to touch the lives of young children of ECD age, by supporting their educational development during their foundational years. The project was originally rolled out in 5 Cape Flats schools and impacted 200 learners during its first year.
At the start of this year, the programme launched in Philadelphia and quickly gained interest from the surrounding communities. Currently 11 schools are part of the programme from various Cape Flats and West Coast communities and the programme currently serves 330 learners across these schools weekly during the school terms.
The organisation partners with schools and offers one lesson per week as part of the school timetable. All materials used are original material developed by Stacy and Doné and are centred on four main experiences: language, music, imaginary play and nutrition.
The holiday club â a first of its kind in the area â is offered free to children from the community. The programme kicked off on Monday 4 July with 100 kids and runs for 2 and a half hours daily. The kids programme which ends on Thursday 7 July, increased to 200 kids on Tuesday and a total of 500 kids is expect on Thursday after which a workshop will be conducted with 55 principals and teachers in Atlantis on Friday.
âItâs been amazing to see various stakeholders rallying around our dream for these children,â says Stacy. âThe local Police from Philadelphia assisted with a field to host the kids as well as assisting with a pickup and drop off service to make sure the children arrive at the programme safely,â Stacy continued.
âWe are grateful to corporate sponsors like Sasol, Pick ân Pay and T&C Pools as well as Annieâs Angels for sponsoring the Astronaut costume to bring our theme to life, Trilogy for sponsoring lights and staging, Hewlin Compassion for providing meals for all of the children, Bethel Outreach for assisting with the cooking and volunteers to run the week and the many individuals that made cash contributions to enable the programme to run.â
Music Movement is a registered NPO and registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), which means all contributions are tax deductible.
Music Movement released an album this month which can be accessed on all music streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube music. For more information about the programme, to register your school or to become a sponsor please contact Stacy De Villiers on 061 448 6433 or stacy@musicmovement.co.za or visit www.musicmovement.co.za.
