Day 5: Milton Margarita School for the blind and SOS children’s orphanage

Ballanta Teaching - Today was our second day of teaching at the Academy of Music. Pretty shortly after we arrived at the school (around 10) we started teaching. It was mainly the same students as yesterday but there were also some people we hadn’t met before. We were able to get more comfortable with teaching and with the students themselves, and sometimes hear that our teaching had helped. After teaching we did two outreach concerts: one at Milton Margai school for the blind and one at the SOS children’s orphanage. The children were all so enthusiastic, there was dancing all around and lots of singing along with the band. I think it was a moving experience for everyone, especially the first concert at the school for the blind. When the children sang as a thank you after our performance there were tears from some of us. It was incredible to witness the determination and talent of these children in a place where there’s not much reward available for having it. We were all grateful for the opportunity to share our music and hear theirs. Today will be one of the most important memories of our lives, and that’s because of the generosity and kindness of the people here. Being able to teach and learn from the people of Sierra Leone is meaningful for all of us, and we’re happy to be able to play our music as thanks. Written by Adelaide

JTR Teaching - The day began with the end of a huge storm, which had kept Monty up the previous night and made him grouchy in the morning! In torrential rain, we went straight to JTR, this time with a bit more confidence in our teaching. We received another warm welcome from the pupils, despite great disappointment from his princess that Gabe had gone to Ballanta. The lessons ran more smoothly overall, despite the high humidity, and from there we moved on to Ballanta where we enjoyed the end of a concert by the musicians and had lunch. Our concert at the School for the Blind was the highlight of today, as the children danced and sung passionately to our music. It proved very moving as well, as a lot of the Wells group were left in tears. Finally, we moved on to the orphanage, where the crowd were equally interactive, particularly to the song ‘Blame it on the Boogie’. On returning to our hotel, everyone was shattered and ready for another great meal out at ‘Papaya’. Written by Buck

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