Creating positive change through music education
The Playing For Change Foundation is a global nonprofit organization offering creative opportunities for marginalized youth, most specifically in the developing world.
Watch this video of our program leaders describing our work and our efforts to use music to end discrimination, end violence, and educate youth across the rural Udayapur region of Nepal.
Watch this video of our program leaders describing our work and our efforts to use music to end discrimination, end violence, and educate youth across the rural Udayapur region of Nepal.
Culture and environment are very intertwined here in M’hamid. The weather turns from blistering hot in the summer (reaching 130 degrees Farenheit regularly in July and August) to sandstorm season in March and April, which helps to propagate the date palm trees, the economic power in the region. Climate change is a very real presence locally, with little access to water becoming normal, and the encroachment of sand dunes onto precious farmland happening right now, working to disperse not only communities, but ancient traditions with them.
In M’hamid there is a great importance placed on the community and people moving together in groups. Whether it be families of 10 living under the same roof eating from the same central Tagine dish for their meals, or the ritual of preparing and sharing tea with whomever may be around, foreigner or local, the sense of inclusion is vital to the community. The passing down of music and poetry from generation to generation is another vital aspect of the community, as art and tradition serve as reassurances in a constantly changing world. It is the role of the youngest generation to learn from the past to bring the traditional Saharan art into future, so at to coexist with the modern.
The Bizung School of Music and Dance in northern Ghana takes the ancestral tradition of the Bizung “talking drum” to engage youth with cultural and music activities, which are otherwise not readily accessible in the urban community of Tamale. Programming includes traditional music, dance, as well as modern blues music and even an in-house studio for youth to record and learn new technological skills. The Bizung School reaches 90 youth per week.
Highlight: Promoting Identity – Performing traditional Bizung music for the tribal king as recently as PFC Day 2019.
Programa Musical Bogando in Quibdó, in the Choco region of Colombia, on the Western side of the country and is the result of a partnership between Fundación Piés Descalzos and Playing For Change Foundation aiming at harnessing the power of music as a catalyst for integral growth and positive change in the community.
In 2022,Playing For Change Foundation initiated a partnership with La Escuelita del Ritmo, a music school located in Portobelo, on the Caribbean coast of Panama and dedicated to using music as a tool for inclusion and social change. La Escuelita, created 12 years ago by music lover and philanthropist Gladys Palmera, transmits and preserves an intangible Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage.
Wicahpi Olowan Music Program Located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, USA, this dynamic music program creates new opportunities through music for Oglala Lakota youth in the region. Collaborating with local organization First Peoples Fund, PFCF has helped establish the Wicahpi Olowan (WO) music studio at the Oglala Lakota Artspace (OLA), which has already produced new music from local youth and musicians.
L’Ecole de Musique de Kirina in the rural community of Kirina in southern Mali was founded to use cultural heritage to change the lives of local youth. Many youth engage in the dangerous and even fatal practice of gold mining, and the high school graduation rates as well are very poor. Traditional music, dance, language lessons, and even gardening are offered at the program. It is the only cultural and youth organization in Kirina. L’Ecole reaches up to 100 youth per week.
Highlight: Gender Development – Weekly dance class with up to 100 girls. These activities for girls would otherwise not exist.
The Joudour Sahara Music Program in the small town of M’hamid el Ghizlane in southeastern Morocco serves as the only access point locally for youth to express themselves creatively. Joudour Sahara focuses on traditional music and dance from several diverse ethnic tribal groups who settled in the oasis of M’hamid from different corners of the Sahara desert centuries ago. The program also engages youth through blues music, dance, and community events. Joudour Sahara reaches 90 youth per week.
Highlight: Cultural Preservation – Preserving five ancestral distinct tribal music heritages, with previous support from the U.S. Embassy in Rabat through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
The Ubuntu Music Program in the capital of Kigali and the community of Masaka targets at-risk youth risk inside two elementary and high schools. Traditional drumming, dance and modern blues music, as well as sports are offered to students. Cultural activities for youth from the communities where the Ubuntu Music Program operates are not otherwise accessible. “Ubuntu” itself means “humanity towards others,” and the Ubuntu philosophy can be summed up as “I am because we are”. This program reaches 150 youth per week.
Highlight: Promoting Social Development and Youth Engagement – Providing otherwise inaccessible cultural and sports activities to youth.
The Imvula Music Program in the Gugulethu and townships surrounding Cape Town operates inside 10 elementary and high schools in some of the poorest communities in the Cape Town region. African styles of music and modern blues music are offered to local students. In the face of extreme inequality, the Imvula program ensures that youth from the most marginalized communities have access to express themselves creatively. Cultural activities would otherwise not be available to them. The Imvula program reaches 300 youth per week.
Highlight: Social Development – Fighting despondency and instilling hope in youth from impoverished neighborhoods.
The Mirpur Music Program , located in the Mirpur slums within the larger municipality of Dhaka, offers free music programming to the poorest youth. Some locals live on as little as $50 / month. Poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition are devastating locally. Albeit a small team locally, this program provides regular programming to over 900 youth across several elementary schools locally. Musicalization, rhythm exercises, and traditional songs are offered.
Highlight: Youth Engagement – Without the Mirpur program, these youth would not have access to music and dance activities.
The Cajuru Music Program in Cajuru, Brazil drives youth development and social cohesion in the suburb of the larger urban center of Curitiba, just a few miles away. The program’s leaders use music as a tool for education to reach local youth, instilling self-confidence, providing structured and supervised activities, and promoting a larger sense of community. The program reaches 60 youth per week.
Highlight: Youth Engagement – In a high-density community, the Khlong Toey program is the only local program that offers free music lessons to children from the poorest households.
The PFC Patagonia: Cinco Saltos began as an artistic and cultural alternative to help counterbalance social issues among youth. Since 2018 over 70 students are attending the program where they’re given an opportunity to learn guitar, percussion, vocals and participate in regular audio recording and Hip Hop workshops.
Highlight: The program is operating in 2 locations in Cinco Saltos where cultural opportunities for youth are lacking.
The PFC Patagonia: Paso Córdoba – Neuquén is located on the south bank of the Río Negro in a protected natural area. This school was built entirely with local and natural materials and is owned and managed by our partners at Aldhyana Foundation, created by Jorge Amaolo, co-founder of this program.
Highlight: Highlight: Promoting Identity and Skills Learning – PFC Patagonia collaborates with the indigenous Mapuche community, teaching music and digital literacy, and technical digital skills.
The PFC Diamante program located in the city of Diamante, north of Buenos Aires, offers guitar, percussion, accordion singing lessons, as well as traditional music programming to local youth. Diamante is the only access point for local youth to engage with music and the arts. Renowned musician Lee Oskar has partnered with Diamante to provide harmonicas and harmonica lessons.
Highlight: Youth Engagement – Diamante is the only center available to local youth to access music and the arts.
The Khlong Toey Music Program in the Khlong Toey slum serves some of the poorest and most marginalized youth in Thailand. Resources, opportunities, and expectations for a bright future are scarce in this community. Modern music instruments and ensemble performance are offered at this program. In 2012, this program had up to 4 volunteers, a few instruments, and a few students. Now, there are 10 staff members, over 100 instruments, and 80 youth who attend regularly.
Highlight: Youth Engagement – In a high-density community, the Khlong Toey program is the only local program that offers free music lessons to children from the poorest households.
The Kathmandu Music program brings music and arts education to young children and teenagers who live in the capital city of Nepal. Our work in Kathmandu started over 10 years ago, at the Mitrata home, an orphanage where we provided music lessons to hundreds of kids during more than a decade.
Highlight: Social Cohesion – Mitrata targets the most at-risk youth and works to build inclusivity.
The Musica Music Institute in Lalitpur, Nepal, just outside the capital of Kathmandu, began in a drum shop and has expanded into the current program reaching 60 youth each week. The program offers vocals, keyboard, guitar and drums classes. The program has expanded to also include access to computers, and the ability to introduce recording classes and is hosting public performances so the students can showcase what they’ve learned.
Highlight: Professional Development – Musica student Anu has proven a bright star and model for other youth in Lalitpur.
The Udayapur Music Program is also located in Tintale Village, as well as two other locations in the towns of Katari and Gaighat. Udayapur reaches almost 200 youth between 3 locations, providing music education, as well as other music and dance activities. Facing major obstacles due to class inequality, the local team has worked for over a decade to prove to community members that music can be a powerful tool to tell the stories from the community and promote community development. Both the Mother’s Society and Udayapur programs are now well established in their communities.
The Tintale Village Mothers Society located in the Udayapur district in eastern Nepal, is one of the poorest and most marginalized communities in all of Nepal. Began as a movement among 35 local women to change their lives and daughters’ futures, the Mother’s Society has reached thousands of community members across villages spread throughout the region. They use music and dance to engage community members and have real conversations about the dangers of sex-trafficking, early marriage, domestic abuse, sustainable incomes through livestock and sewing, among many other themes.
Highlight: Gender Development – Reaching upwards of 400 women and girls in recent visit to remote Hill Tribe Region. Gender development activities are otherwise not accessible.
The Baja Musical Arts Initiative, , located in Tijuana, turns music education and orchestral performance into tools for social cohesion in a community overwhelmed by gang violence. Choir classes, body movement, harmony, as well as instrument classes are offered to youth. Program leaders use these classes as tools to build a sense of teamwork, and provide community concerts to show family members and the community at large the fruits of their children’s efforts.
Highlight: Promoting Identity – Building self confidence among youth who are most prone to join gangs.
The Salam Music Program , is located in the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, in Northern Uganda, which is the largest refugee camp in Africa. Playing For Change Foundation has partnered with local NGO Sina Loketa to bring access to music and arts education to the youth of the settlement. In 2021, we initiated musical activities for about 60 youth by hiring a music teacher ( vocals, guitar, keyboard ) and a traditional dance teacher. The staff is now composed of 8 members.
Highlight:Our partner Sina Loketa is a refugee led Ugandan NGO dedicated through strengthening capacities of young people from the refugee and host communities.
The Cahuita Music Program , The Cahuita Music program was inaugurated in February 2022, in the town of Cahuita located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. This project is the result of a partnership between PFC Foundation, UNFPA and Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Cahuita.
Highlight:The program focuses on transmitting the afrodescendente musical culture of the Calypso and offers classes in guitar, dance, percussion and keyboard. PFCF and UNFPA are joining forces to invest in cultural wealth so as to help balance other local economic, social, and educational disparities and help create bright futures for all of the adolescents students through music, art, life skills and social impact.
The Zaatari Music Program , has been established in northern Jordan, inside the Zaatari refugee camp, where over 100,000 Syrian refugees have settled over the last decade. In collaboration with our esteemed partners at Questscope and Dream Day, we are offering complimentary music lessons across various instruments and disciplines, all facilitated by talented musicians from the Zaatari refugee community.
PFCF Miami – YMU , PFCF and local Miami organization Young Musicians Unite have teamed up to widen access to music activities for youth across the Wynwood and Citrus Grove communities in Miami! Daily music education programming takes place at Citrus Grove Middle School and regular afterschool programming occurs at the innovative YMU Studio in Wynwood!
Program in development
PFCF Miami – OYC , PFCF has partnered with Overtown Youth Center to bring music to youth in the Overtown area of Miami, including at the beautiful new OYC space! DJ Khaled’s We The Best Foundation and Guitars Over Guns also joined this coalition to bring positive change to Overtown youth.
Program in development
Arawiy Music Program The Arawiy Music Program is based in Cusco Peru, and is dedicated to provide music education and training to the youth of Cusco and its region.
This project started in 2023 in the community of Cachimayo, located in the outskirts of Cusco. Free music and dance classes are taking place on a bi-weekly basis at the Sagrado Corazon School in Cachimayo, driven by 4 experienced and dedicated teachers offering training in sikuri (traditional flute), guitar, percussion and vocals.
PFCF Barbados , PFCF is working with local musicians in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgetown, Barbados to bring music into the Nightingale Children’s Orphanage. This program utilizes contemporary music classes, music therapy activities, and individualized music lessons for orphans with disabilities to engage this underserved population. The program is led by Sherry Ann Maughan, an experienced and charismatic gospel vocalist and music teacher from Trinidad who has been living in Barbados for several years.
Program in development
