Music to Save Lives

A project that uses music, dance and art to recover the dignity of our young people.

Music to Save Lives is a small NGO, created in 2005 in Kireka (Kampala), thanks to the support of a few Spanish associates and God parents, where we help children and young ugandan people to have a decent future in their own country. We do not abandon them until they can really stand on their own feet. This is the reason why we have young children, but also teenage boys and girls and young people. We educate them fully, giving them the love and formation that they could not receive in their environment and we help them to find their professional opportunities. For this we have trainers, psychologists and counsellors in all kinds of subjects. Nowadays, we have many people who can and do work in the world of medicine, tourism, new technologies, and many other classical professions. And we are proud of the great number of successes we have achieved during these past 18 years.

Surviving in a country where the lack of education and the consequences of poverty are so wide and cruel, is extremely hard. Sometimes it is almost heroic. Yet many of them are succeeding. For these children, who have had such hard beginnings, often have a surprising strength and are capable of great sacrifices and tremendous confidence, characteristics that enable them to overcome all the difficulties that the country itself inflicts on them.

On the other hand, having participated in numerous concerts and performances since day 1 here in Europe to raise funds for the project has given them the opportunity to discover their talent. They have travelled to Spain and Europe from day one. They have performed on numerous stages, big or small theatres, churches, multi-purpose halls, etc etc. They have received training, discipline, they have worked hard to prepare the tours, they have had great experiences, they have been exposed and therefore, they have acquired a great sense of presence on stage and performances. But mostly, these tours have given them the confidence they never had in their early age, and they definitely stick out among many other Ugandans.

Starting the project in 2005 in Africa, without knowing the country, the language, without knowing where to start (since a group of 20 kids had fallen on us) , and without knowing what we were embarking on, was our first challenge.  Keeping it alive after the 2008 crisis was the second challenge.   But taking them to maturity, making them come to face life in a different way and regain their self-esteem, and help them come to terms with their past or resolving its consequences, is the third challenge we have set ourselves in Music to save lives

Musica to save lives is registered in Spain and in Uganda and is recognised as a Charity Organisation, registered at the Ministery of  Interior in Spain and audited every year.

Why do I like this project?

I like this project because it gives me energy. There is a lot of energy in Africa. It is not always put to good use; but there is vitality and tremendous strength. There is a desire to do things. There is hope, there is enthusiasm and love, everything we miss in Europe. In Africa you find people like Nelson Mandela, a superior being, who only with his determination and sacrifice has been able to change the face of his country. You find people like Sarah, from Nigeria, who managed to survive after crossing the Niger desert (by foot!), Algeria and part of Libya to reach Spain. You meet people like Mummy Florence, an admirable woman from a Ugandan village, leader of a group of women abandoned by their husbands, caring for their children, all of them without money or food, able to create a solidarity fund to help them get ahead. And there are people like our children, who give us so much joy, love and hope on a daily basis. Children who had nothing, who had no future in the conditions in which they were and who can now live in their country, thanks to this project. All this gives us the strength to continue.

Elisabeth Michot de Jowers (President of Música para Salvar Vidas)

Musica Vibz Park