Helping kids reach their full potential through music.
Helping to start grassroots music programs in high-risk gangster areas, in order to bring generational change to communities.
Be part of the movement..
Bringing musical instruments in; getting gangsters out
Help us help kids reach their full potential through music.
Be part of the movement..
OUR STORY.
It's all about
role models...
"One does not simply STOP drinking coffee... you have to REPLACE it with something else!"
If you want to reduce the amount of coffee you drink, you have to introduce a new drink, like tea, to take it's place. You won't stop craving a hot beverage, but you can start replacing that beverage with an alternative.
This is the thinking behind Join Bands Not Gangs, whose founder Karien de Waal (a true coffee-holic) saw a gap for change in the notorious gangster landscape of Cape Town: Replacing gangs with bands.
The big appeal of gangsterism is that it provides some pivotal advantages to young adolescent boys and girls, especially from fatherless homes: A place of belonging, a place where you can gain respect in the eyes of your community, a place of safety after school, something bigger than yourself to belong to... as well as friendships, mentorships and even economic opportunities.
Gangsterism will not simply go away. It has to be replaced with something else.
And that special something, Karien believes, can be music...
The story so far...
Since 2018, we've used music to help gain access to the heart of communities, helping to bring change from within.
Our approach focused on three key areas: Gang prevention, gang intervention, and Pprofessional music opportunities.
Gang Prevention: Getting kids into music programs, in order to keep them positively busy and away from gang influence after school. (The classes have been a massive hit with the kids! At our peak we taught 17 music lessons per week.)
Gang Intervention: Connecting with active street gangs by firstly offering music lessons, and then - after building some rapport - present them with rehab options, and self-improvement courses to help young men break free from gang life. This approach eventually lead us to send 15 gangsters to various rehabilitation centers over the span of 3 years, many of whom changed their lives forever.
Professional Opportunities: Providing disadvantaged youth with real-world music experiences like songwriting competitions, live concerts and music videos, to give them new aspirational goals in life, as well as a platform to get started on their musical journey. We made 16 music videos over the span of 7 years, both for our own brand and for young, up and coming artists to serve as a stepping stone in their careers.
The biggest project we've worked on so far, is a song called "Wake Up Africa" which was sponsored by the SONY Global Social Justice fund and created work for over 50 people!
Where to from here...
The big picture
THE BIG PICTURE
The big picture for Join Bands Not Gangs is to be an organization that gives away musical instruments in order that the youth of South Africa can learn to play music. Africa is SO talented in music! We would love for more children to have the access to the opportunity to learn, while at the same time introducing a new breed of role models into the environment : Musicians, instead of gangsters!
The first 7 years of our organization was dedicated to establishing proof of concept. The big picture is to develop a scalable model, in which the communities themselves provide the lessons and Join Bands Not Gangs only provides music instruments.
To make donations, please click the link below. Currently all donations are going towards completing our documentary "Join Bands Not Gangs: The Way Out through music"
Join Bands Not Gangs is a Registered PBO with an 18a tax deductable status.
Some of our work
Our Theory of Change
"Join Bands, Not Gangs is a beautiful initiative."
- Mr. Dan Plato
Former Mayor of the city of Cape Town
- Hans Heuer
Musikhaus W. Heuer, Stellenbosch
"Our company has been collaborating with JBNG since Aug. 2018. After seeing them on national television, it was a logical decision to join the movement. I could sense the positive energy straight away. They have a great team. We support JBNG 100%"
- Hans Heuer
Musikhaus W. Heuer, Stellenbosch
"Our company has been collaborating with JBNG since Aug. 2018. After seeing them on national television, it was a logical decision to join the movement. I could sense the positive energy straight away. They have a great team. We support JBNG 100%"
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