Musical youth given final chance

A dusty football pitch on a warm Monday morning 25 miles outside Pretoria is not the place where I expected to find an American-style marching band - but then again, I am quickly learning that anything is possible in this diverse and often inspiring country.

With the excavated earth of a diamond mine in the background, the Cullinan Field Band went through the routine that they will be playing at the closing ceremony of the World Cup at Soccer City in Johannesburg on 11 July.

The song was called Amavolovolo and was a soulful, uplifting number that was performed with skill and passion by children from the Refilwe township on the outskirts of Cullinan.

A steel band stood to one side, dancers smiled at the front, with brass and percussion following behind them; it was a surreal sight, the sort of thing I would expect to see at an American high-school football game.

Millions of people across the globe will hear the Cullinan Field Band at the World Cup final closing ceremony

Thirty of the performers I saw, most of whom were aged between 14 and 19, will join up with muscians and dancers from three other bands to perform at the final.

They were at the opening ceremony as well, displaying some of their formation routines. Such was the impact they made that they have now been invited back.

All well and good - but what is truly remarkable about this story is that many of the children who will be at the final have only been playing their instruments for a few years, in many cases since the arrival of Moira Thomas as band co-ordinator in 2008.

"I joined the band to see if it could change my life and it most definitely has," said tuba player Joel Stamboel. "Playing at the final would be an amazing opportunity for me."

All of the band came from the township, an area where unemployment is high and prospects are low. There was no doubt that being a member of the band had given them definition and purpose.

Stephen Sebidi, 19, had been playing the mellophone since the band was first formed in Cullinan in 2004 - and he was very clear about its impact on the community.

"There are a lot of drugs and problems in the township but children in the band normally do not fall under the influence of these bad things," he said. "It does a lot for the youth in Refilwe."

The vast majority of the children I spoke to expressed a desire to pursue music as a career once they had left school, while 18-year-old trumpeter Mashati Precious Mokoena was studying at the academy in Durban of the Field Band Foundation, which runs the programme in Cullinan.

The former owners of the mine, from which the huge Cullinan diamond was pulled out of the earth in 1905, sponsored the initiative and helped to cover the cost of the instruments, which were brought in from America.

Rehearsals take place twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, and the instruments are kept in the back of a truck in a secure compound when they are not being used.

All of this was explained to me by 24-year-old band co-ordinator Thomas, a truly selfless person who developed her love of marching bands while at a summer camp in Chicago.

"At least we are doing better than Bafana Bafana at the World Cup," said Thomas, who is originally from Kimberley.

"What we have done here in Cullinan is South Africanise the marching band, but when I arrived it was very difficult because some had never played an instrument at all."

Thomas is one of those rare individuals you meet in life who possesses energy and charisma which draws people in and inspires them.

Listening to Thomas talk to the band was captivating. "Donald, don't you let me down now my brother," she said, before explaining that she needed them all to perform with joy and conviction.

The band stood gathered around her in a semi-circle, hanging on every word while Thomas underlined her point with hand gestures.

Seconds after finishing she was laughing and smiling and it occurred to me that dealing with these children was very natural for her; she struck me as being a born leader.

"Where ever I can make a difference in a child's life that is where I need to be," explained Thomas.

"Just seeing the difference that you can make to a child's life - that is what motivates me every morning. It is what is within us as South Africans - we are there to try to inspire each other.

"The experience I had at the opening ceremony was the greatest ever. There were tears in my eyes watching the band and I cannot wait until the final on 11 July."

Many times since the World Cup started I have heard South Africans complain about the rough treatment they feel they have had in the British press.

They feel that stories about crime, corruption and the various other problems in South Africa have been over-hyped.

I am not sure whether their complaints are justified or not, but what I do know is that there are some amazing people here trying to make this country a better place. And Moira Thomas is one of them.

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