SAAF BAND RESTORES HOPE TO CHILDREN

By Amn Nwabisa V. Dlevu, Ad Astra Magazine and photos by WO2 David Nomtshongwana

The South African Air Force (SAAF) Band performed at the New Hope School on 6 May 2010 in Menlo Park, eastern Tshwane. The band thrilled its audience with popular rhythms and specific melodies that depicted the culture of the SAAF. 

The key aim of the visit was to entertain and spend time with the children. New Hope is a school for disabled and chronically ill children. More than half of the 400 children are picked up from their homes every day, and 40 learners live in. 

Mr Jo Muller, the deputy principal, said that the school runs the same curriculum that is utilised in mainstream schools, and it takes children from pre-primary school to matriculation. The institute consists of 180 staff members, 60 of whom are educators and psychologists. 

One of the teachers who spoke to Ad Astra magazine, Mrs Michelle Grove, has been teaching for about seven years. She stressed the significance of being patient, loving and accepting these children for who they are. 

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