A group of children playing string instruments, including violins and a cello, in a room with peeling walls and small windows.

Your Giving Creates Music, Opportunity, and Hope.

It costs USD 600 per year or 50 USD per month to support one young person for an entire year — including meals, school support, safe spaces, music training, life skills, and mentorship.

Your partnership could help us scale:

  1. Youth leadership training

  2. Instructor training and job creation

  3. Safe spaces for girls

  4. Expansion of music centres

  5. Creative economy career pathways

3% Cover the Fee

Where Your Contribution Goes

  • A woman singing or speaking with music stands and bottles nearby while a man playing the violin reads music in a room with musical notes on the wall.

    Music Education

    Your gift provides instruments, training, uniforms, and ongoing mentorship for children in our community orchestras and school programs.

  • A young boy with dark skin practicing a balancing pose on one leg in a warehouse or gym with tires in the background, dressed in a t-shirt and pants.

    Sponsor a Student

    Help a young musician access lessons, rehearsals, school support, and participation in life-changing performances.

  • People planting young plants in a hole on a hillside surrounded by soil and small plants.

    Social Welfare & Family Support

    Many of our young musicians come from challenging environments. Your donation helps us provide essentials such as food packages, school support, and safe spaces.

  • Three girls working in a vegetable garden next to a house, with plants and a metal fence in the background.

    Special Projects

    Fuel innovation through initiatives like the SANARA Project (sponsored by Mastercard Foundation), designed to expand creative access and empower youth.

A young boy sitting on a bench inside a spacious room playing a clarinet. The room has a high ceiling supported by wooden beams and large murals painted on the walls, depicting various scenes and figures.

Partner With Us to Transform Lives and Youth Opportunity Through Music & Dance in Kenya

Ghetto Classics — our flagship programme — currently engages 752 young people every week across some of the most underserved communities in Nairobi and Mombasa. These youth receive structured music and dance instruction, mentorship, and psychosocial support that strengthens not only their artistic abilities but their confidence, discipline, teamwork, and long-term employability.

Our reach spans five active programmes: Korogocho – 211 youth, Mukuru – 275 youth, Mombasa – 183 youth, Girls’ Dance Programme – 21 participants, Ngong Go-Green Environmental Programme – 62 youth.

Across all sites, students participate in 8 structured trainings per month, delivered by 42 instructors, many of whom came through the programme themselves — a powerful indicator of sustainable, locally generated talent and leadership.

A woman playing the trumpet, with her eyes closed, wearing earrings and a black jacket.

Youth Empowerment & Job Creation Through Music

A defining feature of Ghetto Classics is its youth-to-instructor pipeline. For every 50 students trained, approximately 10 progress into paid teaching roles — a 20% conversion rate.

This means your support does not just help young people gain musical skills; it directly supports:

  1. Job creation within the creative sector

  2. Leadership development for high-potential youth

  3. Income pathways for young adults who otherwise face limited opportunities

  4. Role modelling within the community

  5. Locally led, sustainable youth programming

This is arts education as a workforce development strategy linking creativity to livelihood.

2025 Impact Highlights

This year alone, we have:

  1. Held 24 public events, engaging families and generating KSh 4,822,767 in local fundraising, building locally led sustainability.

  2. Provided leadership and life-skills training to 50–70 students per session during school holidays.

  3. Run monthly mentorship gatherings for older youth, especially those preparing for work or transitioning into teaching roles.

  4. Supported a football programme with 25–30 youth, fostering teamwork and belonging.

  5. Hosted monthly women’s circles reaching 25–30 young women, building agency and resilience.

These are tangible, measurable outcomes shaping the future of young people in communities where opportunity is often scarce.

A Scalable, Locally Led Model that creates real jobs for the youth with the youth

The Art of Music Foundation’s approach is deliberately sustainable:

  1. 42 instructors are now locally trained and employed.

  2. Young people receive mentoring, structured programming, and pathways into paid work.

  3. Community events and performances generate revenue and visibility.

  4. A new greenhouse initiative will generate steady annual income to support youth programmes.

This is a model built in Kenya, for Kenya, with potential for replication across East Africa.