Music education can help at-risk kids stay in school and out of drugs and violence, research indicates. And keeping kids off the streets is exactly what the Caacupé Music School, a free, after-school program in Buenos Aires’ 21-24 Shantytown, aims to do. For the past six years, four paid teachers and four volunteers have given lessons in singing, guitar, piano, violin, and a host of other instruments. They hope to instill a love of music in their students and keep them in school.

Listen to the report by Eilis O’Neill in Buenos Aires:

Argentina music school

According to Jonathan Jansen, a renowned professor at the University of the Free State, thousands of children fail in South Africa’s poor education system every year. However, 26-year-old Lonwabo and several other young men are trying to counter that with a non-profit organization they founded, called Unako. They provide mentorship to school children and also help schools in poor communities to build libraries.

Listen to the report by Faatimah Hendricks in Cape Town:

Opening doors for Cape Town kids

In an underprivileged neighborhood in the Polish city of Lublin, alcohol is a serious problem and most of the kids here grow up with single parents who don’t give them the attention they need. That’s where Kasia comes in. The young engineer coordinates a group of volunteers who spend time with the kids after school, helping with homework and playing games. As reporter Magdalena Fijalkowska found out, it’s not just the kids who are benefitting, but Kasia as well.

Listen to the report by Magdalena Fijalkowska:

Earning trust one child at a time

In Pakistan, being a school teacher is looked down on. But that doesn’t stop 24-year-old Farrukh from following his passion and teaching kids from some of the country’s most socially disadvantaged areas.

Listen to the report by Haya Fatimah Iqbal in Karachi, Pakistan:

Pakistani teacher sacrifices respect to help kids in need

Jay, 28, is passionate about preserving traditional African dance – and about watching out for the street kids in the impoverished city of Accra. She and her husband Nii, a drummer, have founded a dancing troupe whose purpose is not only to spread West African dance theater but also to improve local children’s lives.

In James Town, a poor neighborhood of Accra, children are likely to wander around all day among garbage and open sewage and have little chance to go to school, since their families cannot afford to send them and to buy them what they need. Through their artistic performances abroad and their music and dance workshops in Accra, Jay and Nii were able to raise enough money to give 50 kids a safe place on the seaside where they can play and study without leaving their neighborhood and their families.

The center was opened in 2007 and, since then, they have built a shed for outdoor activities, a dormitory for kids who can stay with them during the academic year and a classroom. Within their means, they provide them with school uniforms, school supplies and books. Jay recently became a mother herself, and her baby girl is the 51st child she cares for.

Listen to the report by Gaia Manco:

Ghanaian choreographer looks after street children

In this picture, reporter Gaia Manco is filming with with her little helpers, some of the kids that live at the shelter. Among them is Steven, an 8-year-old boy that came toward her and my husband when they were walking on the beach of James Town. Despite being a beautiful spot in the oldest area of Accra, the beach is currently degraded – and used as a public toilet and a dump. Steven said with pride, “Come and see where I live.” Jay said she was so proud that a boy who could barely speak when they met him was able to politely address strangers in English. While all the rest of the kids fought to be in front of the camera, Steven stayed behind Gaia. He wants to become a director one day.

Read more about Jay and Nii’s foundation here.

High up in the Andes, a new climate project called “Valley and earth for our children” is teaching young village children how to grow plants and get to know Mother Nature and how to better protect her. The young woman who founded the program in northern Chile allocates each child with his or her own small plot of land on which they have free rein to plant and design as they see fit. The young climate campaigners are already planting trees for their next big project – a forest for children. Watch this DW video to see how.

A young woman in New Delhi opens up the world of music to at-risk kids. Many of them have been traumatized and abandoned, but Faith, 23, gives them self-confidence and new skills with her organization, Music Basti.

From reporter Aletta André:

The moment we walk into the Kushi Home, Faith Gonsalves is surrounded by girls who demand her attention. “Didi, didi,” they yell at her: “Big sister.”

More than 100 girls between the ages of six and 14 live in the Kushi Home, in an industrial area in the southern outskirts of India’s capital New Delhi. Some of them might be orphans, some have run away from their homes, while others have families incapable of taking care of them.

Faith, a 23-year-old from New Delhi, has earned her popularity. For the past four years, she has been devoting most of her time to children like the girls living here, by teaching them music.

“The far majority of the children that we work with have been sexually abused,” Faith told me just about an hour before reaching the home, when we first met in a café in one of Delhi’s wealthier areas. It is impossible not to remember this while looking at all those girls, running around the playground, posing for my pictures and demanding attention from their didi.

A singer and music-lover herself, Faith knew that music can help children immensely, not only to enjoy life and forget their problems, but also to develop communication skills and to boost their confidence. To teach music and music appreciation to so-called children-at-risk, she decided to start up the project Music Basti in 2008 when she was still a college student at Delhi University.

Music Basti now organizes several workshops in singing and playing instruments every week, the occasional music performance and even launched an album with songs by the children last year. The project works together with dozens of other organizations and has worked with a few hundred volunteer teachers and musicians. It reaches out to more than 400 girls and boys in places such as Kushi Home.

Listen to the report:

New Delhi Music Basti

Tiffany Tiberghien wanted a job that had meaning. For this 24-year-old Parisienne, that meant putting her Christian faith into practice. When she was 21, she spent a year working as a missionary in Vietnam, where she dedicated herself to children who had been abandoned because of their physical or mental disabilities. It was a life-changing experience. “When you give love, you get it back several times over,” Tiffany said.

When she returned to Paris, she decided to find similar work closer to home. She now organizes a chaplaincy for teenagers in the East of Paris – a place where often poor and isolated children can come and talk.

Listen to the report by John Laurenson:

Mission possible in Paris

Writing can sometimes be like pulling teeth, especially if you’re a kid. Luckily there’s a creative writing place for children where missing teeth is no big thing. Welcome to 826 Valencia, a nonprofit organization (and pirate supply store) where 23-year-old Amy Langerer shares her own passion for writing.

Amy is one of many volunteers at 826 Valencia, which helps teachers inspire students to write, through after school programs, in-class tutoring, evening and weekend workshops, and collaborative story-writing sessions. Any one can help and any kid can sign up. In its 10th year, 826 Valencia has generated so much buzz and a lengthy waiting list. Other cities across the United States have also adopted the same model, with 826 National programs in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, DC.

Listen to the report by Melanie Sevcenko:

The power of words

Learn more about 826 Valencia on its website.

Listen to André Leslie’s portrait of Kim Michel for Pulse here:

Equine therapist opens doors for disabled children

Treating disabled kids is no easy job. But one young woman – Kim Michel – has been doing it on her own now for 5 years. The 29-year-old is one of the few exponents of equine therapy in Germany.

It’s believed that through their interaction with horses, disabled children can improve their body movement, self-confidence and general wellbeing. Most of Kim’s patients are young children who have a disability of some kind.

We went to visit Kim on her farm in Reichenberg in southwest Germany and watch her at work. Take a look at the video here. (Film by Chiponda Chimbelu)