We strongly urge that the MEED review and rescind its decision to no longer allocate classes on Saturdays from 8:30am-1pm to our music project, Ronnie Samaai Music Education Project (RSMEP), which has been operating at the MEED building in Nooiensfontein Road for the past 20 years.
At the end of 2016 we were notified that the building will not be available for our music project anymore. Reasons: upgrading and will be opening up the building to NGO’s. The RSMEP is a registered NPO serving the greater community of Kuils River as well as Khayelitsha & Nyanga.
MEED building is the ideal venue for music education, our children need to have a place where they are safe, can learn and experience the art ofclassical music & music theory.
The University Of Stellenbosch has partnered with our project and 10 of our 12 teachers are from the University, volunteering their time every Saturday.
“Playing for A Future” project from Oslo, Norway, has also partnered with us and every year for the past 7yrs, 2-3 of our students were invited (all expenses paid) to partake in the Valdres Sommersymfoni in Oslo. On previous occasions we received donations of instruments from them. On 28 Nov 2016 the project leader of “Playing for a Future”, Prof Alf Richard Kraggerud, came to our year- end concert and sponsored one of our students with free singing opera lessons and gave a monetary donation for the teachers.
The HCI foundation is another one of our partners, sponsoring the cost of a bus service from Golden Arrow Foundation to transport our children from Khayetlitsha & Nyanga to Kuilsriver every Saturday.
Our project has a proven success rate and all this will be lost because we do not have a venue, and because of this poor decision, our children will be robbed of a potentially great future.
We, the undersigned, are concerned parents who urge the leaders of MEED to act now:
1) We want MEED to make their venue available
2) We need this venue as we serve the community
3) It’s a safe place for our children and encourage classical music & music theory
4) Our children will lose the opportunity to exchange with other cultures and overseas travels.
5) We will lose our partners who has so diligently sponsored us for many years.
Updates
February 20, 2017
I am currently organizing all our paperwork for a formal meeting with the district office. Your stories about what this music program means to these students are powerful and I will be bringing them to the table.
February 20, 2017
The momentum is undeniable. This level of support proves our community understands the value of this space for our students.
Reached 100 supporters
February 20, 2017
45 Comments
I am a student at RSMEP and I love music and I loved everything I have learned these past years and it sad to sad to know that we don't have a place where we can continue to learn the value of music
This project is like a family ❤ I would not be doing what I am doing now had it not been for the Ronnie Samaai Music Education Project!
In a day and age where our youth is being lost to drugs, gangsterism and hopelessness, it is tragic to see how government bureaucracy and sentiment is robbing our children of an opportunity to express themselves musically, building each other up and causing anything but harm. Wake up sleepers!
This central venue has given hope to thousands of marginalized young people who are today following successful music careers and have beaten the scourge of poverty.
Weve been using this venue for almost 20years. Now tht we are a registered NGO we are without a venue. This project was established by Ronnie Samaai upon request of the NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION and launched on 18 March 1997 by the late Lord Yehadi Menuhin whos foundation "violins for Africa" donated the first violins of the project.
I as a parent would love to ask dearly our government to accommodate this brilliant program of RSMEP to have its own building to teach our children
Open the venue please
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via . Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Copy link or share directly
We strongly urge that the MEED review and rescind its decision to no longer allocate classes on Saturdays from 8:30am-1pm to our music project, Ronnie Samaai Music Education Project (RSMEP), which has been operating at the MEED building in Nooiensfontein Road for the past 20 years.
At the end of 2016 we were notified that the building will not be available for our music project anymore. Reasons: upgrading and will be opening up the building to NGO’s. The RSMEP is a registered NPO serving the greater community of Kuils River as well as Khayelitsha & Nyanga.
MEED building is the ideal venue for music education, our children need to have a place where they are safe, can learn and experience the art ofclassical music & music theory.
The University Of Stellenbosch has partnered with our project and 10 of our 12 teachers are from the University, volunteering their time every Saturday.
“Playing for A Future” project from Oslo, Norway, has also partnered with us and every year for the past 7yrs, 2-3 of our students were invited (all expenses paid) to partake in the Valdres Sommersymfoni in Oslo. On previous occasions we received donations of instruments from them. On 28 Nov 2016 the project leader of “Playing for a Future”, Prof Alf Richard Kraggerud, came to our year- end concert and sponsored one of our students with free singing opera lessons and gave a monetary donation for the teachers.
The HCI foundation is another one of our partners, sponsoring the cost of a bus service from Golden Arrow Foundation to transport our children from Khayetlitsha & Nyanga to Kuilsriver every Saturday.
Our project has a proven success rate and all this will be lost because we do not have a venue, and because of this poor decision, our children will be robbed of a potentially great future.
We, the undersigned, are concerned parents who urge the leaders of MEED to act now:
1) We want MEED to make their venue available
2) We need this venue as we serve the community
3) It’s a safe place for our children and encourage classical music & music theory
4) Our children will lose the opportunity to exchange with other cultures and overseas travels.
5) We will lose our partners who has so diligently sponsored us for many years.
Updates
February 20, 2017
I am currently organizing all our paperwork for a formal meeting with the district office. Your stories about what this music program means to these students are powerful and I will be bringing them to the table.
February 20, 2017
The momentum is undeniable. This level of support proves our community understands the value of this space for our students.
Reached 100 supporters
February 20, 2017
45 Comments
I have see first hand the amazing work that this project does. They already make do with minimal means, they deserve a space in which they can continue to provide such a vital service to the community.
I am a student at RSMEP and I love music and I loved everything I have learned these past years and it sad to sad to know that we don't have a place where we can continue to learn the value of music
This project is like a family ❤ I would not be doing what I am doing now had it not been for the Ronnie Samaai Music Education Project!
In a day and age where our youth is being lost to drugs, gangsterism and hopelessness, it is tragic to see how government bureaucracy and sentiment is robbing our children of an opportunity to express themselves musically, building each other up and causing anything but harm. Wake up sleepers!
This central venue has given hope to thousands of marginalized young people who are today following successful music careers and have beaten the scourge of poverty.
Weve been using this venue for almost 20years. Now tht we are a registered NGO we are without a venue. This project was established by Ronnie Samaai upon request of the NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION and launched on 18 March 1997 by the late Lord Yehadi Menuhin whos foundation "violins for Africa" donated the first violins of the project.
I as a parent would love to ask dearly our government to accommodate this brilliant program of RSMEP to have its own building to teach our children
Open the venue please
Help this petition grow
Share it with friends to help reach 250 signatures.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via .
Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
Signing with Google or Facebook verifies your signature instantly — no email needed.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
I have see first hand the amazing work that this project does. They already make do with minimal means, they deserve a space in which they can continue to provide such a vital service to the community.