Community Support

The Cambridge Choir in SA

His love for music and his commitment to helping others succeed drove, John Potgieter (CEO of Cambridge Weight Plan SA) to embark on a mission to find a school that would benefit from a sponsorship and create an opportunity for some pupils to experience life otherwise inaccessible to them. Our country's cultures unite in the love of music, the language of the soul with no manufactured boundaries. This ignited the quest for a “Cambridge Choir".

The search was surprisingly difficult, since many schools were simply not appropriate for this offer. The search led to a perfect candidate school: The Ithuteng Secondary School, situated in Brandvlei, a poverty-stricken community on the outskirts of Randfontein.

Picture: courtesy of Google Earth

The school was doing well considering the lack of most of the facilities other school kids take for granted - many pupils cannot even afford school uniforms!

This school encompassed a group of talented young teens who sang in the church but never envisioned themselves as a western choir.

Initially Michael Seageng (the choir master) and Gracia Phetoe (his assistant) were skeptical, afraid that John was looking for a professional choir capable of reading music. On discussing this project, the anticipation and excitement grew and we set up a meeting to hear the choir sing.

The group of pupils chosen by Michael appeared tense, not knowing what to expect. We requested a song they were familiar with, and watched their confidence grow along with our appreciation. It was clear that these pupils had the potential to emerge as the Cambridge Choir.

We requested that the song "A Perfect Day" be sung in different groups at our next meeting. The results were pleasantly surprising, considering the fact that the school possessed no musical instruments whatsoever.

Mr W Molefe (the headmaster) fully supports this effort to broaden the pupils' horisons, and offer them some valuable exposure. Considering the fact that some of them have never even been able to leave their home town, the educational experience is likely to prove invaluable.

The ongoing sponsorship is expected to lead to performances at glamorous events, like CANSA, diabetics and cultural events cultivating a larger perspective of musical appreciation among the students.

We will extend an invitation to other companies to contact us, or contact the Ithuteng Secondary School to become involved in the upliftment process.