Why you should support the Alpha Boys
The Alpha Boys School (now the ALPHA Institute), founded in Jamaica in 1980, is suffering from financial difficulties. The school urgently needs important tools to support young people in achieving their goals. With the help of HELP Jamaica! I would like to donate an urgently needed 24-channel sound-mixer and a pop-up canopy (sun tent) to the Alpha Boys School.
Unfortunately, as a student, I can’t manage that financially alone and therefore I urgently need your help!
Video about music training at the ALPHA Institute:
HELP Jamaica - Education For A Change!
Although I am only 19 years old, I can see how privileged we live here in Switzerland. I have already traveled to Jamaica several times with my family and this fascinating country has given me so much strength and love. Therefore, with your financial support, I would like to give back a small contribution and support young people in getting a better education!
The non-profit organization HELP Jamaica! e.V. founded 2008 in Berlin, Germany, supports educational projects in Jamaica and works true to the motto: Education For A Change! Together with various local initiatives, children and young people from economically and socially disadvantaged areas are given the opportunity to learn, further educate themselves, develop new skills, and develop their personalities.
HELP Jamaica! in the video interview at WDR (in German): https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/sendung/rockpalast/video-hilmar-keding-help-jamaica-im-interview-beim-summerjam-festival–100.html
One of many supported local organizations on-site is the ALPHA Institute, formerly Alpha Boys School. HELP Jamaica! is already working with them for a long time. Since its opening in 1880, the Alpha Boys School has looked after young boys at risk from difficult social backgrounds, who have been expelled from public schools or come from a troubled home and literally ended up on the street.
In addition to school lessons, these young people receive various practical training opportunities. There is a wood-work shop, a hairdresser/barber training center, landscaping and horticulture, and last but not least, music training.
The Alpha Boys School is known far beyond the country’s borders for its outstanding music department. Today there is hardly any Jamaican jazz, ska, or reggae band that goes on tour without a former Alpha Boys student. The school brought out big names like Yellowman, Johnny Osbourne, or Desmond Dekker, and many other superstars.
Former ALPHA boys in an interview:
For this we need your support!
The music department of the ALPHA Institute is currently working with a 20-year-old sound-mixer that is used and shared by various student groups for both daily practice and live performances. Such a mixer can confidently be called the heart of the music training program and is accordingly in constant use.
The ALPHA Institute urgently needs a new 24-channel sound-mixer in order to mix larger music ensembles. Since the music industry also uses advanced technologies, a new mixer is needed to provide better and state-of-the-art training for young people. Some modules could be completed in smaller groups. With a new and additional mixer, the school will not only be able to train more students but also in less time, giving them faster access to the music industry, so they can make a living out of it.
With the sun tent, the ALPHA Institute can relocate exercises (Corona-compliant) to the outside area, which makes the lessons much more pleasant and safe for the students. After school, the tent can also be used for events and thus help to generate important income for the school.
100% of the money raised will be donated to the ALPHA Institute in Jamaica. With the amount, the school finally receives the required mixer (Mackie 2404VLZ4 24-channel) and a pop-up canopy (sun tent).
