Give children new chances!

What it’s all about:

«Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!» Nelson Mandela once said. Mamadou Diabaté, an internationally acclaimed balafon-virtuoso, who was born in Burkina Faso and who now is living in Vienna, takes this sentence seriously. Together with friends, colleagues and his association SABABU he already has built a six-level primary school that is attended by more than 600 needy children every year. After nine years of permanent operation, likewise financed by Mamadou and many supporters, a secondary school shall be built in the town Bobo Dioulasso. Graduation with a baccalaureate will open up new chances for its young students – ranging from acquiring a good job to being admitted to a university.

«The new Sababu-school is a long-cherished dream of mine» Mamadou says. We want to support him to make this dream come true for the children of Bobo Dioulasso.

The particular nature of our project …

… is Mamadou’s personal dedication, consistency, sense of responsibility and persistence when pursuing his school project. He devoted and still devotes a substantial share of his fees and royalties to build and operate the school in Bobo Dioulasso. He has established the association SABABU and in conjunction with supporters from all over the world it has changed the life of many people since 2009. Its name is manifesto: Sababu means «chance and luck» in the West African language Bambara.

In the year 2000, when Mamadou Diabaté came to Austria from Burkina Faso at the age of 27, he could not read or write, neither English nor German. But he possessed perfect mastery of his instrument, the balafon, a xylophone with hollowed gourds fitted below as resonating bodies. In a minimum of time his musical skills had procured him a firm place in the Austrian and international music scene. With much self discipline, tremendous zeal and great talent he caught up «as a sideline» on all the education steps that had been denied to him in his birth land. Aside from several African languages and French he now speaks, reads and writes English and German so well that one might get envious of him.

For that we need support

The idea for this project evolved after a concert that Mamadou Diabaté and Wolfgang Puschnig played in the context of the «Wiener Klang-Salon-Abende» of the company «Galerie Immobilien». Mamadou talked about his school and his extension plans, whereupon Christian Kreil, executive director of «Galerie Immobilien», invited himself, his team, guests, customers, partners and friends to support Mamadou at the funding of the new secondary school. An amount of € 35.000.- was targeted, which would cover most of the construction costs.

Anyway, at a special concert of Diabaté und Puschnig on December 13th 2019 we hopefully will be able to proudly inform Mamadou that this amount has already been credited to the account of his association. For the whole amount collected by our project on wemakeit will be transferred directly and without delay to the SABABU account.

Prior to this, all the artists who since March 2018 have been performing at the eight «Wiener Klang-Salons» will record a CD. 21st century yodeler Christina Zurbrügg, who artistically organizes and coordinates the «Wiener Klang-Salons», will be playing a leading role at it. So concert tickets and CDs will be the gratifications that we offer for your support of our project.

And another thing: Everyone who plays a part in this project is doing so for free. Inevitable material expenses will be covered by the company «Galerie Immobilien». Your donation and thus the whole amount collected on wemakeit will be provided entirely for the building of the new secondary school in Bobo Dioulasso, according to our motto «Give children new chances!»

Please help us reach this goal all together!