Poor children who cause tears in Collymore’s eyes
It turns out that Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore has a really soft spot for the Ghetto Classics, a music programme for kids in Korogocho.
Mr Collymore told Showbuzz that it is difficult to hold back tears when watching the children perform because it is an emotional experience.
“We always talk about music changing lives and then you see the conditions some of these children exist in. I know many of them personally so I know the difficulties they face, they can’t even take the instruments home,” he said.
“But when you see what they can produce and how they have progressed in the three years we have been involved, you are moved to tears, it makes this job that we do tolerable,” he said.
JAZZ FESTIVAL
Collymore was speaking at a ceremony where Safaricom handed over a cheque worth Sh7 million to Ghetto Classics as proceeds from the Safaricom International Jazz Festival.
He also revealed that the young musicians are making money by playing at gigs.
“We need to be careful because everybody wants to earn millions, but the fact of the matter is some of the kids have got their own bands, they get together and they play professional gigs. Some of them have been invited to go and play in Rome, so this is not just a slum classic thing,” he said.
