Viva Children's Choir goes to Europe

The Viva Children's Choir together with their conductor/music tutor, the soloist Meleney Kriel, who happens to be the Viva CEO and the Chairperson, Principal and General Manager of the School, travelled to Germany and Holland in December 2019, for three weeks, performing no less than 19 times! Audiences LOVED the children's energetic and joyful performance and responded generously to support the school's scholarship programme to help raise funds for the fees of orphaned and vulnerable learners. 36 new full-time sponsorships were put in place from Germany and Holland and donations not only covered the cost of the trip, but also raised much needed funds for the operational expenditure of the school. It was a long way from the Alaska Informal Settlement, where learners left tin-shack homes, kitted out in their Viva tracksuits and individually branded luggage, to fly to Frankfurt International Airport. Already at the O R Tambo, people started gifting the children with juice, chocolates and wide smiles, as they moved through customs singing, upon the request of the immigration officer waving them through! The joy of seeing German Christmas markets, reflected on their faces, as brightly as the sparkling lights reflected in their beautiful African eyes. They touched lives and their lives were touched. We cannot wait to take our choir back on the road as soon as the Pandemic is under control and we can once again spread our special magic. In the meantime, we are practicing and preparing for an on-line, virtual concert and mini-recordings so that we can flood social media with the sounds and smiles of the Viva Children's Choir.