It is called "Ghetto Classic" and is the most unexpected and unlikely classical music school that seeks to uplift the street children of the Korogocho slum through not only the world of notes, but the so-called "cultured music" that has always been the prerogative of the wealthy social classes, especially in Kenya where the purchase of real musical instruments, study and even teaching is unimaginable.
In St. John's Church in Korogocho, however, dozens of children have found an escape from the shantytown's cramped conditions by picking up a violin, cello or blowing on a clarinet or oboe since before the pandemic.
This is thanks to a local foundation financed by, among others, the Safaricom telephone company, which started a programme that over time has involved about 600 primary school children from the poorest districts of Nairobi.
As the Business Daily newspaper reports, today the young students of Ghetto Classic find it difficult to continue what for them has become not only a salvation, but also a passion.
"I grew up in the slums and that was my only world until I picked up a violin,'' 19-year-old Lameck Otieno told the newspaper. I am currently studying architecture, and the profession I would like to pursue was also inspired by my concerts with Ghetto Classic, because I was able to visit houses I had never seen before".
But Lameck wouldn't want to give up music, which for seven years was his teenage companion and made him grow in many ways. The pandemic in this sense was a brake on a formative journey that was evolving, from classical music towards studies and the dream of being able to change the lives of his peers living in the slums as well.
I was a problem child, but music changed me," says the violinist. "Now I have set my goals. Now I have set my goals. I would like to go into politics to represent my area.
The founder of Ghetto Classic, Elizabeth Njoroge, gave life to this dream in 2008.
Today she is also CEO of the company "The Art of music" and has extended this system to the cities of Mombasa and Kiambu. Njoroge admits that the road ahead is not an easy one, but her achievements spur her on to continue and set new goals.
Ghetto Classics today is much more than a music group," she tells Business Daily, "It has transformed the lives of many young people in Kenya. It is a family for all young people looking to change their story. Safaricom has shared our journey and helped us invest in the future of our children".
The Safaricom Youth Orchestra sees 45% of its students coming from government schools, 30% from the Ghetto Classics programme and 25% from public schools.
Some of its students played in front of Pope Francis when he visited Nairobi and during Jamhuri Day celebrations in the Presidential Palace. Stephen Kamau and Teddy Otieno, members of Ghetto Classics were invited to the International Music Session in the United States.
Another young musician, Brian Kepher, applied for the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition and was invited to audition at the Lausanne Conservatory in Switzerland.

(photo: Ghetto Classic facebook page)