Musicians without Borders (Musiker ohne Grenzen e.V)

Musiker ohne Grenzen e. V. is a youth association whose intention is
(1) to give children and adolescents from all over the world the possibility to learn a music instrument and to become musically active.
(2) to create intercultural meetings in which music is to be the universal language that makes a connection.
(3) to create a network between several institutions, Organisations and people that share our objectives.

Since 2005 in cooperation with the ecuadorian Organisation „Asociación Movimiento Mi Cometa“ we are working on the developement of a music school, "Clave del Sur" in Guasmo Sur, a slum of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
Currently we assist the music school by continuous donations of money and instruments.
Beyond that we organize and coach regular voluntary services from musicians that are teaching music on the ground.
In the premises provided by the organization „Asociación Movimiento Mi Cometa“, children and adolescents have the possibility to learn a music instrument for free, to play together in bands and ensembles and to socialize with birds of a feather. We set store by organizing the development of the music school sustainable.
Once in a year, a team of 10-15 young, voluntary musicians visit the music school in summer. For 4-6 weeks they are giving music classes in Guasmo Sur. We try to educate the students to become multiplicators that are able to hand their knowledge on to younger students in order to encourage them to make music. Furthermore since 2010 there have been alltogether four voluntaries teaching for 8-12 months. So we could ensure a continuous work on several music instruments. Another couple of voluntaries is going to teach from August 2011 and we are in process to become an officially approved sending agency.
Besides the musically emphasis we set a special value on intercultural lerning: During the residence the musicians live in the families of their own students. That makes a direct and personal exchange at eyelevel possible. In turn, most oft the families support the project by taking a voluntary to live in their house for free if possible. So everybody is joining the project in any form that´s possible for them.

The musical work advances important social processes, too: Making music encourages creative thought processes. It helps though experiences in groups and mutual consideration to advance the development of social skills and a wholesome self-confidence.
Therefore the music school is also a central place to refuge: it gives the children and adolescents of the immediate periphery the possibility to socialize friendships and to articulate their own reality. For this reasons it represents an alternative solution to mostly criminal organized gangs and can help to prevent from criminal leisure activities.

Perhaps the charme and the resource of this project are in the fact, that the collegues are friends, the teachers are also host siblings, the pupils are concurrently protectors, host siblings and friends.




By your assistance we are able to…

? arrange the music school with equipment and instruments on which the pupils can practice.
? give the music school financial encouragement. Besides the cost of materials for technics and premises we e.g. assure the salary for an ecuadorian music student who, as the coordinator goes after the organisation of the music school and is available as a close contact person to our association.
? become the public presence that we need to be able to achieve our aims.
? - with the essential financial scope - follow the idea of an intercultural student exchange programm and if necessary to be able to pay the traveling expences.


Unfortunately we don´t have an english translation of our homepage yet. So besides some basic information you can find in here - if you have any questions or if you want to join or support us in any way:
Please send us an email (mail@musikerohnegrenzen.de) or give us a call (+4940 – 20931296) and we will give you further information about the project and our work.
All important contact persons you can find on overleaf, or as well on the internet under: www.musikerohnegrenzen.de/kontakt