CD recording for Cyprian, Tanzania, 800 Euro 

Quote from a letter from Cyprian: My vision is that one day I become famous singer in the world. Because I know that for future life of tomorrow you are supposed to prepare today.

Cyprian is a young and talented musician who has always wanted to record and make music. He comes from a background where he had to rely on himself since he was 8 years old. Born as one of ten children, his parents separated when he was around 7 years old (Cyprian is not actually sure how old he is) and after staying with his mother for a year (who worked as a prostitute), he was sent to live with his father and step-mother. His mother subsequently disappeared. Unfortunately, as is so often the background of street children, his step-mother treated him differently to her own children. He wasn't allowed to go to school, he was made to work at home, he was beaten and threatened with poison regularly. At the age of around 10 he ran away to Dar es Salaam. 

After sleeping outside shop fronts and in sacks for a year, he travelled to Arusha and slept out in the cold for a further 2 years. The police considered all street children to be thieves and would come to beat them with sticks in the night. Cyprian then made his way to Moshi and eventually met the founders of Mkombozi, who were just starting their work with street children in 1997. He started to attend education classes given by local volunteers who work for Mkombozi, slowly started to learn how to read, write and do maths and finally went back to school. He is now around 19 years old and in Form 2 of Secondary School. He is studying very hard at school and has made responsible and tough choices that illustrate his desire to succeed. One such choice included giving up alcohol and drugs (which he'd been using for four years) when he realised they were having a negative impact on his class marks. He has made personal sacrifices to realise his dream, including continuing to wear old shoes and saving the money given to him for new shoes to put towards his music. Cyprian previously managed to save Tsh 60,000 and the Director of Mkombozi personally donated the balance to pay for the recording of 2 songs onto a CD in 2005.

This CD gave him the chance to promote himself and resulted in him earning Tsh 200.000, enough for food and transport to the studio in Dar es Salaam and enough for fuelling his hope that a "real CD"with 8 songs could mean the start for a career in music. The CD can be recorded for Tsh 900.000, or 800 Euro. In time he could a become famous performer and a role model for other street children. 

The vounteers from Mkombosi wrote us saying that Cyprian is determined to help other people less fortunate than himself (!) as soon as he has the means. He believes his success in music, which is his passion, will enable him to help other people. He wants to tell people where he came from, how his life was and how he made positive choices that changed his life for the better. He wants to challenge perceptions that all street children are bad and to show that everyone can be good at something, just given the chance. He wants young people to be able to learn from his experience and to know that their life can be different too. 

Help Cyprian get started for 800 Euro

Total € 800,-- 

adopted by Pentascope

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