When music gets into the hands of children: many thanks to Arafo and the Swiss Embassy

May 10, 2025 was a day of celebration at the Fondation Petit Dan et Sarah ! ARAFO, a generous association of artists, came to Soa to visit our young people. Their motto, "Friends of art for the assistance of vulnerable women and orphans", demonstrates their ambition to provide access to art, particularly music, for vulnerable people in our society. They have donated a piano, a guitar, drums and a djembe to the Foundation. These instruments will accompany the ukulele, donated by Marie Brignonne, speech therapist, artist and great friend of the Foundation since her visit at the end of 2024. We would like to thank her once again.

The ARAFO association had already visited us two years ago, in 2023. Impressed by the children's strong desire to learn music, they promised to come back and donate instruments. This year, they are back in force. The Petit Dan and Sarah Foundation is their first step, their first action. We are proud to count them among our friends and collaborators. The children, great dancers and always enthusiastic about music, will now have the opportunity to produce it. We will always remember their amazement when they saw the instruments coming out of the car. At the time, they couldn't even imagine that they were going to stay here, that they were going to be their own. Shy and aware of their good fortune, the children didn't dare approach. Some of the children spoke out:

Apollinaire : " I am happy and I say thank you. I would like to play the guitar."

Obama : « Thank you very much for the musical instruments that you gave us."

Trésor : « I want to do the djembé to make boum-boum. The djembé is the tamtam. »

The donation of musical instruments was accompanied by music played and a story told by Uncle Azazou. The children had a great time, and never tire of singing “ou djé, ou djé djé djé”.

Séraphin Mviana Mengue, aka ZePhiness, president of the ARAFO association, talks about this day :  

" It was a wonderful experience to see Dan and Sarah's little angels starry-eyed at the instruments donated by the ARAFO association ! What a pleasure to see them sing in chorus and be captivated by the storyteller who came especially to give them a show! ARAFO would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to the founder and director of the Petit Dan and Sarah Foundation, and to the entire team who accompanied them, for their warm welcome ! Congratulations, too, for all your dedication and hard work over the years, and see you soon for another visit to the little ones !"

This initiative by the ARAFO association has received the support of the Swiss Embassy in Cameroon, because of its concrete and positive effects for the children. The embassy's representatives, offering us their presence at the Foundation for this day, underline the importance of offering children access to music and art as a tool for emotional support and development. Switzerland has always been committed to supporting initiatives linked to human development and social inclusion, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Here, art and music act as tools for social transformation and enhancement. Joining them on these subjects, sharing their values and already attached to Switzerland by some of our friends, the Petit Dan and Sarah Foundation allows itself to dream of a future fruitful and long-lasting collaboration with the Swiss Embassy in Cameroon.

This is one of those days that no one here will forget : neither the children, nor the staff. Joseph ZINGUI, founder, says:

"This donation will contribute to the full development of the children. I sincerely thank you for having thought of developing this cultural aspect of the Petit Dan and Sarah Foundation's educational project. We are also delighted to welcome the representative of the Swiss Embassy to the Petit Dan et Sarah Foundation. Thank you for coming all the way down here. Thank you to Madame President and to the members of ARAFO's august delegation".

Now it's time to practice, and hopefully discover some of our youngsters' talents. It is through actions like these, learning new things, that children can discover what they like and what they want to do. Children's education involves not only their daily guidance, through school, but also through culture, such as reading or music. It's all about opening up and discovering new things. Very enthusiastic and aware of how precious musical instruments are, the children will learn to take good care of their equipment. Eager to start practicing, the children will be accompanied by pianist Christina and guitarist Arthur. Music lessons will start during the school vacations. We can't wait to show you some of the tunes the children have been playing!