From Trash to Treasure

When I’m working on the computer, sometimes I like to have music playing in the background; YouTube has a good selection of long-play pieces. Recently, I was listening to Lindsey Stirling, one of our favourite artists, and she did a video with members of the Landfill Harmonic (you can watch that video by clicking here).

If you haven’t heard of the Landfill Harmonic, it is a group of teenagers living on a rubbish dump in Paraguay; they have been formed into an orchestra – but in a place where a violin would be more expensive than a house and would likely be stolen, their instruments are trash. Literally. Not only have they found new skills through mastering the quirks of their individual instruments, but the project has given them a purpose – a voice that they would otherwise never have had. It keeps them out of gangs, and transports them, even if for only a little while, to another place in their hearts. It has the potential to turn the tide for the rising generation in their area, and that should be enough to inspire all of us to find the hidden treasures in the things and in the people around us. Most of all, it encourages me to never underestimate the power of vision and purpose in and on the human spirit!

Just click on the image below to see a short but inspiring clip about the orchestra: