The Rotary Club of Irkutsk requests $1140 to buy music instruments for a correctional colony for young men ages 14 to 21: Angarsk Correctional Colony for Minors.  Two Hundred Eighty young men are serving time for serious crimes.  Rotary hopes to give these young men some hope and lift their spirits for their release back in to society.  Average serving time is 3-5 years and the maximum is 10.  Almost half are orphans or street kids.  Many could not read nor write when they arrived. 

In the colony, these young men get professional training in carpentry, metal working, computers and other jobs.  They all need need medical, psychological, social rehabilitation, but there is little money for rehabilitation.

           At the rehearsal. The music instructor rents                                        15 year old sergey was just accepted to the            

           a keyboard for each rehearsal.                                                            band as drummer.

A Rotarian, Colonel Vladimir Badashkeev, Deputy Chief of the Penal System, runs a number of these colonies.  He made a presentation at a Rotary meeting and invited two members of the Irkutsk Rotary to a concert in Angarsk.  The orchestra/band presently has eleven members who practice twice a week and perform a concert once a month.  The school wants to upgrade the instruments.  

Here is what they want:

One each, Keyboard, Yamaha PSR PSR-E-203 SYNTHESIZER    $206    $ 206

Two each ES 15 P42 (BUFFER DRIVER)-                                           398       796

Two each Microphones.                                                                             69        138

            Total                                                                                                          $1140

The Yamaha PSR-E203 Keyboard/Synthesizer

Not only will upgraded instruments inspire the students to better behaviour, but will allow more students into the bands: now and in the future.  These kids have preciously little in their bleak lives.

“Music soothes the savage beast,” and helps build better citizens.