Why Music Is Magic

You’ve never heard Green Day quite like this: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by at-risk girls in a shelter.

It might be one of the most unique covers of a Green Day hit you'll ever hear: young, at-risk girls from an Indian shelter singing Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

"Many of these children have been abused or have suffered trauma. Music helps to engage them, it helps them to relax," Faith Gonsalves, the founder of Music Basti, says.

Volunteers from the non-profit help give the girls a musical voice as a means of giving them a confident and creative voice of their own.

"What we also do is to organise performances for these children, and through performance it helps to build their confidence and self-worth," Gonsalves adds.

"I love music, singing and playing instruments," says 14-year-old Jasmine Sheikh. "When we are here, it feels like it’s something different."

So far, Music Basti has worked with more than 400 children and 500 volunteers in Delhi, often in shelters such as Kushi Home, where Jasmine and her Green Day-singing friends live.

Gonsalves hopes to develop the programme further by making it easy for others to set up similar initiatives across the country.


How you can help: Volunteer with Music Basti as a music teacher or researcher. Or you can capture photographs or video of their projects, or help with their social media.

About Music Basti

Set up in 2008, Music Basti is a non-profit programme under Enabling Leadership Foundation, which uses sports and creative programmes to help disadvantaged children. Music Basti has helped nearly 1,000 in India.

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Filmmaker

Pearl Forss