VIAM Stars
As part of the VIAM mission, we want to take the project out to places and children less fortunate. There are plenty of charities raising funds to help orphans throughout the world; and most of them do a fine job. But we are not a charity; we are just a commercial organisation that wants to give something back.
Whilst our aim is to create awareness for the need for prospective adopters in the UK, we wanted to also do something more tangible, something the children will really understand and something they can see taking place as a result of their efforts. Having experienced first-hand what joy you can bring to young children in institutions by just your very presence; giving them attention in even the simplest of activities means a lot. We have also experienced that even for the least confident children, singing in a choir with others, they very soon start to flourish. So the idea of taking VIAM into orphanages and institutions on a regular basis seemed a worthwhile option.
With our son coming from the Crèche de Tanger; and our affinity with this particular institution; it was the ideal choice for the first of our ‘VIAM Stars’ academies. After all, these children are the real ‘stars’ of Voice in a Million; and the inspiration behind the entire project.
On this trip, we will be taking 12 members of the choir, along with parents, to visit the orphanage, The choir will perform for the older children in the crèche; and the parents will get the chance, in a life-changing experience, to find out first-hand what life is like for children that don’t have a mum or dad to watch over them.
We will also be interviewing and arranging during this trip, for a local teacher to come into the crèche once a week and teach the children in English, some of the VIAM songbook…we are also commissioning a local media company to visit the crèche on a regular basis to record the children’s progress. These recordings will be posted on our website, to enable the entire VIAM choir to see what a difference they are making.