New Knysna Music Academy overcoming challenges

KNYSNA NEWS – Little more than a year after he started the initiative, Rheenendal-based musician Renaldo Hendriks continues to make a difference in the lives of the local youth through his musical teachings. He has also finally been given the helping hand he has been asking for.

Hendriks' programme, which has since been named The Greater Knysna Music Academy, started off at the beginning of 2020 when he returned to Rheenendal having spent a few years enhancing his musical abilities, first in the United States and then in Cape Town, where he also taught music.

When he returned to Rheenendal in January 2020, Hendriks was disappointed by the state of the youth. "I saw there was a lot of young people wandering the streets, and noticed that there was a problem with drugs among some of the people too," he said at the time.

This led him to embark on a project through which he sought to change people's lives in the way he knew best - music. Hendriks immediately saw interest from the residents of Rheenendal, and knew it would turn out to be a long-term project. Today, his drive to make a difference has not waned. "It's been up and down, a rocky ride. We've been facing some challenges, but we kept and are still pushing through. As this is my passion and my skill I want to share it with everyone and just bring change through music," he said to KPH this week.

One of the toughest tasks that he faced was facilities. Hendriks was teaching music either on the roadside or in someone's garden. "I was looking for a place to teach my students in. I was knocking on every door and asking for a place, but no one could help me," he remembers.

In his efforts, he came across Eunice Lodewyk, a Rheenendal resident who runs a recycling project out of a container in the area. "I approached her and she didn't hesitate for one second. She said, 'if it's to uplift the community, you can use it any time'."

While the container is large enough to facilitate the music classes at the moment, Hendriks fears it might not be that way forever. "I've been getting tons of message from people that want to join our project. People are messaging from Harkerville, Plett, Knysna, Concordia, Karatara, Sedgefield. So for now, this space is perfect, but I doubt it will be in the next month or two from now," he explained.

Another challenge he still faces is a lack of instruments. "At the moment we only have one keyboard (which is missing some keys), one guitar and one bass guitar. No drums (I had to turn away two boys, because they wanted to learn drums)," he said.

Hendriks hopes that with some help, he'll be able to continue the project long into the future. "We just want to spread joy, love and peace through music. And have fun! That's important!"

Renaldo Hendriks has already made good use of the newfound space.