Cateura, Paraguay is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. Garbage collectors browse the trash for sellable goods, and children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs. When orchestra director Szaran and music teacher Favio set up a music program for the kids of Cateura, they soon have more students than they have instruments. That changed when Szaran and Favio were brought something they had never seen before: a violin made out of garbage. Today, there's an entire orchestra of assembled instruments, now called The Recycled Orchestra.
The children learned to play violin, flute, drums, cello, string bass, and more - all made from recycled metal drums, tin cans, and plastic pipes. Their spirits soar with each note they play.
The project shows how trash and recycled materials can be transformed into beautiful sounding musical instruments, but more importantly, it brings witness to the transformation of precious human beings. It demonstrates that creative and simple solutions can bring powerful social transformation to the poorest communities.
