On March 1, 2023, the launch ceremony for the “Accompany with Music” was held successfully at Songlin Primary School in the Bixi Township of Nanjian Yi Autonomous County, Dali. During the ceremony, National Second-class Actor Aben Zhi, Intangible Cultural Heritage inheritor of Nanjian's serving dance He Weicheng, staff from the Yunnan Heart to Heart Community Foundation, personnel from the Nanjian Xixin Social Work Service Center, and officials from Nanjian County attended the program's launch ceremony, joining forces to support the “Accompany with Music”.
At the launch ceremony, the LY Foundation donated a batch of teaching instruments valued at approximately 20,000 CNY to Songlin Primary School. These instruments will be used for the subsequent “Accompany with Music”. The program aims to provide companionship to children through music education and the professional services of social workers, allowing the children to experience the healing power of music and promoting their healthy growth.
It is worth mentioning that the “Accompany with Music” jointly initiated by The LY Foundation and the Yunnan Heart to Heart Community Foundation has received strong support from Principal Zuo of Songlin Primary School. In addition, all the leaders who attended the event expressed their best wishes for this charitable program.
Principal Zuo stated at the launch ceremony, 'We are honored to receive the generous support from the LY Foundation. To record this moment of goodness, we have gathered here today for this donation ceremony! If you want to dispel worries and forget pain, music and dance are the best remedies. If you want to have a sunny and healthy mindset, music and dance are also the fertile soil that nourishes our souls. Your love brings spiritual comfort to our teachers and students, and your kindness will undoubtedly inspire all of us at Songlin Primary School to move forward!'
Furthermore, the staff from the Dali Municipal Education and Sports Bureau mentioned that the LY Foundation's “Music Companionship” philanthropic program has brought warmth like spring to all the teachers and students at Bixi Township's Songlin Primary School. It has truly alleviated the difficulties the school faced due to a lack of music curriculum resources, and at the same time, it has provided a heartfelt lesson in philanthropy for all the teachers and students. To focus on education is immeasurably meritorious, and to excel in education is boundlessly joyful.
The dedicated social workers also expressed at the launch ceremony that they believe, with the leadership and support of superior departments and the assistance and guidance of the LY Foundation and the Yunnan Heart to Heart Community Foundation, they will make use of their professional advantages to provide students with satisfactory results. They aim to convey the power of music and love to the children through professional services.
After the speeches, teachers led the students to the spacious football field, kicking off the first music lesson. National Second-class Actor Aben Zhi, combining the Yi ethnic culture of Nanjian County, and He Weicheng, inheritor of Nanjian's Intangible Cultural Heritage “serving dance”, introduced the history of the Yi ethnic instrument, the lusheng, to the children and performed it live.
The social workers on-site recalled, “As soon as we moved the instruments to the playground, many children crowded around, eager to try the instruments. They were excited and expressed their desire to learn to play the lusheng, ukulele, and hand drum. Active children came forward first, and the children who had been keeping to themselves in the corner are the ones we intend to infect, accompany, and heal through music.”
Zhang Yaxian, Deputy Director of the Yunnan Heart to Heart Community Foundation, pointed out, “The purpose of the ‘Accompany with Music’ is to use the power of love and music to help left-behind and children in difficulty in mountainous areas. We want music to be their friend on the way to school, at school, and at home, so that they are not alone and do not get lost. In music, they can find the power to create and be strong.”
It is believed that the launch ceremony and the collective music activity have planted seeds of kindness and interest in the hearts of the children, as well as seeds of hope in the hearts of those children who lack companionship."
