Botswana: New Yorkers Come to Band's Rescue

Botswana: New Yorkers Come to Band's Rescue

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008

Members of a high school band from Botswana put on quite a performance thanks to the generosity of New Yorkers, who loaned them 10 special marimbas after luggage regulations prevented them from brining their own.

The group is on a two-week concert tour of New York and New England to raise money for their school's AIDS/orphan scholarship.

Their first performance in Union Square on Monday night almost did not happen after airline security blocked them from bringing some of their instruments.

"Apparently baggage regulations have changed such that the metal stands that hold up the marimbas can't be brought on as oversize luggage on a plane," said former Maru-A-Pula teacher Reif Larsen. "They have to be air-freighted over and that takes many days' clearance through customs and when they realised this they were at the Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg and it was just too late.

They had to board their plane in three hours." Someone from Syracuse provided a majority of the instruments needed. But the group says it still came up short until NY1 aired their plea. A viewer from Queens came through in a pinch, providing the last soprano Marimba needed.

The band was scheduled to perform again yesterday at Riverside Church at 7 p.m.