Background

Access to creative avenues like music education remains a luxury in India. This is particularly true in disadvantaged communities and in schools with inadequate funding to support creative arts programmes. Such programs have been incorporated into schools across the globe because multiple studies have shown that arts education significantly improves other areas like cognitive skills, emotional wellbeing and social engagement. A study by the National Centre for Education Statistics concludes that students exposed to music education are more likely than their counterparts to succeed academically and socially. 

However, given financial limitations, lack of infrastructure and resources and sometimes even cultural marginalization, most children in rural communities are unable to access educational resources related to creative arts. As a wider cultural and social effect of this reality, marginalized groups remain underrepresented in mainstream arts programs. On the individual level, this leads to inequality in personal development. It is this imbalance in the creative opportunities afforded to young students that prompted the founding of Harmony for Hope, which provides training in music to students from underserved areas. The initiative hopes to give children a platform for expression and skill development.