Aadi Golchha with students Brooklyn Nicholas (8) and Manaia Grover (8) from Dawson Primary School in Otara. Photo / Greg Bowker
Aadi Golchha with students Brooklyn Nicholas (8) and Manaia Grover (8) from Dawson Primary School in Otara. Photo / Greg Bowker
The Herald is profiling 12 charities awarded $8333 grants from Auckland Airport's Twelve Days of Christmas programme – now in its 13th year. The $100,000 funding comes from generous travellers who donate money at the airport.
Music was a lifeline for teenager Aadi Golchha when his family moved house and he started at a new primary school.
"I didn't really have friends back then so I used to go into the music department every lunch time and just pick up a ukulele. I'd play every chance I got. It became my favourite thing to do," he says.
"Music can help you through the hardest of times. It's like you can communicate through your instrument and use it to say what words can't express."
As Aadi got older, he became aware of the disparity between his decile 10 school in Flat Bush and decile 1 schools in neighbouring Otara.
Aadi Golchha gives some ukelele tips to students from Dawson Primary School in Otara. Photo / Greg Bowker
"I'd just assumed that every school had a huge music department like we had. But as I looked into it, I realised children in lower-decile schools just don't have the same kind of opportunities that we took for granted. It was sad to me and humbling to realise how blessed we were to have all those instruments."
At age 16, Aadi decided to set up his own charity, Soundraise, to provide disadvantaged children with equipment to learn and develop a passion for music.
"Our motto is 'Changing lives through music'. We believe that music is something everyone can enjoy and money should never be a barrier to pursuing a music education," he says.
The first school to benefit from his newly created charity is Dawson Primary in Otara, where Aadi and his bandmates Ashiv Govind and Clyde Fronda this month handed out 25 new ukuleles and gave students an introductory lesson.
Silver Tuigamala, 11, was among those eager to learn. "My family is all about music. My dad and my brother know how to play the piano and guitar so I want to learn the ukulele," he says. "If kids out there don't know how to play, it doesn't matter because they can still learn from other kids."
Principal Angela Funaki says a music teacher visits the school once a week and teaches the senior students "bucket drumming" using rubbish bins as drums. "We have a few instruments but we'd love to have more," she says. "Our students are very musical. We feel it's important for kids to have a passion outside of academic work – something they excel at that makes them want to learn other things as well. We're really thankful that Aadi thought of us and got in touch."
For Aadi and his bandmates, who have played together since learning ukulele in year 6, passing on their love of music has been an "amazing" and "very fulfilling" experience.
"These guys are just as passionate about music as I am," says Aadi. "We're looking to do this for so many other schools that desperately need more equipment."
