In Philippi, one of Cape Town’s poorest and most dangerous settlements, children experience a lack of prospects firsthand. The iThemba Labantu community center supports children and adults through a wide range of programs. In 2012, Philipp Mathmann established a music-based project there that now offers around fifty children a weekly meal, a safe space, joy through music, and opportunities for exchange every weekend. In cooperation with the Cape Town music conservatory, the project creates a long-term perspective that builds trust and stands in quiet resistance to prejudice and the deep sense of hopelessness faced by these children.

Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the fall of the Ceaușescu regime, hardship in Romania remains widespread. State support for orphans ends when they reach adulthood, leaving many young people—still without stability—on the streets of Târgu Mureș after their time in institutional care. “Orizont – Help for Self-Help” aims to offer these young people a future by welcoming them into socially and educationally supported group homes and providing counseling services. Through this project, many young people have found their way in recent years into vocational training, stable employment, and a secure life.