Coming Together to Respond to the Needs of Youth

Written by Stefanie Nsubuga

"It takes a village to raise a child."

-Unknown

This home will be filled with the sounds of music as middle-schoolers and siblings, Layla and Lebron learn how to play. Twice a week, they meet online with Skylar Aaseby, CASE lead and teacher at the Academy of GOD. He has been playing with a band for over 20 years. Skylar is excited to share his expertise and experience with these budding musicians.

Have you ever had to turn down your child’s request simply because you couldn’t afford it? Single parenthood and the results of a pandemic made one mother’s ability to say ‘yes’ to her child’s request not possible. This was the very real situation for one of our youth who wanted to learn to play the guitar but his family couldn’t afford a guitar or lessons. This conversation happened earlier this year, unbeknownst to us. I heard the story of this family’s struggle when I handed a free guitar to the child when he enrolled in our Beginner Guitar Lessons. We were able to give the story a happy ending.

Jiovanny is seen in this screen shot with his pet lizard hearing him learn to play. Jiovanny and the other youth are encouraged as they learn finger exercises, basic chords and how to transition between them. The students have expressed often how much they enjoy the beginner guitar track offered to them at CASE.

This year CASE has had to contend with changes from in-person programming to virtual programming. This was a challenge for our staff. They were used to teaching character values and skills to middle-school children who were in arms reach. But now they had to reconsider and figure out how to accomplish the same kind of learning, mentoring, skills development only connected by a computer screen. While this has been challenging, they did it. Their ability to impact the youth, teach important values and skills, and have discussions that result in critical thought has remained.

Pictured left to right is CASE Program Director, Stefanie Nsubuga, and Program Coordinator for Instruments of Joy, Andria Perez, meeting to discuss the use of the guitars in the CASE After-school Program. GOD International, NAZA, and Instruments of Joy have partnered this semester to provide quality afterschool programming for MNPS middle school students.

I saw this in the beginner guitar lessons that we are offering to students twice a week. At the beginning of October, CASE received guitar donations from Instruments of Joy, a local non-profit. Instruments of Joy is devoted to equipping musicians in the developing world with musical instruments. However, due to the pandemic and the inability to travel abroad, the organization offered us guitars for local youth interested in learning to play. Instruments of Joy’s ability to adjust to this unique moment made room for 8 youth to benefit from CASE’s beginner guitar lessons. For those youth who couldn’t afford a guitar, they now have one they can keep -- a guitar of their own.

We are so thankful for the opportunities the Lord has given us despite the limitations that the pandemic has put on after-school programming. He has provided us with resources to respond to the needs of the youth in addition to willing and able staff who facilitate such programming. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Luke 11:9-10).

A dream come true for this young girl. She was so excited to have her mother drive her to our organization to pick up her very own guitar so she could start learning how to play. The void of in-person classes is filled, in part, with learning something new!

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Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”- Matthew 19:14

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CASE is a program of the Nashville After Zone Alliance. The Nashville After Zone Alliance is a network of coordinated after school programming for Metro’s middle-school students. NAZA is a partnership among the Nashville Public Library, MNPS, and other existing youth-serving groups. It is modeled on successful efforts in other cities and is organized around geographically-defined zones.

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