By Nicholas PetersOne of the greatest tragedies in the world is the loss of a child; it is an unimaginable sorrow that no parent should ever face. However this still happens to too many parents and is a difficult process for anyone to cope with. For Vic Insanally and his wife, Pat, this was the case when they tragically lost their 23-year-old daughter,J.R. Smith Jersey, Tina, five years ago.For the Insanally family, Tina’s death proved an incredible ordeal to overcome. It was especially difficult since the young woman was a talented and gifted musician, who impacted the lives of countless persons.In her 23 years of life, Tina managed to come into her own as an outstanding poet, pianist, vocalist and even humanitarian as she spent a lot her time volunteering with disadvantaged children.Tina had migrated to pursue studies at Brescia University College in Canada, but she still managed to dedicate time to less fortunate children whenever she visited home. Tina had a devout passion to children at the Red Cross Convalescence Home, St. Ann’s Girls and the St. John’s Bosco Boys Orphanages.Her voluntary service managed to combine mentorship and music through collaborative works with other musicians like Chad Arthur, Francis Bailey, Mark Lee and Jason Harper.Tina was also a profound writer, with her personal writings revealing her unrelenting faith in God and her deep affection for her family, friends and human kind.It was from the legacy left behind by Tina that further compelled her family to start up the Tina Insanally Foundation (TIF), an organisation with the goal of benefitting the lives of less fortunate Guyanese children, through music.The Insanallys’ first move towards honouring their daughter’s memory was to transform the top flat of their Guyenterprise business into a music studio.Even though transforming what used to be an office space to a musicians’ room proved taxing, transforming the lives of young disadvantaged children was always the aim for the family.This led to the formation of a Steel Pan orchestra which initially comprised children from the St. John’s Bosco Boys Orphanage and the St. Ann’s Girls Orphanage. As time went by and more children grooved in to the beat of the steel pan, TIF was able to get 70 kids interested in learning the instruments.The initiative eventually expanded to the yard space of the Guyenterprise complex in order to accommodate the eager musicians.“The initiative has really grown since the beginning,” said Vic Insanally, who also mentioned that TIF’s mission has managed to incorporate more children’s homes like the Bless The Children Home in the East Coast Demerara village of Industry.“We have even opened another training center for the children in disadvantaged communities at Lovely Lass along the West Coast Berbice.”From the beginning, Insanally has maintained that TIF is always working to serve disadvantaged children, so that they can eventually access other avenues that life offers. And, a commonly overlooked avenue happens to be music.He believes that if someone is not as skilled in one field then God blesses that person with exceptional talent in another. According to him, he witnesses this belief every time a child enters the orchestral group and proves their special skill.Due to the success of the musical initiative, TIF has begun introducing other instruments in their training programme.The organization has brought on Mark Lee for the guitar and Colgrain White for the keyboard. TIF is also looking to implement more wind based instruments like the clarinet and saxophone, with the help of a former police officer.By introducing these new instruments the organization is allowing for interested participants to stretch their metaphorical wings. Such was the case with an outstanding youth named Nicholas Husain, who can now play four instruments.Husain, in the words of Vic Insanally, has proven to be one of the orchestral members that was robbed of certain benefits in one way and rewarded with an outstanding skill in another.While Husain has a very quiet demeanour, when he picks up drumsticks or strums a guitar, one can see the depths of expression that the young maestro channels into his music.When asked how the programme has affected his life he related that it has been a wholly positive experience.“He’s found himself in the music,” related Insanally, remarking that he has seen a drastic change in Husain’s character since he has started.Insanally also described the effect the orchestra has had on other children. Whenever there is a concert, Insanally said that a few of the children would even improvise a song or dance routine to the amusement of the audience.Annually, TIF hosts a Christmas concert at the Theatre Guild to showcase the talents of the orchestra, which has been ongoing for three years. The orchestra has since expanded to not only include steel pan performances but a mix of guitar and drums as well.And as the Mashramani festivities are underway the public may very well be lucky enough to see how far the children’s orchestra stretches; further ensuring that Tina’s goodwill and faith lives on in the musical soul.
