05/13/2026
📬 Check your mailbox lately? We just dropped our spring appeal letter, penned by the fearless director of our beloved Marimba band, Laone Thekiso. (Incidentally, he studied with Mr. Alport Mhlanga, the Zimbabwean marimba pioneer and composer who taught many of us at MaP!)
🎶 In the letter, Laone laments that our scintillating band was unable to tour the U.S. this spring, as hoped.
💬 “To their credit, [band members] have not splintered or resigned themselves. With determination and solidarity, we are finding new local and regional projects. There is no way to replace the U.S. tour, but the work continues. The marimba tradition at MaP, which began on this campus and has become its own institution, asks that of us. It’s resilient, and so are we.”
👀 ***Read his full letter here, which includes an invitation to visit the band in Gaborone! And help us be resilient by closing the gap in gifts toward our OVC scholarships. Donate at www.afmap.org.***
