The Marimba Education Foundation
A South African public benefit organization that brings marimba playing, instruments, tuition and support to under-resourced schools and communities.
Last updated September 29, 2026
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Overview
The Marimba Education Foundation (MEF) is a South African public benefit organization (PBO) that promotes marimba playing and brings the instrument to under-resourced schools and communities. According to its official website, the organization has been "Opening Hearts and Minds since 2005," and its work is organized around four pillars: instruments, tuition, support and online resources. Rather than operating as a commercial manufacturer or retailer, MEF functions as an educational and community-development body, placing marimba ensembles and teaching programmes into schools that would otherwise lack access to the instrument. MEF's activities combine direct project delivery with advocacy and events. It trains educators from under-resourced schools and communities to teach marimba, manages sponsored marimba projects, and has run national and regional festivals. The foundation states that it started the first National Marimba Festival in 2006 and continued to run the festival for another ten years. It has also hosted a National Soweto Marimba Festival and a National Marimba Festival in later years, and has produced podcasts and online resources to extend its reach beyond the classroom. Funding and partnerships have come from a mix of public and private sources. The website records that NHC sponsored four marimba projects in 2009, with an amount of R550 000, and that Lotto sponsored eight marimba projects nationally in 2010 with a donation of R2 498 600. MEF has also worked with the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and Recreation on the Pale Ya Rona Carnival project, and has partnered with institutions such as Tamarisk Autism School. Its director, Colleen Hart, has represented the organization in media appearances, including an interview on the SABC3 Expresso Show. MEF's public identity is therefore that of a mission-driven cultural education brand: it builds awareness of marimba music, supplies instruments, trains teachers, stages festivals and shares resources online. Its beneficiaries are primarily learners in under-resourced South African schools and communities, and its initiatives are framed around widening access to music education. The organization is registered as a PBO and solicits support through campaigns such as "Every Beat Counts."
History
The Marimba Education Foundation was established in 2005 and describes itself as having been "Opening Hearts and Minds since 2005." Its founding purpose was to bring marimba playing to under-resourced schools and communities in South Africa, combining the provision of instruments with tuition, ongoing support and online resources. The organization is registered as a public benefit organization (PBO), a status that frames its work as charitable and educational rather than commercial. A defining early step came in 2006, when MEF started the first National Marimba Festival. According to the foundation's website, it continued to run the festival for another ten years, making the event a recurring showcase for school and community marimba ensembles. In 2009, MEF managed four marimba projects in Ekurhuleni with sponsorship from NHC amounting to R550 000; these projects involved training educators from under-resourced schools and communities to teach marimba. The following year, 2010, the foundation initiated and managed eight marimba projects nationally, sponsored by Lotto with a donation of R2 498 600, extending its reach across the country. In 2011, MEF participated in a project under the auspices of the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and Recreation. The project involved Naledi Senior Secondary School in Soweto and Leitsibolo Primary School in Tladi, Soweto, taking a group of learners through a marimba programme that culminated in a performance at the Pale Ya Rona Carnival in Soweto. This partnership illustrates MEF's model of embedding marimba teaching within existing school and provincial cultural programmes. Activity continued through the 2010s. In 2013, MEF held a marimba workshop at Daniels Primary School in Port Elizabeth, hosted the National Soweto Marimba Festival, delivered a set of instruments to Morris Isaacson School to celebrate Madiba's birthday, and began hosting podcasts on its website. In 2016 it hosted the National Marimba Festival. Across these years the foundation also developed partnerships with other institutions, including Tamarisk Autism School, and pursued beneficiary profiling as a NAC beneficiary. Its director, Colleen Hart, has been a public face of the organization, including an interview on the SABC3 Expresso Show. MEF's history is thus one of sustained project delivery, festival organization and educator training, funded by a mix of lottery, corporate and public sources. Its initiatives, such as "Every Beat Counts," are designed to attract support for continuing to place marimbas and marimba teaching in schools and communities that lack resources for music education.
- 2016
MEF hosts the National Marimba Festival.
- 2013
MEF holds a marimba workshop at Daniels Primary School in Port Elizabeth and hosts the National Soweto Marimba Festival.
- 2013
MEF delivers a set of instruments to Morris Isaacson School to celebrate Madiba's birthday.
- 2013
MEF starts hosting podcasts on its website.
- 2011
MEF participates in a Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and Recreation project involving Naledi Senior Secondary School and Leitsibolo Primary School, culminating in a performance at the Pale Ya Rona Carnival in Soweto.
- 2010
MEF initiates and manages eight marimba projects nationally, sponsored by Lotto with a donation of R2 498 600.
- 2009
MEF manages four marimba projects in Ekurhuleni with NHC sponsorship of R550 000, training educators from under-resourced schools and communities.
- 2006
MEF starts the first National Marimba Festival and continues to run it for another ten years.
- 2005
The Marimba Education Foundation is established, "Opening Hearts and Minds since 2005."
Products and positioning
A registered South African public benefit organization using marimba music education to open access and opportunity for under-resourced schools and communities.
Marimba instruments
MEF supplies marimba instruments to under-resourced schools and communities.
Marimba tuition and educator training
Training educators from under-resourced schools and communities to teach marimba.
Online resources and podcasts
MEF provides online resources and began hosting podcasts on its website in 2013.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Netcracker receives three 2019 MEF Awards[3]
Reported:
Netcracker Technology received three 2019 MEF Awards for its orchestration and Digital BSS solutions, including recognition for LSO Leadership, Service Automation and Technology Provider of the Year.
Amartus wins MEF 3.0 Service Assurance Implementation award[4]
Reported:
Amartus won an MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept award in the Service Assurance Implementation category; the winner was announced during the MEF19 awards ceremony on November 20.
Sources5 sources
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