In 2021, the Exuma Community Youth Band started with about 60 young people and a simple idea: that learning an instrument could teach a child far more than music. Five years on, it is one of the most visible youth organizations on the island, more than 130 members strong, drawn from primary and secondary schools across the Exumas.

You often hear them before you see them. The band plays at nearly every moment that matters here: the Independence Flag Raising, the National Family Island Regatta, Remembrance Day, the Exuma Heritage Festival. Behind every performance is the quieter work, the weekly rehearsals where young people ages 8 to 19 learn focus, practice, and what it feels like to be counted on.

Their goal is to reach 200 young musicians. Their real goal, in the words of the band’s director, is “to cultivate leaders of today who will have a positive impact on tomorrow.”