What started as one performance outside San Salvador Home has grown into a movement of connection and inclusion… and now, this choir is ready to take it across South Africa.
Johannesburg, South Africa (14 July 2026) – The nerves were real. For some members of the San Salvador Community Hub Choir, their first performance outside the safety and familiarity of San Salvador Home was also the first time they had stood in front of an audience who did not already know them. There was uncertainty and hands held for reassurance… and then the music started.
Based in Johannesburg, the choir is made up of neurodiverse people and individuals living with intellectual disabilities. We chatted with Naomi Schauer, San Salvador Community Hub Choir Manager, who says their first outside performance in April changed everything.
“The moment the music started, something shifted. Then the audience began smiling, clapping and singing along. You could literally see shoulders straighten, faces light up and confidence grow with every song. By the end of the performance they weren’t focused on their disabilities or their fears anymore, they were simply performers bringing joy to other people.”
On the drive home, nobody was asking whether they had done well. Instead, they wanted to know, “Where are we performing next?”
“That was the moment I realised they had begun to see themselves differently,” Naomi shares.
Since then, the choir has taken its music to Forest Farm Centre, Rand Epilepsy Association and Kadimah Occupational Centre, performing for audiences that include people with a range of disabilities. What began as a choir performance has grown into something far more meaningful: an opportunity to connect as equals.
At one performance, residents who had initially appeared disengaged suddenly began singing, clapping and dancing with the choir. Staff later told Naomi that some had not engaged like that in a long time.
“It struck me that this wasn’t about putting on a concert. It was about people with disabilities connecting, encouraging and inspiring other people. There was no pity in the room, only love, laughter and shared joy. Our choir members weren’t receiving support that day, they were giving it.”
That connection was beautifully evident at Kadimah. After welcoming its first Deaf member a year ago, the San Salvador community began learning South African Sign Language to include her fully. Today, the entire choir signs one of the songs in its performance. When they performed the song at Kadimah, a Deaf audience member realised she could understand them. Afterwards, she spent time communicating with the choir members in sign language.
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“We don’t just go to perform, we go to connect,” Naomi explains. “We go to remind people, and ourselves, that everyone has something meaningful to give.”
For Naomi, that is what she hopes South Africans will understand about the choir.
“Disability is only one small part of who these incredible people are. They are singers, comedians, friends, leaders, entertainers and people with so much love to give. Like everyone else, they want to contribute, to be seen and to belong.”
The Community Hub is now planning monthly performances and has successfully auditioned for the Franklin Players Playground Fest, with its first performance set for the end of July. They are also taking sign language classes into communities, with the dream of becoming ambassadors for inclusion across South Africa.
“Every new audience they stand in front of reinforces that they have something valuable to offer the world. It builds confidence, independence and pride,” Naomi says.
Back in April, they held onto each other and wondered what would happen when the music started. Now, they are asking where they get to perform next.
