Cape Town - A blind saxophonist from Hanover Park who relies on his beloved eight-year-old instrument to help him make ends meet has appealed for help to buy a new saxophone.
Kenneth Herman, also known as Kenny, 54, has been busking in Camps Bay for the past 10 years.
His ageing saxophone is currently held together with an elastic band, which he desperately tries to salvage everyday in the hope of making it last so he can make enough money to buy a new one.
But with barely making enough money for his taxi fare to and from Camps Bay, Herman has appealed to the public to help him get a new alto saxophone.
Herman says he wakes up early from Wednesdays to Sundays to catch a taxi from Hanover Park to the CBD, where he has to ask people help to him down a flight of stairs to catch a taxi to Camps Bay.
“I enjoy playing music for the people in Camps Bay, I stand outside Kauai from 11am until about 4pm, depending on the way business is going on the day.
“I feel the money that’s inside my bucket to know if people are supporting well, or if it’s a bad day.
“I sometimes end up making just enough taxi fare to go back home, but then some days I make up to R260.”
Herman learned to play the saxophone at the age of 12 while at the Athlone School for the Blind in Bellville.
He lives in a one-bedroomed house with eight relatives and receives a disability grant. He has to fork out R500 every month for his rent and food expenses.
“If I make enough money a month with my saxophone, then I am able to cover most of my basic needs, aside from my rent and food expenses.”
Herman said he had fallen victim to various scams where people exploited him for self-gain.
“Sometimes people record my music on their phones, I hear them play it in front of me and then they share my videos to ask for donations, meanwhile none of that reaches me.
“They post about me on social media and say I am asking for money when I never asked them for anything.”