Songs of peace as done by youthful artistes from DRC

Members of the group [PHOTOS: MAUREEN ODIWUOR/STANDARD]

By MAUREEN ODIWUOR

KENYA: The incessant violence and killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) traumatised them. This forced these young Congolese to leave the volatile country at different times to Kenya.

However, after travelling many miles, and reaching their destination, the upcoming artistes learnt they had one thing in common, the passion for music. And what united them even stronger was the realisation that they were all Congolese nationals.

Social tensions

Despite the hardships they underwent in the war-torn country, the young artistes have put everything aside and have now resorted to entertaining a sure audience at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana County.

With strong adoration they have for lingala, their presence in Kenya has not influenced their love for the genre, and as they sing and dance, every move their display is usually well choreographed, the Congolese way.

Music is the key force that acted as the driving factor towards the formation of Youth Educative Programme (YEPD) and Development together with Children’s Educative Programme  and Development (CEPD) groups.

The YEPD group comprises youths between the age of 18 and 35 while CEPD consists of those below 18 years. The two groups are under the same management and operate together. Since the groups always spend most of their time practising and performing music and dances, they have been sources of entertainment for the Kakuma Refugee camp community.

But, all that glitters is not gold for the artistes. They have faced a number of challenges in their efforts to produce  their first album.

 However, they had to travel all the way to Kitale late last year to record their debut Uwanja wa Mapigano (field of war)comprising10 songs.  “We have composed six Swahili songs, three Lingala and one in Kilembe- our native language,” says Uwezo Lusambo, who  is one of the founders and a band member. The group was founded in 2009 as a disco to fill the entertainment gap that was lacking at the camp and it later developed to a bigger entertainment band.

 The artistes began by doing acapela music. Performance using musical instruments was inspired by the children who are now members of CEPD. Lusambo says that the children began by using empty  tins as drums.This motivated Lutheran World Federation (AWF) to purchase msic equipment for them. The year 2010 was the group’s greatest after they received instruments. Unlike many people who go to music school to learn how to play the instruments, the team consists of members who are simply talented-with no prior training.

“First they bought us tama tam drums to add flavour to our music and then topped it up with drum set and guitars. In fact, one of the children, Innocent Zawadi aged 13 who was on the forefront in playing the tins is now our drum set player,” adds Lusambo. The children’s talent manifested when they approached LWF during the 2010’s International Women’s Day to allow them to perform using improvised drums made of used tins.

During the occasion, only adults especially women had been allowed to entertain guests. The boys insisted and were given a chance to perform. Theirs turned out to be the best leaving revellers in shock.

LWF Senior Community Services and Development Officer, George Omondi, says this made them see the need to purchase instruments for use by the refugees in the camp. “The instruments were purchased a year later and the refugees normally use them in turns, being that the camp encompasses different nationalities,” he says.

Lusambo says the team comprises 18 youths and eight children, all Congolese nationals with majority of them coming from South Kivu.

Among the group are those who compose the songs, those who sing, play instruments and a dancing crew that comprises mostly young children. Most of their music contains love messages, and information full of advice to people of all age groups.

 Social tensions

According to Uwezo Lusambo who plays drums and composes songs, they are usually invited to several functions where they get paid.

“Whatever proceeds we get from our performance we divide among us. For young children, the money goes to their parents,” he says.

The money has not been enough given the location of the camp; Turkana, where money circulation is still low, but they are highly committed to regular practice throughout the week.

“We train every weekday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm and 2pm to 7pm every weekend,” says Lusambo.

Although most of their time they perform in church, they mostly get hired to sing during ceremonies like  weddings, traditional functions and also in government and non –governmental organisations (NGO) functions at the camp.