Mama Limbo Music School, Gambia

Project name: Mama Limbo Music School

Project location: Sanyang, Gambia, West Africa

Website: http://www.drum-drum.de

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamalimboculturalband/

Project description:

Who is Mama Limbo?
Mama Limbo is a non-profit cultural group from Sanyang, the Gambia, which was founded 10 years ago by Kebba D. Bojang. Starting with four drummers and their drums they worked themselves up to now 20 people (age 18-40), consisting of professional artists such as drummers, dancers and singers. They dedicated themselves to preserving the local culture and tradition, independent from gender, age, ethnic membership or political orientation.

What does Mama Limbo do?
1. Professionalization: daily practice at the beach
2. Skill enhancement: continuous inclusion of new members and their training
3. Community support: collaboration with local kindergartens and schools
4. Workshops: drum and dance workshops for tourists
5. Entertainment: participation in regional cultural ceremonies and events
6. Drum school- project: in the process of building and establishing a drum school
7. Self-supply: implementation of gardening, construction of a well, poultry, drum building and reparation

Where are they located?
Sanyang is a small village of 7000 people at the coast of the Gambia, West Africa. It is distinguished by a variety of ethnic groups (Mandika, Wolof, Jolla, Fula). The village`s main income comes from farming and fishing, whereas the former dictatorship in 2013 caused a large drop in tourism. Since the transition of government into a democracy in January 2017, the community hopes to gain a better future.

What did they achieve so far?
Mama Limbo took a leading part in organizing the annual “International Cultural Festival of Sanyang” since 2012, which attracts cultural groups, tourists and business partners from different parts of the world every year. Its profits went directly towards the construction of a high school, providing access to further education to the youth of the village.
Due to the achievements, the community committee provided a piece of land to the group, where they started the construction of the drum school. Financial support is needed, as non consistent donations from friends and supporters are not sufficient to complete this project.
In addition to their accomplishments for their community, the group increased awareness for regional culture and tradition in times of globalization, in the broader sense of “You never know where you are going, when you don’t know where you come from.”(Bakary Jatta, solo drummer and co-founder of Mama Limbo)

Goal and purpose of the project:

Short term objectives:

• Building a drum school to host workshops for people from all over the world
• Using the profit of the drum school for implementing the long term objectives

Long term objectives:

• Establishing a supportive network of institutions in Sanyang such as schools and health system
• providing job opportunities for locals
• creating future perspectives for the youth within the community
• further strengthening of the awareness of culture and tradition
• Connecting diverse cultural ethnic groups through music
• Sharing culture internationally, connecting people all over the world through music and culture

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Gambia and its people have struggled and suffered for many years under the dictatorship of the former government. With almost 60% of the population having less than one dollar a day, the Gambia belongs to the poorest countries in the world. Finances from Gambian citizens living abroad make up 1/5th of its economy, illustrating the high migration rate and the lack of perspective for the people within the country. Now, that there is a transition towards democracy, Mama Limbo and the Sanyang community want to take the chance to improve the lives of every individual. As tourism currently is the second largest economic sector of the Gambia, Mama Limbo took this opportunity by establishing the drum school. The development of Sanyang will benefit especially the future generations in terms of self-support and empowerment. Being able to help the poorest of the community such as abandoned children and integration of the most disadvantaged community members is the group´s vision and interest. Furthermore, providing perspective for the youth contributes to the minimization of “push- factors” which lead to migration.

Use of prize money:

The prize money will be used to continue the construction of the drum school. It will include:

• the completion of two main houses with each 7 double rooms and its interior trim such as furniture and sanitary (providing a place to stay for workshop guests)
• the construction of walls and fences surrounding the premises
• the construction of pathways throughout the property
• the implementation a garden with a well
• the construction of a stage and a pavilion for cultural events and music classes
• Material, supplies, management, specialized staff (such as carpenters, masons, floor tillers)