Giving Back

We recently had the privilege to make a difference in the lives of a few people - directly and also indirectly.

First was for The Reach for a Dream Foundation to help fulfill the dream of a young 15 year old boy by the name of Denver. He is into drumming and his big dream was to have his very own drum kit. I was contacted by Adele Basson from Reach for a Dream who thought it might also be a great idea to run a small drum circle for him, his family and friends. So, one sunny Saturday morning Michelle and I went around to Denver’s home and did just that. Denver picked up the rhythms very quickly and towards the end of the session, even surprised us with a solo. I later learnt that he played the drums in the church band and although never having played the djembe drum before, he had loads of rhythm. He certainly enjoyed the drum circle, smiling from ear to ear, which definitely made it worth our while. Once it was over though, it was time for his big surprise. He received a full drum kit which you can imagine made our djembe drums pale in comparison. He immediately set about the task of setting it up. It was to take longer than expected and unfortunately we couldn’t stay to hear him play and possibly even jam along with him. I’m sure though that he has since spent many happy hours drumming.

The second opportunity was taking part in a fund raiser for Hear Now South Africa. We were asked to perform at their event which was held on a Friday evening at the backpackers lodge, Penthouse on Long. It was held on the roof of the backpackers and with perfect weather, we couldn’t ask for a better venue. Overlooking the skyline of Cape Town we performed two numbers, Lamba and Raboday. The performance, however, was really just a teaser for the drum circle we were to facilitate on Sunday afternoon where everyone would get a drum and join in the drumming.

So, on Sunday we were back at the Penthouse on Long to run the drum circle which as always, is a lot of fun and helped raise even more funds for Hear Now South Africa. For more information about them, visit their website - www.HearNowSA.com

Visit our website - www.afrobeatdrumming.co.za