Mhlanga drums up support for drummers' project

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Thursday January 29, 2009 00:00

 

Mhlanga initiated the project  as a way of keeping the youth away from the streets.  He believes that they could acquire  skills that they could earn them a living.  He describes Drummers Anonymous as a community project.    Mhlanga has also appointed a board of governors.  Gaborone West South Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Molefhabangwe is the patron of the centre. 

The project  is self-sponsored as Mhlanga has been digging from his own pockets to get the programme going.  Mhlanga is keen to sponsor the project because he feels it is for a worthy cause.

However, the only challenge that the association is facing is lack of facilities.  This is why he is appealing to the community for assistance.   The association  is in need  of equipment  like drums and accessories.  They can also do with music books.  Mhlanga appeals to people who can teach music to volunteer their services at the centre.

It has become  a struggle to run the centre single-handedly.  Things are so hard that the students are operating with worn out drums.  Mhlanga, who is also a drummer  with the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) band, does not charge for his services.  He runs the organisation when he is not on duty, especially at weekends.

A Gaborone company,  Cecil Nurse recently donated a cabinet  to the association.  Mhlanga  appreciates the company's gesture as they are going to use the cabinet to store their records. He says they also want to establish a website.  He is appealing to organisations that could  assist them in this regard.  He believes that if they could have a website, many  people would be able to assess it and know about the existence of the music centre. 

Mhlanga  reveals that 16 young people have enrolled with the centre.  The trainees include both in and out of school youth.   All the apprentices are boys, but Mhlanga says  that they would like to see even girls showing interest in music.   They would also like to see local women becoming drummers.   Membership of the association is open to young people from all over the country. 

Mhlanga says parents of children who have enrolled with the association have been very supportive.  In fact, they have also been coming up with ideas of how to improve the centre.

Parents are of the view that the programme will keep their children away from the streets and mischief.  Parents are the ones who came up with the idea that they should also enroll girls in the centre to learn to play musical instruments.

Mhlanga reveals that they also intend to work with neighbouring schools as they want music to become an extra-curricular activity.  The association has already approached Naledi Senior Secondary School and they are still awaiting feedback. 

Another  plan is to launch the centre.  Although  they have been facing teething problems,  Mhlanga is optimistic that the association will work.  'We have already laid some foundation,' he says.