UK

March 7th 2013

Music Earth Rise is now raising funds for ‘Dewa Drummers’, run by LIVE!, a Chester based charity.

Dewa Drummers

Drumming up global awareness

(Dewa is the Roman spelling of Deva which was the name for the Roman settlement which evolved into the city of Chester) Overview Dewa drummers are an inclusive music group providing opportunities for disabled young people to experience music on an equal footing. Live! the parent organization of Dewa Drummers is fully committed to the inclusion of disabled young people in mainstream activities and into the life of the local and wider community. The disabled young people benefit greatly from the music project as it allows them to express themselves creatively and grow in confidence as they develop. They currently attend weekly practice sessions and have had a number of public performances already at the 2012 Olympic torch ceremony; Chester giant’s parade and midsummer watch celebrations in Chester. As part of a group the young people are able to form friendships, learn new skills and most of all they will experience a feeling of self worth and esteem. Dewa drummers play several types of instruments currently, Brazilian samba drums and Gambian djembe drums; we are looking to develop our own fusion style of drumming accompanied by other musical instruments to create our own unique sound! We hope by playing at community events we will make people more culturally aware and ask questions about the differences between our cultures and lifestyles compared to others globally. This project is run by volunteers who bring with them a vast experience of working with young people on a number of projects and bring vast life experience with them. The project will run for 12 months initially but will be made sustainable through the purchase of samba and djembe drums. These drums will enable the group to charge for performances in the future to become fully sustainable. The funding is needed to purchase drums, beaters, straps and covers. One of the long term goals of the group is to visit the Gambia and work on music projects with local musicians and young people, this will require a lot of fundraising and the group will perform at community events to help raise the money. www.livecheshire.org.uk