Intore Culture & Music Center

Obstacles and Rewards

by Stephen Beili

When working toward building a performance center for traditional drumming and dancing for fifteen young men who grew up on the streets in Rwanda in the years following the genocide of 1994, one can expect to run into a few obstacles.  And then, thankfully, there are the rewards.

Obstacles: drums being stolen, new building regulations at the standards of the U.K. but without the government officials yet organized and trained on how to explain and implement those regulations, steep land prices, language barriers and cultural differences, frequent power outtages, rain that prevents business meetings, malaria, a lack of parenting for most of the young men, all in a country still recovering from the trauma of 17 years ago.

Rewards: getting to watch the results of all of the effort that goes into a program like this as the men energetically and joyfully rehearse what they've been learning for these past four years.

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