Ubuntu Music Program
Kigali, Rwanda
400 students
14 staff
Since 2013
The Playing For Change Foundation has been working in Rwanda since 2011 using traditional and modern music, as well as sports as tools for positive change and education.
The Ubuntu Music Program in the capital of Kigali targets at-risk youth risk, principally in the community of Nyakabanda. Traditional drumming, dance, vocals, guitar, as well as sports are offered for free to over 400 weekly children and teenagers. Cultural activities for youth from the communities where the Ubuntu Music Program operates are not otherwise accessible.
“Ubuntu” itself means “humanity towards others,” and the Ubuntu philosophy can be summed up as “I am because we are” and is based on the idea that there is a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.
We offer weekly classes in guitar, percussion, vocals, ensemble performance, and the traditional styles of Ahidous, Gnawa, Rokba, Akalal, and Chamra. Joudour Sahara has become a leader in M’hamid El Ghizlane in providing access for girls to participate in social and cultural activities.
VIDEO OVERVIEW: TAKE A VISIT AT THE SCHOOL
Life in the community
Rwanda is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa with 12,5 million inhabitants. The economy has been growing over the last decades and access to education and healthcare have soared. Kinyarwanda is the language spoken by almost the entire population of the country and the official language alongside with English, French and Swahili.
Located in the south western part of Kigali, Nyakabanda is a sector with over 25,000 inhabitants and a young population, with 28% under 15 and and only 1.9% older than 64.
Traditional music & dance
400 weekly students
Recording studio
Modern Music instruction
STAFF ON THE GROUND
FEATURED STORIES
Inside a Guitar class with Irene | Kigali, Rwanda
Irene is a young and talented guitar teacher at the Ubuntu Music program in Kigali, Rwanda. Watch this video and get inside a guitar class with Irene and some of his students.
Mambo Sawa Sawa : Our students and staff in Rwanda and Uganda come together to record a song
Mambo Sawa Sawa is a quite popular East African gospel song by Ruth Wamuyu (Kenya). The titles literally means “Things are getting better” and this song has been one of the classic tunes for the vocal classes at the Ubuntu