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The Mbale Youth Band from Uganda is attempting to be the first ever African Brass Band to take part in the famous Whit Friday Band Contests. Philip Monk, who now lives in Uganda to help support, amongst other things, the bands activities says;

Not every child in Africa is hungry. While there is no doubt that some children live in desperate circumstances, many of them have the basics but don’t have anything to do! Put simply, they don’t have the opportunities for cultural and artistic development that exist for children in the UK. This lack of mental stimulation can often take children down the wrong path and lead to the sorts of social problems that you might expect - crime, sexual promiscuity, and so on.

I’m the founder of a UK registered charity called ugive2uganda. Our small charity delivers a variety of aid and support in the Mbale area in the east of Uganda but my main focus is the development of youth music.

Since September 2007 I’ve been living in Uganda and have been able to create Uganda’s first sitting-down, reading-music brass band.

As you can imagine we have very little in the way of equipment, and our instruments are in a very poor state. Our challenges are numerous with transport and rehearsal facilities amongst the main difficulties. I have often found myself trying to teach in a field, with not enough music stands or chairs, and many of our instruments have been stolen or spoiled by others. But the enthusiasm of the children is unflagging and this is what makes us all the more determined to succeed.

All the children in the band have their own tales of hardship and struggle. But it’s a privilege for me to watch them develop as musicians and individuals, and I’m so proud of them as they battle through adversity to come and play with a smile on their face. None of them has breakfast and only a few can afford something simple for lunch. Most of them survive on one evening meal a day of maize porridge and beans. Half of them sleep on the floor and many have no blankets and only one change of clothes. Eight of them have lost at least one parent to HIV/Aids or other diseases.

As you may be aware, teaching a child a musical instrument is not just about the playing. It’s also an opportunity for a child to develop a sense of self-esteem, and the responsibilities that come with being part of a team. Here in Uganda, it’s particularly significant that we’re teaching children about discipline, concentration and, most importantly, a feeling of belonging to something and that they matter to each other. So as well as providing a rewarding pastime for the children in the band, it’s also part of the cultural development in the area and a beacon of hope for the future.

When I was living in the UK and had the vision of how the band would operate, I had assumed that the main problem would be music and teaching. In practice, running a brass band in this part of the world means being a combination of social worker, health visitor, nurse, teacher, taxi driver, and food/water provider.

Many children have family and home problems and turn to me for help. In the last few months, I’ve had crises with parents disappearing without explanation, urgent medical issues, and children with no food to eat. I have had no choice but to deal with each problem as it occurs and do my best for the children. I rarely have a full band rehearsal because there are always children that are sick. I have had to deal with TB, malaria, diarrhoea, ulcers, flu, girls’ problems, sickle cell disease and various infections. A lot of the underlying causes of the health problems are poor nutrition and the kids simply don’t get enough to eat on a diet that lacks essential vitamins. I try to feed them the best I can but it costs money. As well as health and diet problems I’ve also had kids unable to attend practice because others who have never heard western music have tried to bewitch them, and have had to cope with other children who have been ejected from school because they have no uniform or exercise books (these are not provided free). Through ignorance and jealousy some children have even been beaten as they walk two hours or more along dirt roads to get to band practice.

But as I nurture the children through sickness, hunger, opposition and poverty we come to our rehearsals together as a team with one dream…to come to the UK to take part in the Whit Friday brass band contest in Oldham in 2010.

But we can only do this if we can raise about £12,000 to cover air fares (27 children and 3 teachers at nearly £400 each), passports, visas, shoes and clothes, and uniforms. It’s a challenging target but unless we try we’ll never know. Joy Bannister has offered to sponsor one child’s fare already so we have a pledge of £400 and therefore the fund is up and running.

Many people in Uganda often think negatively and almost ‘expect’ to be poor. Although it’s a generalisation there are millions of teenagers in the country with low expectations of life and who feel that nothing good will ever happen to them. If we can show the youth of Uganda what we have been able to achieve in the band through hard work, commitment, discipline and enthusiasm it will have a massive impact through the nation-wide publicity that will occur if, by some miracle, we are able to travel to England to play in public. Although South Africa have sent the Soweto Choir and other artistes abroad over the last few years to perform music, as far as I’m aware, no group of children in Uganda has ever played western music overseas before and this would be a huge step forward for the youth of Uganda in terms of culture, aspirations and mindset. Think how many Ugandan children would want to learn to play music if they heard about our success!

With the help of a few enthusiastic supporters, I have managed to bring instruments, stands and music to Uganda and have coached the children to a point where they can play a competent hymn tune and make a reasonable attempt at a march. By next year we will better. If we can get to Oldham on Whit Friday next year we will almost certainly finish last in the contest.

But after the hardships and struggle that we have endured already to come this far, the children and I will cry tears of joy together as, for us, we will still be the winners on the day.

If you can help in any way please contact me by phone in Uganda on 00256 7731 46983, or by email at ugive2uganda1@aol.com. Or see my website at www.ugive2uganda.org, especially the 2008 Winter Newsletter and the brass band appeal.