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VPA expands Drumming for Peace programme

Published:Tuesday | March 14, 2023 | 12:42 AM
Professor Elizabeth Ward (second right), chair of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), gets drumming lessons from Jesse Golding (right), Afro-Caribbean drumming instructor, at the launch of the VPA’s drumming programme at the Kingston Young Women’s
Contributed
Professor Elizabeth Ward (second right), chair of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), gets drumming lessons from Jesse Golding (right), Afro-Caribbean drumming instructor, at the launch of the VPA’s drumming programme at the Kingston Young Women’s Christian Assočiation. Sharing in the moment are (from left) Delando Johnson, student, Kingston YWCA School Leavers Institute, Nicole Gordon, president, Rotary Club of St Andrew, and Matthew Silpot, music education officer, Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture.

As part of its Peace Day celebrations, the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) expanded its drumming programme ‘Drumming for Peace’ to five additional schools.

Professor Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA, explained that the Drumming for Peace project is an expansion of the Drumming Therapy Project, the latter being part of a collaboration with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) by which wards of children’s homes operated by the CPFSA were engaged.

“The Drumming Therapy Project has done very well over the last two years, and we think that the initiative would have greater impact if it were expanded. Based on this, over the next few months, we will be launching the programme in five new schools,” she shared.

The institutions to be engaged are Jones Town Primary School, Kingston High, and the Kingston Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) School Leavers Institute; Steer Town Primary and Junior High School in St Ann; and the Salvation Army at Hanbury Home in Manchester.

The launch of the expansion took place at the Kingston YWCA on South Camp Road on Tuesday, March 7. The day’s activities included a small private reception featuring a drumming circle, which was supported by professional musicians who have volunteered to lend their time and expertise to the initiative.

Meanwhile, Peace and Love in Society, in collaboration with Project STAR, staged a Peace Day Concert on the same day at the Calabar Infant, Primary and Junior High School on Sutton Street in Kingston. Students had the opportunity to see performances by their peers and learn about peace-building skills from peace advocates.

Professor Ward emphasised that Peace Day offers an opportunity for everyone to unify. The day’s activities were celebrated under the theme Be the Peace’.