In a world marred by conflict, Senegalese drummer Mousse Ndiaye is touring the world, bringing people together through music. His current stop is Malta.

“To be able to connect people, you first have to gather them, and when you do, you offer them something joyful that they can share: music.

“Bringing people together is the beginning of the end of conflict, ultimately bringing peace one place at a time,” Mr Ndiaye told this newspaper before a workshop at the San Miguel Primary Education Resource Centre.

Mr Ndiaye leads the Gewel community in Senegal, whose mission is to “connect people” and call a truce between tribes.

“You see, we were the first with Nokia phones… we connect people,” he jokes.

Up until some 20 years ago, Mr Ndiaye was still accompanying internationally famous musicians such as Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal on his drums.

When two communities fight, my grandfather would approach them and ask them to make peace… that’s when the djembe comes out and we all drum with joy

One day, he was called home by his grandfather, who asked him to give up his touring. He wanted to pass on the tribe’s knowledge and make him the new leader.

“When two communities fight, my grandfather would approach them and ask them to make peace… that’s when the djembe comes out and we all drum with joy. In a similar fashion, my new mission was to go around the world and bring people together.”

Mr Ndiaye, who has been in Malta twice before, noted that the simple djembe drum could reconnect people, something advanced technology has failed to do.

Mr Ndiaye is now in Malta for a series of workshops with different communities as part of a three-year project called Sounds Out Loud.

The project was music therapist Rosetta Debattista’s idea. It is financially backed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and being endorsed by the Johann Strauss School of Music.

This year, the workshops are being held at resource centres hosting children with complex needs, and Mr Ndiaye will be returning to Malta in 2017 to hold workshops with teenagers and young adults who are not in education or employment.

In Finland he held similar workshops with 18- to 25-year-olds, some of whom eventually learnt to play the djembe professionally and started earning an income through music classes. Before leaving Finland, he helped set up the Federation of Hope for some 600 youths.

Ms Debattista believes that Mr Ndiaye’s workshops empower people through their hands-on involvement. They also bring people together – children and adults – as each single drummer needs to connect with the others to maintain rhythm, while the djembe itself is an expressive tool, and drummers can vent their feelings and “let it all out”.

The organisers hope they will be able to make the project sustainable, encouraging more percussionists to continue the project beyond 2018.

For more information, email soundsoutloudmalta@gmail.com or call 7909 8726.

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