By Francois Viguie | Program Coordinator
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PFCF music student, Guem, lives in Mali's capital city of Bamako and travels 30 kilometers by bus to attend classes at École de Musique de Kirina. Meet his friends, follow him on his journey to the music school, and se how studying music has changed his life. Click here to watch Guem's video diary.
In October 2010, the Playing For Change Foundation opened its second music school in West Africa: L’École de Musique de Kirina, in Mali, located in a small village 30 kilometers outside the capital city, Bamako. Kirina is a unique village, as most of its inhabitants are griots, keepers of the oral tradition and history. We couldn’t have dreamed of a better place in this country to build the school.
Every week, close to 200 children attend free classes in traditional instruments, dance, English and French. Since 2012, Mali has gone through several serious political issues, and more recently, has experienced the threat and fear of seeing the Ebola virus develop within its borders. Although Mali’s political situation has improved and Ebola hasn’t spread there, the last few years have brought uncertainties and worries for our staff. I just came back from a 10-day trip to Mali and, as always, it was a fantastic and life-changing experience. Malian people are truly among the nicest people I’ve ever met, and are so far from the image traditional media often delivers of them.
The impact of the music school on the village has been quite amazing. In addition to providing music education to the youth and helping to preserve a cultural knowledge that traces back through centuries of oral history and music, the school has generated unexpected initiatives such as the implementation of 300 solar panels in the village by the Malian government and the building of a maternity ward in the village. We also found a great water source in the village and were able to drill a well, thanks to the support of our generous donors. The Malian government then took the initiative to build a well with a solar pump and water tank.
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