A project and an organisation in development

In the two and a half years of its existence, the Playback project in Nairobi has grown from a simple music group for young people with disabilities in the Mathare slums, into what is now a wide-ranging project, incorporating many cultural activities in Nairobi’s second-largest slum district.

The project is a cooperation between the North partners, Volda University College and Merkesteinane, and the South partners, Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) and Haba na Haba. The two participants in this round of exchanges, Ola Mo and Vidar Stadheim, face many different tasks and challenges in the Mathare slums.

Haba na Haba is the creative arts department of MYSA and is situated right above Mathare. The organisation is growing, and is now working on improving the structure it needs to host the diversity of activities it supports. Haba na Haba is the Swahili for ‘step by step’, or ‘little by little’, which also neatly describes the organisation’s development since its foundation in 1998. Haba na Haba’s activities revolve around music, drama, painting, dance, acrobatics and modelling, and are aimed at young people in the Mathare slums and adjacent areas. One aspect of the exchange has been to establish a sound studio project, which will enable music groups within Haba na Haba to record their own music and produce CDs, and also will allow Haba na Haba to generate income by hiring out the facilities and the organisation’s expertise. The FK participants have also started giving music theory classes, to provide the members of Haba na Haba with a broader perspective on the world of music.

The Playback group, which is the FK participants’ main project, holds regular rehearsals with a team of local volunteers who plan and perform concerts. As one example, Playback recently performed at the “Sunshine Rally for youth with special needs”. The group’s performance was filmed and appeared on the television news later that day. Good connections, for example with the Nairobi Rotary Club, which was the facilitator for Playback’s Sunshine Rally gig, and a well-run project have brought the group many performances and a good deal of media coverage. Watching Playback perform, it is easy to see the enjoyment they both give and receive. Future plans for the group involve visiting schools in Nairobi to perform, and to show what young people with disabilities are capable of, and also to expand into activities other than music.

Through contacts in Haba na Haba’s local community, the work of the FK participants also extends to a school based in the Mathare slums. At St. Michael Children Educational Centre, the participants in this, and former, exchanges have held classes on a variety of subjects, started a brass band, and have also been given a different perspective on life in Mathare. From his, and their work at Haba na Haba, they have learnt much about the conditions in the slums and about Kenyan culture in general, and how different it is to life in Norway.

Haba na Haba is in the process of moving premises, since its lease has come to an end. The FK participants have been there to support Haba na Haba in the move, and to come up with ideas to enable the organisation to find suitable premises for all its activities. Haba na Haba’s structure and its premises are important factors in the survival and development of Playback and the other programmes it supports.

To find out more about what Ola’s and Vidar’s life and activities in Nairobi, visit their blogs at http://moikenya.blogspot.com and http://vstadheim.wordpress.com