Musicians from Dorset Music Hub (DMH) have recently led a series of ten music sessions at Chickerell Army Camp near Weymouth for the children of Afghan families who are temporarily living there. These are families who have the right to remain in the UK as they supported the UK government and military in Afghanistan.
Each music session started with familiar games, a hello song and body percussion activities. It was fantastic to see the children responding with great enthusiasm and confidence to the melodic and rhythmic challenges posed to them!
Over time, more and more instruments were presented to the children so that they could try them – guitars, violins, percussion instruments and ukuleles were all introduced. To begin with, the children approached the instruments with reservation but they soon grew to be very keen and enthusiastic to play them!
Over the weeks, our musicians gained the confidence of the children which enabled them to share their musical talents and express their cultural musical background. For example, three girls performed music and dancing from Afghanistan in front of the whole group: one played the violin and sang in her own language, another sang and played percussion, while the third girl danced.
During the final session, the DMH musicians and Afghan children formed a creative band with the children using their new knowledge of the instruments to choose the ones they wanted to play. They performed with immense enthusiasm, focus and creativity!