The guitar that’s been lying around unused for years; the keyboard gathering dust in the cellar; the trumpet of your uncle who died many years ago: elsewhere, unused instruments can be a true blessing. In the BidiBidi refugee settlement in Uganda, they give young people new prospects.
The Lab Uganda mobile music lab has been improving the lives of the inhabitants in one of the world’s largest refugee settlements for more than a year now. Furnished with a stage, recording studio and collection of instruments, the converted truck drives through BidiBidi every day, providing more than 500 refugees with regular music lessons. “Some people walk for several hours to take part. That’s how important it is for them,” says Annette Davidson from the charity Music Connects e. V., who conceived the Lab Uganda project.
“The project actually changes the lives of people in the region by creating jobs, opportunities and vitality. In that context, music is so much more than just entertainment.”
What we need most of all are instruments for practising: trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, alto horns and tenor horns. We’re also looking for tubas and mouthpieces. The bands that rehearse and perform in Lab Uganda need acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and drum sets. “It doesn’t matter if the instruments are slightly damaged or less than perfect, as long as they are still playable,” says organiser Annette Davidson.
You can donate your instruments daily between 10 AM and 8:30 PM at the München Ticket counter at the information desk in Hall E of the Gasteig HP8. At the end of March, a large container sponsored by DHL will take the collected instruments to Africa.
If you would like to donate several instruments at once, please contact Annette Davidson directly on 0176-38640424 or annette.davidson@musicconnects.world.
You can find further information on the charity and its projects at musicconnects.world
Text: Melanie Brandl
