Youth Development Drum Program
“Where you sit when you are old, shows where you stood in youth.”
– African Proverb
Youth Outreach
The Da'African Village Youth Development Drum Program
In lieu of recent budget cuts in education, institutions are now limited in challenging the minds of children, with little-to-no resources to implement programs of enrichment, i.e. cultural arts and music programs that have been proven to impact and even enhance a child’s social and educational development.
Da’African Village offers a K-12 curriculum integrated youth leadership program that will provide young people with an opportunity to build self-esteem and self-confidence by learning, West African traditional drumming. By studying the cultural and historical significance of drumming, children will discover the rewards of discipline, teamwork, creativity, responsibility, and self-respect.
Building Blocks
Cultural Awareness
The building block to developing all bridges of togetherness is cultural awareness through education; and to nurture progressive thinking, education must start early! Da’African Village is excited to offer an array of culturally and historically significant classes intended to give children and adults alike a deeper meaning behind African drums and culture.
Youth Development Program
Our Youth Development Program is a four (4) month program to be instructed by renowned Sabar and djembe master drummers from Sénégal, West Africa. Classes occur two (2) times per week at your designated school site for 1-hour during the class session. At the end of the programs, students will be required to perform before the student body at winter break and matriculation. The 1st-semester program starts in September (payments are due in August)
- 1st-semester program starts September (payments are due August)
- 2nd-semester program starts February (payments due January)
Youth Development Drum & Dance Program Designed for Schools
This is what it would take to bring Da’ African Village drumming and dance experience to your school:
Instruction
The rate for the instructor to facilitate the African Djembe Drumming class is $75.00 per 60-minute session – which includes a 50-minute class plus 5 minutes to prep and load in plus 5 minutes to load out.
The rate of instruction for dance would be an additional $100.00 per hour. Classes can be held once or twice a week in the afternoons, usually beginning in September. The school provides the space, e.g. a room and chairs placed in a circle for the drum class, and a separate room should be used for the dance class.
We will be happy to talk finer details and work-out kinks with you so that the classes are suitable for every child that attends.
Class Size
Class size should be approximately but no more than 20 students.
- This makes for a more productive learning environment for the children.
- This will also limit the amount of fiscal responsibility for the school, students, parents and/or community organization in terms of the number of drums purchased and/or rented for the class.
Student Trip to Africa
Cost: $4,500 per person (This can be reduced to $4,000 per person with ten (10) participants)
Deposit: $400 due 60 days before departure
Number of students: Up-to ten (10) students with 3-4 adult chaperones
*We recommend that 1 adult to accompany every 3 students this can be a combination of parents, teachers, administrators, and chaperones.
Students traveling to Africa will experience our cultural exchange program first hand in Sénégal and The Gambia, West Africa. This 2-week stay in West Africa includes the following:
- Roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles to Sénégal
- Accommodations in a large house/lodge (all participants will stay in the same location)
- Nine (9) days in Sénégal and five (5) days in The Gambia
- Some meals will be provided
- Educational tours for the students
- Cultural tours for the adults
- Classes with a master drummer and/or African dancer
- Students have the option to truly immerse themselves in the local culture if they choose to go on a homestay for two (2) nights and three (3) days with a traditional Sénégalese family in a program called “Meet Your New Family. (The family speaks their native language called Wolof and some English, students will learn some Wolof and teach some English)
- The trip culminates in a final performance on the beach in front of a traditional fire pit and drum circle for the students with natives
- Students will have the option to buy traditional clothes to perform in
- All students will receive a certificate of completion