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| Gilad in action with local drum |
A
DURBAR
has been held in Saakuba, a small farming community in the Tolon/Kumbungu
district of the Northern Region, in honour of an International percussionist
from Israel, Gilad Dobrecky.
Mr Dobrecky, who is considered one of
the world’s top 12 percussionists by the JAZZIZ magazine, visited the community
courtesy the Embassy of Israel in Ghana and the Paabinaa Meriga Peace
Initiative (PAMEPI), a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation.
Using his percussion instruments and local
Dagomba drums, Mr Dobrecky produced interesting rhythms and compositions that delighted
both the young and old people of Saakuba and nearby villages who had converged
at the durbar grounds upon hearing of his arrival.
The visit formed part of efforts to
cement the relationship between the embassy and the community.
The embassy is in support of the “School
for All” project, which is being implemented by PAMEPI and aimed at creating opportunity
for school children in Saakuba to have access to learning materials that could
help improve their studies.
Mr Dobrecky said he was happy to share,
to connect with people and give what he has to offer, adding that music is an
international language and so his performance was to show to the people that “we
all are the same.”
“I wanted to expose them to different
forms of drumming and making rhythms. One of my goals has always been to
respect cultures and so I respect Ghanaian cultural music, which is why I also
performed with the local drum,” he stated.
Speaking at the durbar grounds, the Deputy
to the Israeli Ambassador, Mr Eyal Lampert said the Israeli embassy was
committed to supporting rural communities, especially in the area of education.
He said Israel had much experience in
development and had developed innovative systems, particularly in improving
early childhood education through creative teaching skills.
Mr Lampert said
the embassy had collaborated with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to build
the capacity of teachers to impact knowledge to children at the early childhood
level.
He said this
training programme would be extended to Tamale in the Northern Region, adding
that already some experts had been sent to the area to survey and find out the
most effective way to implement the programme.
“We have seen already in Kumasi that the
teachers who were trained through this programme in the last three years have
been employing these teaching methods that they learnt and it has improved
teaching and learning in that area,” he stated.
The Executive Director of PAMEPI, Mr
Fuseini Yakubu said the organisation could pride itself in helping the people
of Saakuba establish an education fund.
He thanked the Israeli Embassy for its
support to the activities of PAMEPI and expressed hope of further co-operation.
He hinted of efforts that his
organisation was making to seek assistance from schools and organisations in
the United States to enable him implement a mobile library project in Saakuba.
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