Published on Monday, 20 July 2020 at 9:24:42 AM
The Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) team is excited to launch a weekly Drum Beat Program from 30 July 2020 at Geraldton Police & Community Youth Centre (PCYC). Drum master, Mayoni Banda, will run engaging workshops to teach the youth community how to play the djembe drums. The program aims to engage and support Aboriginal children and youth to improve their wellbeing.
The djembe drum is a goblet-shaped drum that originated from West Africa. The name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which means “everyone gather together in peace”.
The program serves as an opportunity for Aboriginal children and youth to come together and express themselves through music and share the experience as a collective. The drumming workshops are a bit of fun for local youth, but they also provide a valuable opportunity to educate young people on the dangers of smoking tobacco.
Drum Beat is part of GRAMS TIS program that aims to reduce the prevalence of smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The program involves educating youth on the health risks of smoking as well as strategies to prevent smoking initiation in young children.
Just like the origin on the djembe drum, the Drum Beat program’s vision is to promote youth groups to come together through social activity.
TIS Health Promotion Officer, Kurt McIntosh said the Drum Beat program will provide a regular platform for Aboriginal children to collaborate on ideas, socially connect and share knowledge on certain topics such as smoking.
“We want to empower the voices of Indigenous youth and strengthen their sense of belonging and pride. We hope the program will give people an opportunity to drum out their feelings without needing to talk about things they don’t want to.” – Kurt McIntosh, TIS Health Promotion Officer
Drum it out with us every Thursday
Where: P.C.Y.C Yarning Circle
When: Weekly starting 30 July 2020, Thursday nights, 6PM-9PM
For more information, contact the TIS team at GRAMS
Carol Martin Coordinator at carol.martin@grams.asn.au 08 99566560
Kurt McIntosh at kurt.mcintoch@grams.asn.au
Denise Garlett at denise.garlett@grams.asn.au
Carmel Narrier at carmel.narrier@grams.asn.au
Brent Walker at brent.walker@grams.asn.au
Ashely Papertalk at Ashley.papertalk@grams.asn.au
Or on 08 9956 6555.
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