Charity Keeps The Drums Beating In East Belfast
16 November 2009
Lagan village drumming school on the Ravenhill Road has received a big boost from the Energy for Children Charitable Trust after receiving substantial funding to purchase two large Lambeg drums for members.
The school was formed by volunteers with the aim of teaching drumming to children from the Lagan Village area and it has attracted youngsters from a variety of cultural backgrounds, including from Africa and the wider European Union.
Although Lambeg drums are often associated with Orange Order parades, the club recognises that the instruments were also a feature of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and so have historical significance within the nationalist community too.
UUP Councillor Michael Copeland was at the club to see the children's faces when the huge drums arrived and he said: "This school has made a significant difference to the young people involved; it has helped with their personal and social development and become a real source of pride for the local area. The interest and dedication shown by the adults and young people alike never ceases to amaze me. Without the help provided by the Energy for Children Charitable Trust the continued progress of the school and more importantly its members would have been much more difficult".
The Lambeg drum is globally recognised as one of the loudest acoustic instruments in the world and the children now have a good enough variety of drums to enable them to all be able to travel and play as a group in front of members of the public. In fact they were recently invited along to the Tall Ships festival where they played their drums to a huge number of visitors down at the Port of Belfast.
The Energy for Children Charitable Trust was set up by the local natural gas industry but is now supported by a variety of local organisations. Every penny raised by the Charity goes directly towards helping local disadvantaged children, and this is made possible because Phoenix Natural Gas covers all administration costs. To date the Energy for Children Charity has helped over 3,000 needy children and is continuing each month to provide further funding for projects throughout Greater Belfast.
Simon Little, Phoenix Communications Manager, reflected: "I would like to thank Lagan village drumming club for inviting me down to see the enjoyment that the kids get from being taught how to play the variety of different drums. I have no doubt that children from different generations at the club will be entertaining people with those drums for many years to come".
Pic: Simon Little of Phoenix Natural Gas and UUP Councillor Michael Copeland on the Ravenhill Road with some of the children from Lagan Village Drumming Club.