VIEW issue 4 2012:VIEW issue 4 2012 29/04/2012 16:54 Page 10


VIEW, Issue four, 2012


Website: viewdigital.org


Page 10 Breaking down the


Sounds of Uganda: Donna Namukasa playing the drums at her house in Belfast Images: Kevin Cooper, Photoline


I


came here in 2003 from central Uganda in east Africa with two children. There were very few ethnic minorities visible on the streets when I arrived. For a long time I kept getting lost in the city until I got use to it. The structure of the place was very different than Uganda. “I first of all got involved with an organisation called the Northern Ireland Community of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (NICRAS). I initially acted there as a volunteer and a youth worker. “I use to sing at NICRAS events such as Refugee


Week, and I played at Stormont on various occa- sions. I sang traditional Ugandan folk songs and I played the drums. “Darren Ferguson, who is the manager of Be-


yond Skin, which is a multi-racial organisation, con- tacted NICRAS, and asked would they have any people from an ethnic background who could sing


Ugandan woman Donna Namukasa, who now lives in Belfast, tells Brian Pelan how she got involved with the multicultural organisation Beyond Skin


or play an instrument. They give Darren my name and he contacted me. The first event I played at, on behalf of Beyond Skin, was in Ballymena. The local council was hosting an inclusive func-


tion for ethnic minorities. People got together to cook food as a way of promoting various cultures. “Five musicians, including myself, played at the


event. There were musicians from different coun- tries including South Africa and Poland.


performance started and I started to sing and I played the drums. That was my first performance. I will never forget that day. People enjoyed it and I think that Darren was fascinated by the way I was singing.


events. Most of the Ugandan songs I play are quite meaningful with stories in them about working and


“He continued to get me involved at different “I didn’t know that I was to sing that day. The


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