Sierra Leone. The road to recovery.

 

 

Keys of Change first came to Sierra Leone to share music in 2012 expecting to find stories of war, suffering and survival, yet these stories of the past that unite the people in this African nation, are not the ones that define them in the present. Classical music, although unknown and new, is felt in Sierra Leone by the heart. It inspires and is expressed astonishingly through movement. Who would think that people listening to classical music for the first time would dance so beautifully? It is being happy that reminds people they are alive, not sadness, and music for Sierra Leoneans can only be part of this happiness. In 2013 pianist Panos Karan returned to Sierra Leone for performances in schools (including a school for the blind), slum communities, amputee groups, a children’s hospital, HIV positive group, amputee groups and many others. Between 2012-13 Keys of Change sponsored a children brass band in Freetown. Following the deadly Ebola outbreak, and the the catastrophic consequences it had for everyone in Sierra Leone, we are currently looking to establish a continuous music education programme.