Dondi 24Hr Drumathon

Beach United Church held a successful 24 hour Drumathon on October 1st and 2nd raising over $5,000 for the rebuilding of the Lutamo School in the Dondi Region of Angola.

Beach was one of 25 separate venues that organized Drumathon events from coast to coast (Victoria to St John's).  The school was destroyed during a 27 year long civil war which left 500,000 dead, thousands of refugees and the destruction of the country's infrastructure.  The Lutamo school was originally established by Christian missionaries almost 100 years ago (1914).  The United Church has been involved the Dondi school and other schools in Angola for many years and maintains fraternal relations with the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA).

The Lutamo School site is on land owned by IECA, a United Church partner church.  Luis Samacumbi, director of the church’s Department of Social Assistance, Studies and Projects, will oversee the rebuilding of the school.

During the Beach event, the Abbey North Drummers (Bazza Hayward, Christine Cullen and Joseph Truss) led various drumming sessions throughout the weekend beginning with a coordinated kick-off on Friday evening.  Broadcast facilities were established so that various drumming sites could see each other.  The Beach event included time for one film (The Visitor - about drumming) and as well a Jazz Vespers service on Saturday afternoon.

Previous to the Drumathon some $140,000 had been raised by the Men’s Ministry Network and As One That Serves (AOTS) through the organizing of drumming circles and individual donations.  The national results from the Drumathon will be available in a few weeks. 

All in all the event was very successful and a tired bunch of drummers joined the rest of the congregation on Sunday following the Drumathon to continue the drumming enthusiasm during the regular morning service and raise more money for the project. 

To view Drumathon photos, visit Paul Vaculik’s photography site:

http://paulvaculik.smugmug.com/Beach-United-Church-Dondi