Morgan Bay Drumming Marathon

by Anne Gillham

The communities of Morgan Bay continue to be active during the Lockdown to support the needy. Michael Gillham offered technical support and helped to keep an event running that was planned for Youth Day, 16th June. He filmed the event and held interviews that will appear on the Facebook Page @Beat2Eat. A video of the event was posted on YouTube at https://bit.ly/Beat2Eat.​

The description accompanying the video describes it as:

“The Morgan Bay/ Ingxarha village talking drums beat out on Tuesday 16th June in a passionate call for help.

“Whilst speeches were made across the land to commemorate the day, children from Ferndale school put words into action when they took part in a dawn to dusk drum marathon.

“The event took place beside the ocean in front of the Morgan Bay Hotel in a bid to raise funds for urgent food relief in a community that relies heavily on the tourist trade for its survival.

“The lockdown has had a devastating effect on the livelihood of all employment in the leisure industry as well as the many families who depend on tourism and whose income has dropped to zero.

“With  support from the Morgan Bay Ratepayers Association Committee and elders from the community, the children took turns to sing, dance and beat drums in a colourful call for help - all the time observing the protocols of social distancing, hygiene, and the wearing of masks.

“As their teacher, Coleen Tshijila said: “The children are literally singing for their supper. They are the heartbeat of our community.”

“Co-ordinator of the project, Thembi Tshijila added: ‘Whilst our Youth Day celebration paid tribute to those who lost their lives 44 years ago, and our prayers went out to those whose lives have been lost in the troubles of the present, the children wanted to do more. They wanted to draw attention to the desperate situation much closer to home. They did not want to depend on the arrival of promised food parcels, but to go out and do something for themselves.’”