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We got the gist of Shaheed's new program from Hub Manager Arthur Usher. Here's more:

Arthur Usher, Manager, The Hub Resource & Community Center
"Well, so the Hub resource and community center is designed to be a resource for young people and so for the past three years what we have basically done is generate different types of creative programs, along with our ongoing after school program and summer programs, and easter programs, christmas programs we do push the creative arts a lot as an alternative for young people and so programs like drumming and music and stuff like that are essential and important and so Mr Musa's program fits directly into our mandate and so we have been working with him actually for about two and a half years in our summer programs and stuff and so we decied that look it's time for something more dynamic and more longterm, the Intel program that we are doing today starting today is geared towards creole drumming and so the focus is creole culture, the focus is building an institution around creole culture and so we have some drums, we have been working with these drums for a while now and so the drums are a bit worn and torn and so what we have decided to do with collaboration from NICH and the creole council is basically revitalize the program and fix these drums and then we will be using these drums in our future programming and so that is where Mr Musa comes in as one of the artisans who is known in Belize for this type of work. He will be assisting a group of about 12 young people to teach them the techniques of how to fix and maintain drums as well as beat the drums."

Musa Shaheed, Performer/ Teacher, Drums Not Guns
"We are repairing the drums, a variation of Jembe and Sambai drums and we are involving 12 young people and maybe like 2 or 3 adults just to give it that little contrast but it's the hub came on board with the idea and NICH with funding it and getting it rolling because like the generation gap is huge and to just have one or two or three people that are qualified to do this part of the job for the creole culture it's really kind of embarrassing and so I am on a vigilante to change a lot of those narratives there, the representation of the culture in performing in building from scratch, playing teaching, the whole aspect of it so like this is a start, this is a start and you all know I keep doing something new but this is a huge start to have a nice body if not at least one person who is qualified to do this portion of the work for the creole culture."

"It's fine to know to play it but it would be a little bit better if you know how to make it you know. So, that the goal right now."

Cherisse Halsall:
"Talk to me about what it's like to repair one of these drums, like what is the plan to go about doing it?"

Musa Shaheed, Performer/ Teacher, Drums Not Guns
"Um, tedious, it's tedious, it's very tedious, it's not an easy skillset that you can just learn overnight, hence the reason that we are doing it for a month and it's nice at the end of the day in my opinion when you know how to repair your drums. It's like when you're a kid and you learn to fix the chain on your bike or change the bearings, it's a different feeling when you know how to do something. It's just like someone who knows how to build and how to farm. So, the procedure is very tedious, certain parts of it like the donation part like tuning it is kind of it takes or it requires a certain amount of strength, um, the putting on of the skin. It's the same thing putting on the skin part is a lot of dynamics and patience because you could find yourself doing a lot of work over and over again by just making one or two simple mistakes."