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Happy Peace Corps Week!
As Peace Corps Week 2021 draws to a close, we invite you to learn more about the mission of Peace Corps and the experience that our Artistic and Managing Director, Lindsay Rust, had while serving as a PC Volunteer in West Africa. Read on for more from Lindsay!
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Happy Peace Corps week! I was fortunate to to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa, from 1996-98. As the PC motto says, "It's the toughest job you'll ever love." This really sums up my experience there.
The greatest part of those rich and challenging years was by far the amazing people that I met and worked with in my host village, Larba Birno, and later in the capital city, Niamey, when I worked with the batik artists and silversmiths at the National Museum.
"Kala suuru" (have patience) was something I heard almost every day, as I learned to speak the local language (Songhai-Zarma), hitchhiked and waited hours for bush taxis, got sick, lonely, and frustrated by the intense challenges that every day would bring. I have so many funny and horrible stories from that time that I could fill a book. The lessons of "kala suuru" have served me well during this time of COVID.
In Larba Birno, I served as an Agro-forester and Community Service Volunteer. Once I got my mind around that amorphous job description and learned to speak the language (which took about a year), I was able to work with my Nigerien counterparts to create some projects to benefit the village. I worked with the local women to start a women's cooperative that met weekly, paid dues into their own "bank", and made loans that were paid back with interest by the members. We also started cold-season gardens along the Sirba River. I worked with the Construction Sans Bois masons to get tools and training for them to build more beautiful, domed houses without using wood. I worked with gardeners to train them in fruit tree grafting (mangos and citrus).
Years later, I returned to see that some of the mango trees that we planted had grown larger than a house and were filled with mangoes! I learned so much about farming and gardening from my Nigerien friends, and have always been amazed at how they can extract food from a hot, dry, and very unforgiving landscape.
Maybe the thing I'm most proud of today is how I've been able to address Peace Corp's "Third Goal" since returning home to the US. The mission of the Peace Corps is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals: 1) to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; 2) to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and 3) to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Your in-country service ends, but the "3rd Goal" never really does. I've written a book for music teachers that includes music and culture from Niger and worked with Steve Campbell to train them in the Takamba. I also had the amazing opportunity to bring Nigerien Afropop group, Mamar Kassey, on tour through world music festivals across the US (pre-9/11). I hope we can do that someday again. I'm still in touch with my silversmith friends at the National Museum and sell some of their Agadez crosses on my website. I try to keep my Zarma skills up by talking with friends on the phone, but they are fading and "ay dine ga tin" (my tongue is heavy) now.
Maybe someday I'll rejoin the Peace Corps. It really was the toughest job I ever loved. To all my RPCV friends, I salute your service and always look forward to reading your stories!
Lindsay Rust
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV)
Niger, 1996-'98
Dancing Drum at NAfME 2021: Teach to the Virtual Beat! Drumming and S.E.L. in the Online Classroom
This session is scheduled for Saturday, February 27th, 2021, at 3:30-4:00 EST (12:30-1:00PST). View full article →IT'S HERE! A New Web-Based Resource For SEL and Music Ed
We are thrilled to announce that Dancing Drum's new, Interactive Online School, Drumming Up Character, is live, fully functional, and ready to go!
This web-based curriculum provides a music-focused framework for character education and SEL in K-6 schools. Featuring more than 80 interactive lessons, Drumming Up Character is designed to build student understanding of ten character traits through rhythms, raps, language arts, social studies, and visual art activities. To learn more, visit https://www.drummingupcharacter.com. Programs start at $50.
11 Ways Schools Benefit from Drumming
Here are the "Top 11 Ways" that your school can benefit from a Dancing Drum program! View full article →Everybody Jump! Music Video
Would you like to be featured in a music video by Dancing Drum?! We have a new song called "Everybody Jump!" and we're taking submissions of videos to include in the final cut. If your video is chosen, you win a FREE set of drums! View full article →How Dancing Drum is Adapting to COVID-19
Drumming workshops following the highest level of cleanliness can be extremely beneficial for students’ social, emotional, and musical well-being. We understand that there are many unknowns about schools re-opening and what they will allow, however if you’d like to explore having a Dancing Drum program at your campus or online, here's some information that will be helpful as you consider how our program will work in the era of COVID-19. View full article →Virtual Drum Workshops (VDW) are now online!
Virtual Drum Workshops (VDW) are now online! Bring the Dancing Drum experience to students with an in-person session with our Musical Director, Mr. Steve, streamed live over the internet. Or, choose customized, pre-recorded sessions with Mr. Steve that students can experience at their own pace, on their own schedule.
Every Dancing Drum VDW includes a "Dancing Drum Fundamentals & Found Sounds" preview video ...
View full article →Online Learning with Dancing Drum: It’s exciting! It’s fun! It’s a new adventure for everyone!
Here at Dancing Drum, we’re making the best of things by using this time to develop new online learning opportunities for you and your students. We’re actually really excited about this and can’t wait to share with you! View full article →New Article in NC Music Educator Journal: We Got the Beat!
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article in the Summer 2019 edition of North Carolina Music Educator, titled "We Got the Beat: Bring Drumming into your Curriculum", by Dancing Drum's Musical Director, Mr. Steve Campbell. This article delves into the history and development of Dancing Drum, and philosophy behind our musical mission. Enjoy! View full article →Upcoming Professional Development Conferences in IL and NC
We look forward to bringing Dancing Drum to state music education conferences in North Carolina and Illinois this school year! Here are a few more details about the hands-on, interactive sessions that will be led by our Musical Director, Mr. Steve... View full article →© 2025 Dancing Drum. POS and Ecommerce by Shopify
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