By Craig and Marc KielburgerHe has performed for the Queen, dined at Buckingham Palace and rubbed elbows with Elton John, Will.i.am and Stevie Wonder.Think we聮re talking about Bob Geldof or Bono? Think again. His name is Henry Kangethe, a former street kid from the slums of Nairobi and a member of the Slum Drummers. If you haven聮t heard of him 聴 or them 聴 yet, you may soon.The 13 members of the Slum Drummers 聴 nine men and four women 聴 pulled themselves from lives on the streets of Kenya聮s most desperate slums to perform with instruments made from trash on stages around the world. Now they聮re using their music as an instrument of hope, reaching out to street kids in the communities they came from.We saw the group for the first time last week on the recommendation of a friend who said if we closed our eyes, we聮d never imagine we weren聮t listening to pros.The slum towns that surround Kenya聮s capital city are among the largest in the world. We聮ve seen them many times. Hundreds of thousands of the desperately impoverished people inhabit districts like Kibera and Kawangware, often without access to clean water, education or employment.Kangethe described to us his life growing up in the Kawangware. The oldest of seven children, he often lived on the streets to escape the fights commonplace in his home. When his mother tracked him down and dragged him back, he escaped again.During one bleak period on the streets in 2005, as he tried to eke out a living, he came to a realization: 聯I wasn聮t living the life I had always expected.聰Chatting with other street kids, Kangethe heard about open auditions for a new music and theatre project. It was targeted at homeless kids.Standing among 80 other hopefuls, Kangethe tried to repeat simple drum beats.He drew on his experience of dancing and drumming on the streets to pass the time. The experience, along with natural talent, paid off. He won the part.The instruments are a key part of what makes the Slum Drummers unique.聯Our instruments represent where we come from,聰 says Kangethe.The drummers make their own instruments from garbage collected in the Nairobi slums. Drums are made from plastic bins and aluminum pots. Spray paint cans become shakers. Even plastic shopping bags are pressed into service, their rhythmic rustling adding an element not unlike a hiphop record scratch.The drummers even invent entirely new instruments, like the tubaphone 聴 a row of plastic drain pipes that have been carefully cut to produce specific tones. Hit with a mallet, the tubes produce resonant notes you might swear came from an electric synthesizer.Kangethe and his fellow drummers have performed throughout Kenya and beyond, including Brazil and Italy聮s Umbria Jazz Festival, one of the largest jazz festivals in the world.Then came the biggest opportunity of their lives.In 2011, British musician and producer Gary Barlow saw a YouTube performance of the Slum Drummers. Impressed with their style, he travelled to Kenya to meet the drummers. He asked them to perform at the diamond jubilee celebrations in London for the Queen.聯At first we didn聮t believe. We thought he was just saying it as a joke,聰 remembers Joel Muiruri, another of the Slum Drummers.It was no joke. On July 4, they joined a children聮s choir from Uganda and the U.K. Military Wives Choir onstage in front of Buckingham Palace, performing a special piece composed by Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber.Backstage, the band was approached by a bevy of international music stars.Will.i.am offered to open a show in Nairobi and donate the proceeds to support the drummers. Stevie Wonder hugged the band members and said their music had inspired him. The Queen shook their hands, offered words of encouragement and showed a keen interest in their homemade instruments.Back in Kenya after the diamond jubilee, the drummers are still star-struck and a bit stunned.聯Sometimes I feel like it was a dream,聰 says Muiruri.The Slum Drummers are looking to the future and dreaming of travelling the world.Marco Nardo, project manager of the Italian charity Group for Transcultural Relations, which is supporting the drummers, says the group is seeking a local manager to mentor and manage the musicians聮 career to they can continue to build their identity.Meanwhile, the group continues to perform around Nairobi聮s slums, acting as role models for other street kids. Their lyrics urge street youth to stay in school and avoid drugs.聯Our shows are a message to them, a message of hope,聰 explains Kangethe. 聯Even for them, they can change.聰聴 Craig and Marc Kielburger co-founded Free The Children and are authors of the new book Living Me to We: The Guide for Socially Conscious 91原创s.
