Since 2001 Making Dance, Music, Drama, Arts and Sports (MDMD Arts & Sports) have been providing free arts and sports programmes for young people in care and those living on the Nightingale estate and the Hackney Downs area. The brainchild of Elroy Bailey, a Reggae musician with 20 years experience in the music industry, the project has gone from strength to strength. Andrea Enisuoh spoke to Elroy about the organisation, the inspiration behind it and the highs and lows of sustaining a project rooted in the community.
Why was MDMD Arts& Sports set up?
As a Reggae musician I sometimes experienced financial hardship and so started working as a youth care worker to make a living. I noticed a lot young people in the residential care home that I was based loved music. I was encouraged to do some one-to-one programmes with some of them and it really seemed to help with their behavioural skills. They liked making music, they also liked listening to someone from a similar background to them that had made it as a musician and I gained their respect. Quite a few of those young people really inspired me and I wanted to do more.
Why was it so important to you?
I grew up in Hackney and luckily for me father encouraged me and my siblings to make music. He was involved in the music industry and gave us the facilities to enhance our skills. We could play music after school and practise when we wanted. But I was always aware that there were a lot of young people in Hackney and in fact the world that didn’t get that access. My brother Nardo, a pioneer of using midi music as a creative educational tool also was a great inspiration.
How did you go about setting up an organisation that could help local young people?
I found out there was an opportunity for people in the community with skills to get funding for projects that would help the community. I drew up a bid, submitted it and was successful. I had my brother’s expertise to lean on and the people at HCVS who pointed me in the right direction too.
What is the ethos of the project?
We are dedicated to promoting musical arts and sports activities for young people who are from low income families, disadvantaged or in care. We provide a haven for young people, a place where they can meet friends and gain acceptable social behavioural skills.
There is clearly a need for your project, but in the current economic climate is it sustainable?
I hope so. We managed to get three year core funding from the Home Office, but we now have to look elsewhere to keep the programmes going. There are so many parents out there that would love their children to practise music, but many couldn’t afford it without projects like ours.
What are the main difficulties that you have faced since the project was launched?
Getting Hackney youth services to assist us was difficult in the early days. The Council seemed to have little understanding of the need to channel young people’s energies in a positive way. Through meetings and forums and continually challenging them we finally managed to move things along. Now everybody sees the need to engage young people. But getting funding is still a challenge. I really think that if a programme is working and there are good outcomes and outputs and they make an impact then they should be supported. If we don’t get the funding the young people suffer and as a knock on effect the community suffers.
What keeps you going – what inspires you?
Every time that I see young people we have worked with get up on stage and perform, that is just great to see. Knowing you have taken these young people from one place and got them to where they are – it gets me every time. I also just love to hear young people laughing, shouting and being a valuable part of their community.
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