Buduburam CD Project

Giving Voice to Hope: Music of Liberian Refugees

The CD Giving Voice to Hope: Music of Liberian Refugees is available for $15 + GST at the following locations:

University of Alberta Bookstores (HUB, SUB, ESQ)
Blackbyrd Myoozik (10442 82 Ave)

CDs can also be ordered through the Education Abroad Program at the University of Alberta:

Project Overview

The University of Alberta has a long and rich history of partnerships in Africa. Recently, a number of faculties along with University of Alberta International have been supporting initiatives in Ghana that involve the University of Ghana, a rural Ghanaian village, and Buduburam Refugee Settlement.

Buduburam is a Liberian refugee camp located west of Ghana's capital, Accra. With the first refugees arriving in 1990, the UN High Commission for Refugees has helped provide shelter for thousands of people fleeing Liberian civil wars. Once home to over 40,000 inhabitants, Buduburam is currently undergoing transition as residents attempt to re-establish their lives in Liberia.

The University of Alberta is walking with this community on their voyage of return to Liberian society.

Project Overview Brochure (PDF)

The Music

Popular music has emerged within Buduburam Refugee Settlement, responding to musical inclinations of residents and the need to express individual and collective experiences of displacement, loss, reconciliation, and peace.

The University of Alberta, in a cooperative multi-faculty initiative involving faculty, staff, and students, is engaged in the production and distribution of a music CD featuring16 Liberian musical groups who have resided as refugees in Buduburam. The music CD is a creative initiative to further explore the social impact and realities of civil war and refugees. Musical recordings will represent life in Buduburam through several genres: traditional, gospel, hip hop, rap, R&B, and reggae.

Vue Weekly (an independent news and entertainment paper) gave Giving Voice to Hope: Music of Liberian Refugees 4 stars out of 5! Read the review here.

Track Samples (mp3):

No More War - Morris Haynes (5:46, English, Bassa) Genre: Traditional/Reggae
Power - S-Man (Samuel Taylor) (6:01, English, Vai) Genre: Traditional/Highlife
Aa nii bee dain - Samuel Johnson (4:15, Bassa) Genre: Traditional/Gospel
Stop the Violence - Big Seen (Wesley Toh, Alvin L. Page) (4:13, English) Genre: Hip-Hop
Take Away - Soul Whisperers (Gardiah G. Henry, Hilary L. Browne, John Goah, George Charles) (4:40, English) Genre: Gospel
We Are All Liberian - Calabash Unite Us All (5:21, English) Genre: Traditional
Je t'adore - Representorz (Joseph Teah Jr., Dave Nyema, Milton Farley) (5:16, English/French) Genre: Hip-Hop
Peace Must Prevail - Shadow (Samuel Morgan) (4:19) Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
Ah Mama (Africa Let's Sing) - Timothy Faya Bomah (3:32, English, Kissi) Genre: Gospel
About Time - Universal Vision (Eddie G. Payne, Robert Mlegodgh, Emmanuel Sumo) (4:22, English, Bassa) Genre: Hip-Hop
Come Together Africa - God's Family (Michael Goodridge, Jerry Myers, Yeady Myers, Ezekiel Hallie) (2:33, English and Bassa) Genre: Gospel
Gbai Kai Yaa - Constance Exploit Bowier (4:28, Kpelle) Genre: Traditional
It's True - Interpretors (Peter Myers, Issac Gbaryee) (3:28, English) Genre: Hip-Hop
Shine for Jeus/Brille pour Jesus - Helbert Collins (4:13, English/French) Genre: Gospel
Give a Little Love to the Children - Alaric Crump (4:23, English) Genre: Reggae/Gospel
CYE Theme Song - Blessed Brothers (1:49)

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Centre for Youth Empowerment (CYE), a Liberian NGO founded by war-stricken Liberian youth who sought refuge in Buduburam. CYE is committed to the pursuit of peace, development, education, good health, and sanitation, and has been an instrumental leader in the ongoing rehabilitation of Liberian refugees.

Project Goals

In addition to introducing talended musicians to a North American audience, the project has several goals:

Post Conflict Healing - encourage musicality among youth as a form of community building
Global Education - engage U of A students in a participatory way in raising awareness about civil society and refugee-related issues, support education about Africa at the U of A, and support a successful African-based NGO (CYE) focused on developing youth leaders of tomorrow
Fund-raising - establish a U of A endowment which will support U of A student-focused learning initiatives in Africa, and generate revenue for the Liberian musicians and CYE
Research - document musical life of refugee camps and understand how and why music can be used as a tool to overcome realities of conflict and dislocation