Curtis Andrews has asked a few friends to help show his love for an African village. - Photo by Rhonda Hayward/The Telegram

Local drummer Curtis Andrews is known by his musician friends to always be willing to help out in a pinch, volunteering his time and talent at countless fundraising concerts and benefits.

Now, he’s recruited them for a payback favour.

Andrews has organized a benefit concert for a foundation he has set up in the village of Dzogadze, Ghana, to be held at the Majestic Theatre next week. Performing at the event are his brother, guitarist Duane Andrews, and friends in The Idlers, Mopaya, Neighbourhood Strays bellydance troupe, Funky Dory, The Discounts and Dzolali Drum and Dance Ensemble.

“I didn’t want to ask people I barely knew - I wanted to keep this simple, use groups that I’ve played with, and most of these groups are well-known,” Andrews explained. “The music for the event is fun-times music.”

Andrews is producing the concert in aid of his own Dzogadze Educ-ation Development Fund. Dzogadze is the town in Ghana with which Andrews fell in love in 1999, while in the country studying music and dance with a drummer friend from there.

When he returned to the country in 2002, he told his friend he wanted to go back to Dzogadze to learn more about the unique style of music he had heard there.

“I went and stayed in this little compound with this guy who was going to teach me,” Andrews said.

“We learned all the music and dancing and drumming inside the house first before we went outside, and kids would come by because they knew what was on the go. Everyone was very interested because no one had ever come to that village and done that before.”

Andrews spent two months in the village - which he describes as “a magical place” - living without electricity or running water.

Residents burned candles in the nighttime, fetched water from a well, and got the latest news from a town crier, who would go door to door each evening, proclaiming the next day’s events.

The next time Andrews returned to Dzogadze was last year, and he noticed the town had changed. It had electricity and its own new health clinic, but the school was still too small, and the youngest students were forced to learn outside, under trees.

“We’re romantic here and think it’s always sunny, but when it rains it’s kind of crappy and there’s dust everywhere and school supplies blowing everywhere. It’s just not conducive to learning,” Andrews explained.

Andrews spoke with village elders and came up with a plan to raise money to have the school expanded. He made some calls home and was managed to raise $2,000 from family and friends, which was used to start the renovations after Andrews returned to St. John’s.

Since then, the rising cost of materials in Ghana has eaten up the money, and although the shell of the new building is complete, it has no roof and the inside hasn’t been touched. Contractors have quoted the village about $6,000 to finish the school.

That’s where Andrews’ friends come in.

All money raised from the fundraising concert will go to the project, with any leftover funds used to buy school supplies and uniforms for the children in Dzogadze.

“There are always kids in the village, their parents are poor. They can give them school uniforms or books or whatever,” Andrews said. “Most of the people there are farmers, and that’s mostly farming to feed themselves or for trading, buying or selling.

“After I was there for so long, the older kids, age 10 and 12, I’d see that some of them would be at school sometimes, and sometimes wouldn’t be at school. You can’t go to school unless you have a uniform, that’s one of the rules of the Ghana school system, and others would have to go help their father with the farm.

“A lot of the kids really want to go to school, they really like the idea of being there and learning all those things, but sometimes they’ve got to be taken away because economic circumstances prevent them (from attending).”

The only fee associated with the fund is the cost to wire the money to the bank in Ghana, Andrews explained. His friend has taken on the job of accountant for the project, and sends him receipts for all expenses, and the project is overseen by two local elders.

Andrews hopes to go back to Dzogadze next year to see the new school first hand.

“If you ever wanted to donate to something that was worthy and would have immediate impact, this is it,” he said.

The fundraiser for Andrews’ Dzogadze Education Development Fund takes place Thursday, Oct. 9, beginning at 8 p.m. sharp, and costs $20 at the door. In addition to music and dance, the event will feature a silent auction and a presentation by Andrews on Dzogadze, its culture and his experiences there, with the help of photographs and videos.

Andrews’ foundation in Ghana is partnered with All Hallow’s Elementary School in North River, and anyone who can’t attend the concert but would like to make a donation to the cause can do so through the school.

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