🎶 #Donbas music group Inclusion Band brings together children of different ages with visual impairment. Watch how kids follow their passion notwithstanding the circumstances in our recent #StoriesFromUkraine video supported by @IRF_Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Bw2ATHbShr
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) March 12, 2021
This band in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, is open to anyone who wants to play. Eduard Smolyakov and Olena Shapoval started Inclusion Band 3 years ago when their NGO Dotyk were given space in this abandoned building.
They gathered kids and teenagers with visual impairment and internally displaced persons in war-torn Donbas to learn and practice music. Other than some small grants, the band has no funding. Eduard, who has his own rock band and gives private lessons, equipped Inclusion Band with his own music instruments. Today, it brings together 10 children of different ages, who can try any instrument and sing their own songs.
Despite the hall being too cold for daily rehearsals in winter, they practice regularly. The pandemic thwarted their plans for concerts around Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. But Eduard dreams of public performances and a chance to bring Inclusion Band to bigger stages.
Author: Iryna Matviyishyn
The material was prepared with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework of the project Stories from Ukraine. The material reflects the position of the authors and does not necessarily coincide with the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
