For centuries in Rwanda, drumming was an activity reserved exclusively for men. Women were not permitted to touch the drums or even approach the drummers.

In 2004, Gakire Katese Odile, “Kiki,” created the first-ever Rwandan female drumming ensemble, Ingoma Nshya – which is Kinyarwanda for ‘New Drum’ or ‘New Power.’ After the near collapse of Rwanda in the wake of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, a group of women decided it was time for a change, for the sake of the country, and, in particular, for the sake of its girls and women.

Ingoma Nshya is a visionary grass roots project with multiple goals – healing, reconciliation, women’s social and financial empowerment, and artistic excellence. For the women, the group has been a place to begin to live again, to build new relationships, to heal the wounds of the past.

For these women, culture is a driving force that allows them to emerge from the devastation of genocide, and to create a new future.

Ingoma Nshya is now a company of twenty professional drummers – together, they are a potent symbol of a society’s ability to heal, move forward, and create hope.

Visit ingomanshya.org or womanculturalcentre.com to learn more.