Young Afghans in Northampton

As part of Northamptonshire's Musical Inclusion programme, Janan Fifield's community music studio, The Performing Room, is forging ahead with an innovative new set of workshops aimed at young Afghan's seeking asylum in the UK.

The Performing Room is one of the new breakthrough groups within Northamptonshire Music Education Hub's Musical Inclusion programme and was set up by Janan to be a free and open access recording studio for young people. It houses a large rehearsal/recording space, a DJ-ing room, a drums room, a recording studio, a computer suite as well as a relaxing chill-out room.

Last month Janan got together with Brenda Alvarez-Wilkinson who runs a voluntary and community organisation called Afgandfriends which supports young Afghans who have travelled to the UK seeking asylum. This is a terribly dienfranchised group of young men who need a lot of ongoing support to keep them focussed (and on the right side of the law) and we're extremely pleased that Janan and his colleagues are able to work with these young people every week.

The project is in its early stages but we're hoping to post up photos and music of their work together in the very near future.