Young children in The Gambia and Nottingham, UK, are being invited to celebrate and share their favourite and most loved songs from childhood through an exciting musical initiative between both countries. Musicians Pa Bobo Jobarteh and Jude Winwood (BeatFeet Drumming Workshops), along with the help of children at Afrikaya Nursery School and schools in the UK, are collating a collection of songs that span generations of joy, including songs sung in Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Jola and English.

Project Donkiloo Laa is a child-led collaborative project involving over 350 children in music-making and singing workshops. Children are expressing themselves creatively and shaping the project's look and feel by contributing to a special project songbook and online collection of songs, which will be launched in March 2023. Orthography for the project has been overseen by Mr Musa Bah.

Once creative work in schools is complete, children in the Gambia will be offered copies of the songbook free of charge to celebrate their valued contribution to the project and feel a sense of community and connection across the two countries. The project aims to instil a sense of joy and pride, not only amongst the children involved but also amongst other generations in the children's communities, where the songs will be remembered fondly from distant childhoods.   

Arts Council England very kindly supports Project Donkiloo Laa.