What it Means, How it happened, Who we are
and Where we are going.

Meaning

The name Elikya is a word in Linglala, one of the four main languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and means “Hope”.

How it happened (Origin)

Elikya Choir is a gospel choir and began in 2001 as a project initiated by Doras Lumini (an organisation for refugees and asylum seekers in Limerick), and the Irish World Music Centre at the University of Limerick with the primary objective of promoting multicultural diversity and integration.  In February 2006, it was awarded a charity status. Their aims include:

■          To present an avenue where peoples of all cultures, races and backgrounds

will come together to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving

■          Provide to the people of Limerick an African traditional music as an

alternative to the Irish traditional music.

■          Provide a forum where everyone and from every culture or race will find a sense of belonging.

■          Introduce Limerick to some of the cultural and traditional values of the African, including the use of African drums and other singing instruments.

■          Provide a forum of workshops where the Irish and non-nationals  will learn how to sing and play and understand some aspects of the African people and other  ways of singing and to also create an awareness of the philosophy of  Elykia Choir.

■          Render services free of charge for the greater majority of the people and the community as a whole whenever and wherever needed. (They do this with the hope that they will continue to introduce this rich culture to Ireland and also to maintain good relations with the society).

Who we are & Membership

Elykia comprises of members from the DRC, Angola, South Africa, England, Ireland, Holland etc. At the very beginning, members were mostly peoples from the Congo who were and or living in Ireland because the choir sings predominantly in Linglala, but over time, the uniqueness of  the choir opened doors to people from all other parts of the world and continues to do so.  It has seen witness the growth of talents and size where they have people with some of the most remarkable voices ever heard across Ireland.

The membership now cuts across the world and is still open to lovers of music, and especially African music.  The members speak many african languages and french. Most of them now have a huge command of English and it has added to a profound richness that has helped enriched the choir and the content of the music. By so doing, non-African have, over the years, learned to speak and understand African languages and integration is, at the end, taking effect.

Stakeholders

The biggest partners of Elykia Choir is the public and others include: Churches, Doras Luimni, Amnesty International (Limerick Section), colleges and universities. The Choir is sponsored and funded by organisations such as: Paul Partnership (sponsored the choir’s uniform), the Higher Education Authority such as: The Sanctuary Project that provides accessibility to higher education for refugees and asylum seekers (funded  the Choir’s first CD that was released in May 2002).

Activities

Elikya Choir has  performed at many occasions and events since inception including:festivals, the Special Olympics in Limerick, concerts organised by Amnesty International, The Red Ribbon, World AIDS Awareness Day.

They also perform at private functions including weddings, their own concerts and also run Intercultural Music Education Workshops in schools and colleges as part of the Community Development Project (CDP).

In all, they have, and continue to go from one part of the country to the other including, Dublin, Cork, Ennis, Limerick, Co. Limerick, etc where they have performed some of their soul searching songs and talents.

Some of their activities and achievements include:

■          The release of their first album (religious) in May 2002

■          Drumming and dance lessons at the University of Limerick

■         Workshops with student at UL and schools

Meetings

Elikya Choir holds meetings once every month and schedules rehearsals once a week. They also alter this programme when there is need for more rehearsals, especially towards appearing and performing at events. The choir sings once a month at the Augustinian Church in Limerick

Content

The choir is based on the notion that, spirituality and music enable individuals to transcend any tensions or challenges.

The content of its songs are gospel based and from a collection of liturgical or mass songs to popular African songs and does not draw a distinction between the circular and the sacred. The members use their distinct and rare abilities to attract and involve the community in its evangelisation of the good news.

Their strict gospel content creates an opportunity for the choir to contribute to the changing faces and rhythms of Limerick that has, over time, gone from a homogenous  to a heterogeneous society. In its different  forms of singing, it has:

•Added to a cultural diversity

•Introduced a new form of music

•Fighting racism and religious stereotyping

•Helped reduced the nostalgia that some of the non nationals are experiencing in their day to day lives here in Ireland.

Address & Organisational Structure

Following the award of a charity status in 2006, Elikya was given an office at 58 Rhebogue Meadows, Dublin Road, Limerick

However, the central part of this development has been the relentless support from the Augustinian Church in Limerick, at which facility; Elikya Choir holds its meetings and rehearsals. The Choir meets once every saturday at the Basement facility of the Augustinian Church, O’Connell St. Limerick

Elikya Choir’s close tie with the Augustinian Order to promote the choir in their performances at masses around Ireland and also will help to promote the sale of their CD. The funds from the sale of their CD will go to help the NGO, Augustinian Against Hunger..

Income,  Outgoing & Strategy

In terms of finances, the choir’s main sources of income are from concerts and sponsorship from different organisations.

■          The income is used to improve the structure of the choir and most importantly, to produce the choir’s CDs.

■          To cover  travelling expenses of members

■          Writing and printing of songs

■          Purchase of storage accessories e.g. Song folders

■          Purchase of badges for identification purposes

Accountability of funding is presented by the treasurer and the secretary and withdrawal of money is only done with the permission of the other members of the board of management.

As the group grew bigger, there was need to set up an organisational structure that sees the management and organisation of the group. It is managed as follows:

President

Vice President (Public Relations)

Conductor

Treasurer

Secretary

Where we are going:

The future of Elikya begins with an inward analysis of what they have done since formation, where they are at the present and what they hope to achieve in the future. By measuring their progress, they use the SWOT Analysis:

S   →   Strengths

W →   Weaknesses

O  →   Opportunities

T  →    Threats

Strengths:

■          The choir has introduced a new dimension to the music of Limerick. For the first time in the history of music at the Augustinian Church, the public now enjoys a different type of mass celebration where singing is with the involvement of everyone and where most people enjoy and become more inclusive in the celebration of mass

■          The public is also able to sing and dance along with the choir members and the beautiful orchestra that goes along with Elikya Choir’s type of singing.

■          The choir has opened up a new way of songs of praise and worship at the Augustinian Church where there is immense spirituality and soul music.

■          Elikya Choir is unique in that, they do not have any competitors that sing traditionally in Linglala or other native tongues. In that way, they have calved out their niche in the market and made their type of product very unique and available in the market.

■          Elikya Choir offers its services free of charge in most cases and is always available to sing at events or concerts and this has helped publicised and promoted them in the gospel music world where they are easily invited to sing at events.

■          Elikya Choir’s cost is very limited to travel expenses and so costs little or nothing to invite Elikya to perform at a given occasion.

■          Volunteers continue to sign to join Elikya Choir and some of them are musicians which have been a great help in the growth of the gospel growth.

■          The new type of mass celebration has encouraged many more parishioners to come to the Augustinian church on Sundays and has in its own way, reduced the moral decadence that is fast eating up our beloved Limerick

■          The members are very determined and committed to the course of spiritual singing and this has laid a strong foundation on which the success of Elikya Choir now rests.

Weaknesses

■          Membership involvement is often unstable. This is as a result of the legal status of some members, who, most often are still seeking asylum while some are students, others are working and with very limited time to be at all of their meetings or performances. Also, some members are moving away from Limerick causing huge disruptions and gaps in some responsibilities and also  leaving some positions unattended.

■          Some members join Elikya because of their love for the kind of music they play and not because they are singers. As a result, the Choir steps back so as to teach the newcomers the kind of music they play and also to teach them how to sing in another language, where, in some cases,  Linglala is not their native tongue.

■          That Elikya sings predominantly in Linglala  is in itself a weakness as this means newcomers and non-Congolese spend a longer time learning how to sing in a foreign language.

■          That Elikya sings predominantly sings in Linglala means that most of the message is lost as very few audiences understand the lyrics.

■          Elikya does not have any source of income and so relies heavily on sponsorship to provide the necessary structure that they need. As a result, they are unable to purchase more instruments, produce and release their albums, etc.

Opportunities

■          Ireland has been considered by many people as a country of opportunity, openness acceptance, religion and a love for music and because of this, there is every indication that their uniqueness has a place in Ireland and Limerick in particular.

■          Ireland is also one of the few countries in Europe where the desire to serve God is still very strong and with Elikya Choir’s aims and objectives, they fall in line with the general demand of something holy and sacred.

■          In the current integration era, Elikya Choir is bringing the global into one spot where they promote diversity, multicultural and unity of all peoples. They, though song and dance, bridge the gap between peoples and their divergent cultures.

■          Music is considered universal and they are still some who believe that music has no language and so, Elikya Choir has offered the people of Limerick the opportunity to be part of a larger group and also to have a place to relax after the weekly hustling and bustling.

■          The acceptance of Elikya Choir over the years has shown that there is a market for that type of product and a product that has already been welcomed.

Threats

■          The members’ other obligations such as family, career or job responsibilities            mean that the choir cannot function normally and up to target.

■          The limited resources mean that Elikya choir would have to turn down some performances because of the cost involved

- They will have to delay the release of their albums and or CDs because of lack of resources involved in producing and publishing the CD

- Elikya Choir will be unable to purchase some of the equipment they need to improve the sound and quality of the choir.

-The current downturn means not many people will be inviting them for performances, neither will others continue to give them the financial support that they have enjoyed in the last years

■          Although singing predominantly in Linglala is in itself a strength and a unique quality of Elikya Choir, it is also a threat as many of our audiences cannot join in the singing. They are now writing and performing some songs in English, French, Zulu and also incorporating some internationally well-known songs into their collection.

Aspirations:

Elikya Choir hopes to work with one or more of these Non Governmental

Organisations: TROCAIRE, CONCERN, Christian Aid and World Vision, Mandela

Children Foundation, DORAS LUIMINI, Irish World Music Centre (in conjunction

with Sanctuary) and with some local and international radio networks

Elikya hopes to possess two recording studios; one for their own recording and the

other for hire or rent through which way they hope to raise some funds to continue

running their projects.

Equipment

Although Elikya Choir has been functioning for about eight years now, the need for

equipment is ever on the increase and other necessities:

■          Office Equipment ( Desks, Tables, Computers etc)

■          Music Equipment ( mixers, speakers, microphones, drum kit)

■          Uniforms for all members

■          A 25 seat mini-bus for transportation of members/equipment to and from concerts and tours

Conclusion

Elikya Choir is now a house hold name, it has triumphed over many challenges,

walked and taken over a journey that can be described as serene, challenging,

spiritually, inclusive and above all very uplifting and inspiring.

They are now faced with the challenge of attracting many more people, especially

those who have some expertise in music and music instruments so that it can give the

choir a greater stability.

Contact us: Tel: 0877819872

kikangalamm@yahoo.fr