STAUNTON,Va –- Students from the Stepping to Success enrichment program had the chance to visit a real African village thanks to the Frontier Culture Museum. They were able to perform African drum rhythms the village.

It was thanks to their instructor, Jona Masiya. Masiya is from Zimbabwe and he teaches African music at Shenandoah University.

The lessons the kids learned in Staunton connected them to cultures existing throughout the community.

“I think we are living now in a global village,” said Masiya. “The kids have to care about the culture next door. They have to care about what's happening in other countries because we have a lot of traveling that's going on now.”

He said learning the drums is actually very easy. It is all about observation, listening and imitation. Masiya said he can teach you to play the African drums so well that if you ever visited the country, you would be able to jump right into a drum circle.

The students just finished up a unit on Hispanic culture. The goal is to have them learn about cultures that will help with career and life opportunities.

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