SOUTH Devon schools' Gambia links may soon be bearing fruit in the shape of a real-live kora player performing at Knowles Hill School, Newton Abbot, Extravagambia celebrations next month. The two-day festival of Gambian culture, on June 29 and 30, organised by Judy Leigh, an advanced skills teacher in drama, will feature music and stories of the Mandinka – the largest tribe in the country. The aim will be to raise money to buy laptops for their link school at Farafenni, which Mrs Leigh visited during a recent family holiday there. While there, she heard Sorry Suso perform on the 21-string harp which jalis (the name for kora players) make themselves. 'Only four Gambian families can be jalis and it is traditional for fathers to pass their skills to sons. 'He played for us several times and spent time telling me traditional Mandinka warrior stories which I plan to use in Extravagambia,' said Judy. It was only once she got home that she realised what an opportunity it would be to invite him to play at the school and visit students' music lessons. 'Sorry Suso is very excited about the chance of sharing his cultural heritage with our children and we are equally excited.' The money for his air ticket has already been found, but the real challenge will be whether the authorities can get him a visa in time. Bruce McLellan, former president of Buckfastleigh and Ashburton Rotary Club, which has promoted the school links, said he was 'absolutely thrilled' at the prospect. 'I have always said that these links should be two-way. We have just as much to learn from them as the other way around,' he said.
