Villagers in Uganda are helping to spread the message about a music festival that has raised more than £1m for the Oxford-based charity Oxfam.

Throughout this month, musicians in Oxfordshire will be taking part in Oxjam, the biggest music festival in the UK.

They will take over stages, backrooms and street corners to make music and raise money for Oxfam with gigs, DJ sets and busking sessions.

Since the launch of Oxjam in 2006, more than 36,000 musicians have taken part in almost 3,000 Oxjam events nationwide.

Oxjam volunteer Nicola Sansom recently visited the Bitone children’s home in Lugoba village, near the capital Kampala.

She said: “The mission of The Bitone children’s home is to restore the lives and hopes of Ugandan children between eight and 18 years old, who have been traumatised by the death of their parents or loss of their home due to disease, war, or economic hardship.

“Through learning traditional African music and dance, the children build self-esteem, become self-reliant, and contribute to creating a peaceful future for the next generations of Ugandans.

“They wanted to get involved with Oxjam because their project is about using music to help to fight poverty.

“They hope to reach the stage where their performances as a dance troupe will sustain the project, though it’s not possible yet as they don’t own their own equipment.

“They really identified with the fact that Oxjam is about using music to fight poverty too.

“Although their performance didn't raise any money for Oxjam, they wanted to show their support by sharing their talent and helping to inspire others to get involved.

“They performed to members of the local community and really loved taking part.”

Ricky Wilson from Kaiser Chiefs, who headlined Xfm’s Winter Wonderland shows in December to raise £40,000 for Oxfam, said: “By getting involved on any level you’re helping a very worthwhile cause.”

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk