Dancehall Masters’ Association on a mission of peace

You may not have heard much about the Dancehall Masters’ Association but the artists in this group have embarked on a mission to promote peace and discourage violence. DMA, as they call themselves for short, have planned a fundraiser for Saturday at the basketball court behind Saint Martin de Porres Church on Vernon Street and they invite you to be a part of the event. News Five caught up with some members of the group cleaning and providing a facelift to the court today. Promoter, Charles Herrera, says it will be a day of clean fun with positive messages for the youths and the proceeds will go right back into community projects.

Charles Herrera Sr., Fundraising Promoter
“We are artists and also everybody play ball but this is my neighbourhood. We are starting to do some neighbourhood upliftment projects whereas we fix up the basketball and we do a show for the neighbourhood cause we also want to promote peace in the neighbourhoods. This show that we are doing this weekend is called “Nothing But Love Third World” cause this is third world whereas we are trying to raise funds to build a bleachers cause if you notice we don’t have any bleachers on this basketball court. So we are trying to actually raise funds. “

Marion Ali
“Alright, what will you be having on Saturday?”

Charles Herrera Sr.
”We will be having a football marathon under fifteen. We gonna have an open basketball marathon and after that we gonna have performance from the Belizean artists. People right from the neighbourhood, they’re gonna bring out their food and we gonna have a little bar and whatever, soft drinks, hard drinks for sale and we gonna have security, we gonna have the police. It’s not like I am trying to get rich off this. All I’m trying to do is uplift neighbourhoods. If the neighbourhoods are uplift then crimes will deter. People will go more to sports than sitting down on the sidewalks or sitting down on the corner and thinking mischief. If the basketball court is there, they will play ball. If the football field is there they will play ball. But if you don’t have no field, no outlet for the youths then all they will do is hang on the corner and hate on each other. So all I’m trying to say is that we need more sports, we need more entertainment.”

Herrera says the entertainment provided will be suitable for the entire family.