Profile of Lena Slachmuijlder USA/Belgium   Profile of Lena Slachmuijlder Lena Slachmuijlder is an American/Belgian by birth who has lived andworked in various African countries for the last 14 years.   In late 1997, she founded Field of Rhythm, a unique outlet aimed at thepromotion and sale of traditional African musical instruments, at the BAT Centre in Durban. In addition to stocking and repairing traditional instruments from around Africa, Field of Rhythm has organised five cultural visits to South Africa of well-known Ghanaian drummers and dancers. These visits have entailed performances at local festivals, teaching workshops ranging between one and 10 days in duration, and cultural exchange with traditional South African drum and dance groups.   Marimba House has been a key partner in the success of these visits since 1998, and preparations are underway for the sixth of such visit for December 2001. Field of Rhythm also uses rhythm as a facilitation tool for team-building work within schools, corporations, NGOs, and other associations. Lena has used traditional instruments and rhythms to facilitate large and small groups ranging from conference delegates to children affected by AIDS.   As a percussionist, Lena began playing percussion while traveling around Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. In the early 90s, she played percussion with various musical and theatre groups in Durban, before heading up to Ghana for 3 ½ years. There, she learned the flute (atenteben) and xylophone (gyile) from members of Ghana’s Pan African Orchestra, and performed traditional drumming with Ghana’s Odehe Dance Company and Suade Cultural Troupe. As a percussionist, she toured Hong Kong with the South African afro-jazz outfit Sakhula in ’98. She is a founder member of the all-percussion ensemble Umgqumo weAfrica, formed with master timbila player Karimona Chissambule from Mozambique. In Burundi since 2001, she often accompanies Burundian, Rwandan and Congolese musicians, including Ben Rutabana, Aaron Tounga and Kidumu during their concerts in Bujumbura.   Lena does not considers herself as having mastered any single instrument, but experiments with a wide range of traditional instruments, including the Mozambican timbila xylophone, the Zimbabwean mbira, the Ghanaian atenteben flute, bells, ratlles as well as djembe and kpanlogo drums. Lena has collaborated with various African musicians, including Ghanaians Emmanuel Gomado, Nii Tettey Tetteh, Nii Alabi Bortey, Nicholas Kotei Djanie, Congolese Elie Kihonia, Zimbabwean Chirikure Chirikure, and has learned from experienced drummers and percussionists in Ghana, Mali and South Africa.   Working in Burundi for the last two years and now based in Congo, Lena hopes that rhythm can play a role towards her work using media for peacebuilding and reconciliation. "The rhythm can strike a chord of unity, and bring people together when words and other strategies fail," she says. "There is a power that lies in the richness of African traditional rhythms that we mustn't leave untapped."   Lena Sept 2001