Amani is a song in Swahili, written by one of our facilitators, Emmanuela Yogolelo who is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The word Amani means ‘peace’, and it’s written by people who are from countries that are experiencing wars and armed conflict, asking for peace.
Amani, touaomba amani means peace, we are asking for peace. It has been translated in a few languages so far, and it is a great song to use it with your pupils and make your own translations with any given language spoken in your group.
As you can see and hear in the video, the first part of the song is sung by the whole group together and it is quite simple: the melody is repeated in several languages, and so it is very easy and fun to learn with your pupils. It’s best to just speak the lyrics first, and then start introducing them with the melody.
The second part of the song is a Call and Response part, which means it is split between a soloist and the choir: The soloist can either sing what Emmanuela does or, you can come up with your own lyrics in different languages. The Choir always answers with the words: we want peace, we want love, we want unity, we want joy.
Amani (Peace) – In Swahili language
by Emmanuela Yogolelo and friends (from the Democratic Republic of Congo)
Chords: D/A/G/A
All together:
Amani, tuaomba amani x 3 (Swahili)
Amani
La paix, nous demandons la paix x 3 (French)
La paix
Solh, solh, maa solh mi khaahim x 3 (Farsi)
Solh
Hum, aman chahate hai x 3 (Urdu)
Aman
Call & Response part:
Soloist: Mimi naomba njo amani
Choir: We want peace
Soloist: Mi mi naomba njo upendo
Choir: We want love
Soloist: Mimi naomba njo umotcha
Choir: We want unity
Soloist: Mimi naomba njo fura
Choir: We want joy
Translation:
Peace, we are asking for peace
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“When you work together with love
you can achieve anything.”
Amir, Survivor
