Yesterday, Kodjo Akolor stepped into the Musikjhjälpen cage on Stortorget in Malmö, along with Gina Dirawi and Timbuktu. Lundagård had a chat with Kodjo before he became a voluntary prisoner in the glass box.
For the first time ever, Musikhjälpen will have the same hosts as the year before. How much nagging did you have to do to get chosen again?
“There was a lot of running around corridors and meeting the bosses at lunch. Sitting in their homes when they came home in the evenings and saying ‘hi, I’m sitting here with your child, how about having a chat about Musikhjälpen?’”
What are your thoughts like before you step into the cage?
“’Oooh my gaaawd, duuude!!!’. No. There’s so much going on around you. It’s when they’ve finally locked the door and you’re alone for the first time, that’s when you might think ‘okay, now what?’”.
… and what is it like to step out again after six days?
“To be honest, it takes a day or two to readjust to normal life. But after six days you’ve pushed yourself and realised that people have it so much worse. It’s strange to get back home and have food in the fridge. Your biggest problem might be missing the bus, it puts things in perspective. “
What’s the most trying part of sitting in the Musikhjälpen-cage?
“The food, not deciding for yourself what to eat, or when to eat. You’ve also got this whole bubble you’re living in. But the hardest things are food, lack of sleep, and seeing others eat outside.”
Like when somebody has a hamburger by the cage?
“Yes! That’s major food-porn. The kind of food-porn that you angst over, once you’ve finished drooling.”
How much feeding-up do you do once you’re out again?
That’s the snag, you don’t have room for anything! Last year I kept thinking that ‘when I get out, I will have six plates of kebab!’, but then you can only manage two bites once you’ve finally bought the kebab.”
Will you lose weight?
“I couldn’t say, we get all the must we can drink. But I didn’t weigh myself before I went in last time.”
How tight-knit do the three of you become in the cage?
“Really tight. It’s a crash course, an incredibly intense experience. Even though there are fifty people working with Musikhjälpen, there are only the three of us in there, with just each other to lean on.”
The theme for this year is “the children in the slums have a right to clean water”. What do you think about it?
“I think it’s a good theme, water is something you really take for granted. It becomes an eye-opener, not just for us doing the programme, but also for the people who are listening and watching. At home you can pour a glass of clean water every morning, but that isn’t even something that’s taken for granted in all parts of Europe.
Do you have any personal experiences of not having access to water?
“I’ve been to Ghana, and the situation there isn’t optimal. The first time I was there, there was no running water. We had to go to the well to get it. When you wanted to shower, you had to boil water and mix it with cold water until you had the right temperature.”
Last year you raised 18 million kronor. Is this something you’re aiming to top?
“Since I first joined, I’ve never thought ‘damn, I hope we raise a lot of money’. But Musikhjälpen has grown every year, since more and more people find out about it, so I hope that more people will get involved in the project. The concept is so bloody cool – wish for a song, and the money will go to something or someone who needs them.”
Was there anything that made an extra strong impression last year?
“That would be five-year-old Gustav, who came in with 200 kronor and gave us pretty much all his money. Then I was really close to thinking ‘heeeere come the tears!’. Then he danced to Moves Like Jagger.”
Is there anything we can expect from your broadcasts this year?
“There are so many things that could happen, karaoke would be rad. I like my thing where I sit late at night and talk to the people outside the cage. If there are students outside: come by, say hi, buy some food. Hang around for a while.”
How much do you pep your home towns to make them participate in the fundraising?
“Last year, Gina pepped Sundsvall, Jason pepped Lund – I tried to pep Vallentuna. It went a bit so-so. So I’ve got my fingers crossed for Stockholm and we’ll see what happens. By the way, I don’t want to get you all worked up about the fundraising, but I’ve heard that the Gothenburg students are going to crush Lund. Nothing to get worked up about, but all I’m saying is: there are students all over the country grumbling about Lund, saying that you won’t deliver.”
Musikhjälpen will be broadcasted live on Sveriges radio and on SVT, until Sunday night.
Text: Kenneth Carlsson
Translation: Matilda Lundborg
