Empower African Children Blog

Bonding Time

When we get free days — days without a scheduled performance — among the many activities we love to do is something we call “Bonding Time.” This is our chance to gather together to reconnect, reenergize, and talk about the positives in our lives as well as the challenges.

One of the topics for a recent bonding time was AIDS and the stigma attached to it. We asked our tour members to define AIDS for us. Here are a few of their answers:

• AIDS does not smile
• AIDS can be treated but it can’t be healed
• AIDS is a disease that people get when they involve themselves in unprotected sex with someone who is sick
• AIDS does not kill – but weakens the immunity so you can die of other things like diarrhea, TB, malaria etc…
• AIDS is a disease that can’t be seen quickly and can take years to show up
• AIDS is a disease that is caused by a virus called HIV.
• AIDS affected me in that I did not get enough love from my parents, so it has been hard for me…but now I am in a good situation because I am getting love from all in the organization. 

We also shared some of the situations in which we felt discriminated against or in which a person we knew had experienced any kind of stigma related to it. Rajab shared a story of his friend: “My friend’s mother died of AIDS and the boy left the school to bury his mother. When he returned to school the children ran away from him and wouldn’t play or speak to him. Me, I couldn’t run away. I had to sit with him, eat with him. He was my friend.”

AIDS is a worldwide issue, but it doesn’t directly touch most of our lives here in the United States. In Uganda, and much of Sub-Saharan Africa, it does. Parents, siblings, friends. That’s the current reality of AIDS in Africa, and the reality for these children.

Made with Loving Hands - Spirit of Uganda Instruments and Costumes

The instruments you see on stage during a performance aren’t the kinds you can pick up from your local music store. Each one has been handmade in Uganda, specifically for Spirit of Uganda. Despite the beauty and durability of these instruments, the materials used are deceptively simple: typically they’re made of little more than wood, animal hides, the rubber from tires, and nails. From those four “ingredients,” you get all the incredible music you hear on stage.

The bases for the drums are carved out of a single piece of wood and wrapped with cow skin. Wooden pegs are driven into cow hide on the side of the drum to generate an exact pitch when you strike the drum. It takes a team of several people more than two hours to tune the drums — and they need to be retuned regularly throughout the tour. 

The adungus (traditional guitars) and embaire (xylophones) are also hand-made from same local materials.  For example the piece of equipment used during the Bwola dance, is made from bicycle spokes bound together by tire rubber, and being played against a calabash (a dried gourd).

There are 14 different costumes used in each performance. Every costume is hand-sewn by Mary Nakito, a local tailor, from a single piece of cloth, to fit each of the 22 performers. The talented Ms. Nakito comes to the training center each day and quietly works away in the corner while the children rehearse. She measures each child and then sits at her foot peddle sewing machine — that’s right: it’s manual — to stitch together the beautiful outfits you see on stage.

Each of the sights and sounds of the final product you’re treated to on stage have been carefully crafted in Africa. You can’t get this stuff in stores.

Check out more photos of Spirit of Uganda instruments and costumes.

Hair

You probably wouldn’t know it from the audience, but hair is a big issue for the girl performers in Spirit of Uganda. In nearly all Ugandan schools, the administrators require that all children — boys and girls — keep their hair cut very short. Hygiene is the driving force behind this rule, but it also helps reduce the time and cost of hair maintenance, too.

So, in preparation for the 2008 tour, Empower African Children staff members had to appeal to the administration of each school to allow our girl performers to grow their hair long enough for the tour. Why? So they’d have enough hair to weave braids in. Some schools are very understanding, others are not. Phyllis, the youngest member of the tour, was required by her school to cut her hair at the start of the last school term in September.

The girls let their hair grow out until just a few days before traveling to the U.S., then there’s a big braiding party! Several women arrive to braid the girls’ hair. In most cases, this process takes between 10 and 12 hours to finish.  It’s quite a scene when a dozen girls are seated in one room, on the floor, with artful hands rapidly braiding and locks of hair flying every which way. The end product is the beautiful, long flowing braids that you see on stage.

Check out more photos from Spirit of Uganda's hair braiding day.

Interview with Maureen

Editor’s Note:  Winnie Najjuma, fondly known by children as Teacher Winnie, is Head of the English Department and a teacher at Taibah Junior School in Uganda.  Currently she is traveling as a staff member with the Spirit of Uganda tour.  Winnie sat down recently with 17-year-old Maureen Nantongo and asked Maureen about some of her first experiences in the U.S. with Spirit of Uganda.

Tr.Winnie: This is your first time in America. How did you feel when you were told that you were going to perform with Spirit of Uganda?
Maureen: I was so excited to find out that I had been chosen. I actually didn’t believe that I was going to America until the day I was on the airplane.

Tr.Winnie: What did your first experience on the plane feel like?
Maureen: Hmmm….hmmmmm….(breathes deeply and smiles) I could see the airplane through the airport building in the waiting area and I wondered what it looked like on the inside. I wondered whether we could all fit in it because I could see that we had a lot of luggage — mostly instruments — and there were a lot of people waiting with us to get onto the plane.
When I got onto the plane, it felt like heaven! (Here Maureen breaks into a wide smile and becomes very animated). I forgot that I was in Uganda. I sat next to Aunt Donna Malouf and she kindly explained what was happening because I was surprised and shocked at the same time. Even though I was seated in the middle aisle, I asked Teddy who was at the window to push back so I could see the ground below. I remember saying, “Good bye Uganda.”

Tr. Winnie: What do you remember most about your flight form Entebbe to Amsterdam and then America?
Maureen:  There were so many things going on that I saw, but I remember the ladies who were dressed in blue (flight attendants) were really helpful and kind. They were providing whatever I needed on the plane.

Tr. Winnie: What was your first night in America like?
Maureen: (Maureen’s eyes brighten again and she speaks quickly, swinging her arms in dramatic gestures) I had never slept in a hotel before that night, so I was very excited when we got to Hallmark Inn in San Francisco. I was amazed at how beautiful the hotels were! I am still amazed every time we enter a new hotel. The beds...they are so soft and huge. I couldn’t believe that we were going to sleep on white bed sheets, and then in the morning, the housekeeping ladies came and cleaned our room for us. That felt really special for me. I also loved breakfast downstairs. There was everything I wanted — doughnuts, cakes, apples, bread, juices, and even milk. I remember drinking a lot of milk that first week.

Tr. Winnie: What did you think of the theatre where you had your first performance?
Maureen: Oh my, the Mondavi centre was so huge! I had never seen a stage curtain fall the way the one at Mondavi did. It dropped from the ceiling. The curtain at the national theatre in Uganda is pulled from the sides.

Tr. Winnie: What was your first performance like?
Maureen: I was anxious and excited at the same time. When the curtain went up, I was so surprised at how full the theatre was. I could see from the stage that all the levels of the audience seats were full. The smoke from dry ice that is released during the Bwola dance also surprised me. I didn’t know that the smoke was coming from the dry ice. At first, I thought that someone was burning something!

Tr. Winnie: What have you learned so far and enjoyed?
Maureen: I have learned so much, I don’t even know where to start! Most of all, I have learned how to speak to people. My English has improved and I am very proud of that. I have enjoyed so many things but what I enjoy most is traveling all over America in our tour bus.

Click here for more photos of Maureen.

Mashed Bananas and Burritos

People are always curious about the food the children eat, both in Uganda and while on the Spirit of Uganda tour in the US.  In Uganda the children are fortunate to have a wonderful cook, Aunt Sarah, who prepares hot meals for them each day.  We visited them for lunch at the training center before the tour; here are photos from lunch that day. 

Food in Uganda:
A cooking banana called matooke, similar to plantains, is peeled, put in a sauce pan, covered with banana leaves, and steamed for several hours.  The product is a mashed banana that is similar to the consistency of mashed potatoes.  It is a wonderful dish and a favorite among most Ugandans.

Matooke is typically served with a sauce, which can be meat, beans, or peanut sauce.  On this day, it was peanut sauce which is referred to as ground nuts, or G-nuts for short, with a side of rice and cabbage (see photo on right).  Other common staples include vegetables such as eggplant, sweet potato, tomato, potato, and carrots are also common.  Fresh fruit is also very plentiful in Uganda, so avocados, pineapple, mangos, and bananas are also enjoyed regularly.  This is a healthy diet that is uncommon for many children in Uganda.

In typical Ugandan schools, children eat posho, which is cornmeal in a consistency similar to tough mashed potatoes, served with beans on top.  Posho and beans may be consumed for lunch and dinner nearly everyday in schools.  The variety of meals that we are accustomed to in the US is not common in Uganda.  Different variations of a few locally grown staples are what most Ugandans enjoy.

Food on Tour:
The one place that everyone on tour can always agree on is a burrito joint.  Meat, rice, and avocado are the closest thing they can get to food from home.  The tortilla is even similar to Indian bread they eat for a snack in Uganda called chipati, although many prefer the burrito without the tortilla. 

Other favorites include Indian food, buffets, burgers/chicken, pizza, and diners.  The main qualification is that the food must be hot.  The children are not accustomed to eating cold food, so sandwiches are probably the least popular meal on tour.

What is always impressive is the amount that the children consume.  Remember, they are teenagers.  And they perform for an hour and half of high aerobic activity nearly every day.  Many children order double or even sometimes triple meat on their burritos!

Denis Mars, investing in Peter's dream

Editor's Note: This guest posting is from our friend and supporter Robin Stavisky's blog. Robin helped host the Spirit of Uganda in California and orchestrated the meeting between Denis Mars and the Spirit of Uganda.

It is rare that I get to combine two big passions, Empower African Children and my work with start up companies.  But this past month I had such an opportunity, and the results were magical. 

A month ago I introduce Denis Mars, a former student and serial entrepreneur, to Alexis Hefley, founder of Empower African Children and the Spirit of Uganda 2008 tour, because I felt it would be a very good connection for both.  Denis is currently working on one of the most innovative exciting start ups I have seen -- in years.  3jive will be an online community and business that enables the owners of digital assets (music, movies, the arts, etc.) to earn greater royalties from their work than they can under the current system.  The start up will also have a nonprofit arm where members can raise visibility and money for nonprofits they believe in.

When Denis launches 3jive, he will need to show proof of concept.  If you have heard the children on tour sing, you know spotlighting the work of Empower African Children, is great way to do that.  And that is precisely what he and Alexis discussed.

But my story does not stop there.  The children were especially taken with Denis who is kind and modest and who left home at the age of 15 in order to be able to work his way through high school.  The kids were fascinated to learn that Denis earned his living by washing dishes in a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, and from that discovered that he could take responsibility for his dreams.

At one of the tour’s team meetings held at Hidden Villa, we discussed “Personal Leadership” and all young people on tour had the chance to hear Denis and talk about what they wanted to accomplish when they became adults.  Peter Kasule,the gifted artistic director of the tour and himself one of the children now grown up, announced that he wanted to build a recording studio back in Kampala to bring the music of Uganda to the rest of the world.

Several days later, taken with Peter’s dream, Denis announced that he would give $5,000 to help Peter get started.  “Quite simply,” said Denis, “I believe in Peter, in his spirit, his kindness, his talent and ambitions, to make a positive change … And I believe in the power of music to educate the world and bring all people together.”

When the children on the tour heard the news, they cheered because in Denis and in Peter, they see the possibility for their own lives.  I don’t think there can be a greater gift.

Editor's Note: This guest posting is from our friend and supporter Robin Stavisky's blog. Robin helped host the Spirit of Uganda in California and orchestrated the meeting between Denis Mars and the Spirit of Uganda.

It is rare that I get to combine two big passions, Empower African Children and my work with start up companies.  But this past month I had such an opportunity, and the results were magical. 

A month ago I introduce Denis Mars, a former student and serial entrepreneur, to Alexis Hefley, founder of Empower African Children and the Spirit of Uganda 2008 tour, because I felt it would be a very good connection for both.  Denis is currently working on one of the most innovative exciting start ups I have seen -- in years.  3jive will be an online community and business that enables the owners of digital assets (music, movies, the arts, etc.) to earn greater royalties from their work than they can under the current system.  The start up will also have a nonprofit arm where members can raise visibility and money for nonprofits they believe in.

When Denis launches 3jive, he will need to show proof of concept.  If you have heard the children on tour sing, you know spotlighting the work of Empower African Children, is great way to do that.  And that is precisely what he and Alexis discussed.

But my story does not stop there.  The children were especially taken with Denis who is kind and modest and who left home at the age of 15 in order to be able to work his way through high school.  The kids were fascinated to learn that Denis earned his living by washing dishes in a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, and from that discovered that he could take responsibility for his dreams.

At one of the tour’s team meetings held at Hidden Villa, we discussed “Personal Leadership” and all young people on tour had the chance to hear Denis and talk about what they wanted to accomplish when they became adults.  Peter Kasule,the gifted artistic director of the tour and himself one of the children now grown up, announced that he wanted to build a recording studio back in Kampala to bring the music of Uganda to the rest of the world.

Several days later, taken with Peter’s dream, Denis announced that he would give $5,000 to help Peter get started.  “Quite simply,” said Denis, “I believe in Peter, in his spirit, his kindness, his talent and ambitions, to make a positive change … And I believe in the power of music to educate the world and bring all people together.”

When the children on the tour heard the news, they cheered because in Denis and in Peter, they see the possibility for their own lives.  I don’t think there can be a greater gift.

Current TV Video

Check out this story done by Current TV on Spirit of Uganda at Macy's Passport: