Empower African Children Blog

“When the music changes, so does the dance”

By Agnes Kasule, program manager at Empower African Children

That’s the new logo of our Spirit of Uganda 2012 Tour T-shirts (pictured above). The African proverb speaks on a deep level to all of our students.

Half of those students arrived in the United States on New Year’s Eve to begin the four-month Spirit of Uganda tour. Meanwhile, the 21 primary and secondary students left in Uganda are carrying on their own dance.

Last November, the group returned to their respective villages/homes, where they each had to carry out a service project.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Phyllis’ first visit to Sanyu Babies Home was with Empower African Children... 

Phyllis Asiimire, 14, spent her school holiday volunteering at a home for babies.

 She observed that the home received many (although not enough) material donations, but there were not enough people to carry, hug, play, feed, and love the babies.

During this school holiday, Phyllis volunteered there for a week. Her day started at 6:30 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. Her tasks included waking, bathing, dressing and feeding the babies, making their beds, laundry, helping in the classroom, and changing diapers — her biggest lesson of the her time there, along with learning the tragic histories of the babies.

She feels the experience has made a difference in her life, the lives of the babies, and the “mothers” who care for them. Phyllis wishes to see the birth rate in Uganda drop and for schools and communities to engage in teaching about the consequences of early parenthood. This, she believes, will curb the cases of child neglect and abandonment.

• Daniel’s uncle owns a traditional dance troupe...

Daniel Tashobya, 18, organized a behavioral change workshop in his uncle's community.

In his interactions with the troupe, Daniel noticed there was a general lack of respect for leaders, for each other, and time for prayer. He organized a behavioral change workshop for the troupe and other interested locals. He asked a teacher from the his alma mater, Taibah Junior School, to give a talk on HIV/AIDS, as well as a community development agent to talk about living and working with others. More than 50 people attended the workshop, which was so well received Daniel plans to have it annually.

• Jengo has the rare opportunity to influence people in two countries – Uganda and Tanzania...

Jengo Munawiru, 19, focused on teaching his community good hygiene habits.

His home is on the Uganda-Tanzania border in southern Uganda. Last year, he conducted a soccer camp and tournament in Uganda. This year, Jengo tackled hygiene in Tanzania, which, by the interest and help from a few individuals, spilled over into Uganda.

He started his campaign by cleaning his home, compound, and bathrooms. He then recruited five individuals, who went house to house teaching people how to clean their homes, compounds, bathrooms, and keep their babies safe. As a result, people started collecting their trash in plastic bags and burned it less often than before. He will continue to inspect and teach whenever he returns home. His hope is that those in his community have learned the importance of good hygiene and will maintain it.

When our Spirit of Uganda performers dance their way into your hearts over the next few months, we hope they are influencing you in meaningful ways. In the same way, we hope all our students positively influence others wherever they go — be it on a renowned stage in New York City on in a little village in Mitooma.

Agnes Kasule is program manager at Empower African Children and is based in Kampala, Uganda. She can be reached at Agnes@EmpowerAfricanChildren.org.

 

The Lessons of Spit-up and Community

By Gable Roby

Empower students performing with the 2012 Spirit of Uganda Tour pose with 5-month-old Parker Roby. From left to right, Mary Nakabuubi, Faith Kansiime, Sharon Kyomugisha, and Miriam Namala.

As most moms of American babies will tell you, there is a palpable sense of unease when people meet your new infant. Americans gush oohs and ahhs and put their hand over their heart and congratulate you. But we Americans wring our hands and adore from a distance, afraid to actually touch without a squirt of Purell, afraid of disturbing their peaceful sleep by speaking too loudly. We even hesitate handing them off to others, as if the slightest jostle might injure their tiny necks.

So, imagine my surprise on a recent Sunday at lunch when my baby was hoisted from my arms and passed around the room. Nobody seemed to need permission, and they certainly didn’t wait for approval before handing her off to another friend. I watched cautiously — OK, anxiously — as my daughter was bounced, danced, snuggled, and sung to by 11 girls whose first names I didn’t know and whose last names I couldn’t pronounce. Their confidence was impressive.

“How old are you?” I asked one of the younger ones. “Eleven,” Donatina said. Wow. OK.

My daughter began to fuss and Sharon immediately grabbed her. “She’s hungry,” she said. “Can I feed her?” Umm. I glanced at my watch. Gosh … it is bottle time. “OK, let me go warm it up.” Man, how did she know that? It took me weeks to learn what that cry meant.

My hesitation turned to relaxation, and before long I had wandered off to join the buffet line. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch and listened in on several fascinating conversations with the boys. As Sharon wiped my daughter’s spit-up off her Empower African Children sweatshirt, she smiled across the room to reassure me that things were still going well.

Of course, they’ve been raised in an environment where helping out with the unending rocking, feeding, and burping is a part of being in community. Skin on skin. Spit-up on sweatshirts. And suddenly, I couldn’t feel more comfortable with it. So strange. Just 10 minutes ago I was so nervous. But when you truly live in community, you have more experience with small children than I do. So I enjoyed the lunch and trusted that someone would come find me if I was needed.

After lunch, we heard the group sing a beautiful a cappella prayer, a harmonious experience in more ways than one. Our daughter’s crying stopped; she was mesmerized with the sound. As tears filled my eyes, I wondered — if my husband and I were to unexpectedly leave this earth, would a community of people quickly rise up to take care of my daughter the way these girls had done today? Am I doing what I can to ensure that other people’s children, like the ones that sang before me, are being provided for?

A great reminder, in that moment, to continue trusting in, and investing in, community.

And leaving the hand sanitizer at home.

Gable Roby is the daughter-in-law of Empower African Children’s CEO Frank Roby. She can be reached at gable.roby@gmail.com.

 

Sandwiches and Global Competence

By Cecilia Nipp

Ursuline students who traveled to Uganda in November reunited with their Empower friends on New Year's Eve, as students arrived in Dallas for the 2012 Spirit of Uganda tour.

I think a lot about relationships in my work as dean of diversity and global education at Ursuline Academy. We want our students to be competent and knowledgeable global citizens. But how does that goal become a reality in their daily lives?

At Ursuline, part of that global competence comes from developing relationships — that is, friendships — all over the world. Once a student has a friend in another part of the world, that part of the world suddenly becomes interesting and matters in a real, personal, and profound way. So, as we have deepened our partnership with Empower African Children, we have deliberately created the opportunity for relationships between our students and Empower students. We are guided by the timeless words of St. Angela, who founded the Ursuline order in the 16th century. She instructed the women in her company to “know each student by name” and to know the “special circumstance” of each student. This type of knowing — by name and circumstance — is exactly what we wanted for our students as we traveled to Uganda last November.

Our time was an awakening of so much awareness for our students. The great privilege in which we live in the United States became clearer, as did the infinite potential Africa holds. We spent time — the most critical ingredient for relationship building — with the Empower students. Together with our new African friends, we shared meals, attended mass, rode on the bus, sang, chatted, painted, volunteered, danced, and just laughed and laughed.

Strong friendships were formed with great ease and joy. Today, our Ursuline students feel particularly close to the Empower students because now they know them by name and circumstance. We know where they come from and have experienced their culture. We know about their passion for Oreos and dislike of sandwiches.

We know Faith is the youngest but not necessarily the quietest.

We know Donna’s favorite American restaurant is Wendy’s.

We know what awesome musicians Moses and Brian are, and that they are patient teachers when faced with really bad drummers such as ourselves.

We know Noelle loves fashion, and Sharon is an expert hair stylist in addition to being a talented dancer and singer.

Our Ursuline students could tell you so many details about their Ugandan friends —from their favorite songs to what obstacles they have faced and overcome in their young lives. And, as in all good relationships, the love goes both ways. The Empower students have come to know the Ursuline students by name and circumstance as well.

We also learned that welcoming others works both ways. The joy of being reunited with our friends when some of the Empower students arrived in Dallas on New Year’s Eve as part of the Spirit of Uganda 2012 tour was immense and the laugher, again, abundant. How ecstatic we will be this week when we welcome Spirit of Uganda to our school! The children will not only perform but will also join our entire student body in a day of learning, celebration, and, of course, relationship building.

Cecilia Nipp is dean of diversity and global education at Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas. She can be reached at cnipp@ursulinedallas.org. You can find her blog at www.uadodge2011-12.blogspot.com. If you’re interesting in visiting our students in Uganda, please contact Rosie@EmpowerAfricanChildren.org.

Making Way For Those Who Follow

By Frank Roby, CEO Empower African Children

Betty Nakato (U.S scholarship student), Libby Kingman (Spirit of Uganda tour manager), Gyavira Kasule (U.S. scholarship student), Peter Mugga (U.S. scholarship student), and Jack Fielder (friend of Empower) in our storage unit.

Who would have thought a simple afternoon project to move inventory to a storage unit would prove Empower’s 10-year, deeply rooted commitment to students works? But it did. What started as a mundane task became one of those revealing moments when you get to witness a hand-off from one “generation” to the next. 

Three of our U.S. scholarship students were in town on Christmas break. They all gave freely of their time to help make the storage move happen as we prepared for the 22 Spirit of Uganda students who arrived on Dec. 31. What’s the big deal? If you examine most people’s images of Africa based on media and news, it is a land of survival at all costs. Think about it. We read about food aid provided to save people from starvation being raided and stolen by thugs and terrorists. How do you get from the image of Al Shabab and the brutal tactics of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) — images we can’t even put in print — to Ugandan students with 3.8 GPAs at prestigious U.S. universities giving freely of their time to help the “next generation” of Empower students whom they barely know? 

You do it by doing what Empower does – and does not do. 

• We take 10 years or longer to prepare our students for a lifetime of influence, seeking out their unique capabilities so they can realize their promise.

• We care for them — and about them — in ways that family cares for each other.

• We provide academic rigor and supplement that with learning experiences in character, etiquette, and enterprise value to prepare them for their important role in developing their nation — economically, socially, intellectually, and culturally.

• We do not patronize them with low academic standards and low expectations while creating a false belief that basic skills will be transformative.

• We do not raise their expectations and then tell them to fend for themselves having shown them a world they cannot realize.

• We do not structure any of our programs in a way that is based on the pity factor, but rather on the reality that performance is rewarded.

Now, back to the move. The best part of this story is that when we were moving boxes, our U.S scholarship students were not thinking about how their actions were affecting others. Service had become so routine, they were just having fun sharing stories of their past and wondering what would happen with the new group. There was the story about the student who forgot to go to the bathroom before the performance (enough said on that!). Another one about how different their first impressions of America were compared to the media images they had seen. Having a great time being together, unaware of how much they have done to make life better for others, their satisfaction was in their sense of community and continuity, not in their own hard work preparing the way. 

In this new year,  a season of reflection and planning for each of us, maybe we can all take a cue from our Ugandan students and have some fun each day while preparing the way for someone else. 

Frank Roby is CEO at Empower African Children, based in Dallas, Texas. He can be reached at Frank@EmpowerAfricanChildren.org.

 

The Strength Within

By Frank Roby, CEO Empower African Children

Joseph, pictured in the center, is preparing for the Spirit of Uganda's 2012 U.S. tour in ways that aren't always obvious.

You know that really dark wood called ebony? It is very hard, very precious, and actually so heavy it sinks in water. But I learned something new about it in Kenya last week when I was meeting with our social enterprise partner, Bata Kenya. The outside of the wood looks  very much like most other trees. It is the core that is so strong and dark. The bigger the tree, the bigger the ebony core. So when you see a large object carved from ebony, you know it came from a massive tree.

Learning more about this tree made my observation of one of our students in Uganda especially poignant. Joseph is one of our emerging student leaders and a great talent who will be traveling to the U.S. as part of the upcoming Spirit of Uganda tour. I saw the strength of ebony  growing within him as I observed his leadership and his attention beyond the music and into the overall performance. Joseph is talented and soft spoken. Our students are no different than any other group in that some are quiet and others, well, not so quiet. Joseph is a quiet study of Peter Kasule, Spirit of Uganda’s artistic director. He is a protégé much like Peter Mugga, our music technology major at Sante Fe University of the Arts once was.

Joseph is becoming who he is capable of becoming. He now sees beyond his role and into how the pieces fit together to make for a spectacular result. And this skill now allows him to adjust and adapt to circumstances. There is an African proverb that you will see featured on our 2012 tour T-shirts. It says, “When the music changes, so does the dance.” What a perfect statement alongside the image of ebony. A strong center, often hidden from view, but resilient, and able to be molded into something of great beauty — in heart, in character, and in knowledge.

That is Joseph. And that is the nature of Empower students. I can’t wait for you to meet them. May we all have a core like Joseph’s that when revealed, shows the beauty that stems from our inner strength — a strength that allows others to lean on us in troubled times. That is the character of what Peter Kasule is teaching Joseph and what Joseph is learning to do in turn for our younger students. And it is a measure for each of us as we prepare for this Holy season.

Frank Roby is CEO at Empower African Children, based in Dallas, Texas. He can be reached at Frank@EmpowerAfricanChildren.org.

 

Uganda Goes to the Winter Olympics

By Libby Kingman, Tour Volunteer

You don't normally think of Uganda when you think of the Winter Olympics, but that didn't keep us from bringing our show to the world stage! After being on the road for several day s travelling from Southern California, we eventually made it to Vancouver. When we arrived at the border, a border officer came on the bus with a stern look. Everyone became very, very quiet. Then he quickly eased the tension with wishes to have a good time! Canadian humor, we guess.

On Sunday afternoon, we took the Sky Tran into downtown Vancouver, where all the Olympic action was happening. Most of the kids had never been on a train before, and some were visibly nervous prior to boarding. Jimmy was worried about the high speed of the train, but didn't stay nervous for too long. He quickly made friends with the train officer, who explained to Jimmy all about Vancouver and the Olympics. 

Downtown Vancouver was packed with tons of Olympic-goers—and probably Olympians, too—but we were surprised how many people wanted pictures and autographs from Spirit of Uganda.  As we walked through downtown, we saw a poster on a telephone pole advertising Spirit of Uganda's performance—including a great picture of Brian Odong. Who would have thought that, in a city of Olympic athletes, a bunch of kids from Africa would be getting so much attention?

Monday night brought a great performance at the Orpheum Theater.  Then on Tuesday, all of us bundled up for a trip to the Richmond O-Zone, which was near the Olympic long-track speed skating oval. As always, it was a team effort loading in and out. But the area was bursting with people, and Spirit of Uganda drew a crowd even while the kids were warming up. Not that they ever warmed up completely, seeing as how they were dancing barefoot in sub-freezing temperatures. But despite the cold, the kids were engaging and entertaining as always. More than 2,000 people joined us for this outdoor show, so everything was broadcast on a giant Videotron. Spirit of Uganda on the big screen!

Performing at the Olympics created a special memory for all of us and we were thrilled to have been a part of such an international event. With that under our belt, we packed up and headed back across the border.

The Tooth Rat

We get a lot of interesting questions on tour, but this week we received one of our favorites: An elementary-school student from Parish Episcopal School in Dallas asked, “Does the tooth-fairy come to Uganda?” The answer from the children—along with a chuckle—was “YES!” But the answer is not quite as simple as that. In Uganda, the "tooth fairy" isn't exactly a beautiful glowing fairy. Instead, it is believed by some children that a rat comes into your home, takes your tooth, and leaves money behind in exchange.

The question was good timing. Little Donna, our youngest tour member, lost a tooth on the bus ride to Vancouver. So now we're all wondering: Will it be a rat or fairy that sneaks under her pillow to take the tooth away?

Hot Dogs at the Farmers Market

By Winnie Najjuma, Spirit of Uganda Chaperone

 

On Saturday, January 23, a few of the children took advantage of a beautiful sunny day (after nearly a week of rain and cold) to visit the Farmers Market in Davis, California. We walked to the market, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. We saw lots of food and fruit on sale, plus jewelry, plants, and even a violinist and guitarist playing soothing music. This atmosphere of market reminded them of our local markets back in Uganda.

 

The kids were very curious and checked out the items on sale. We got to a hot dog stand and Aunt Natalie asked if any of us wanted to have a hot dog. The children seemed unsure, until Florence (pictured on the right), one of the younger girls, pulled me aside and pointed at the hot dogs that were being given out. “Are those hot dogs?” she asked. She looked confused. I said, yes, those were hot dogs. She gave me a concerned look.

 

“You mean they eat the meat of dogs?” she asked, wide-eyed.

 

I laughed, assuring her that, no, “hot dogs” were not made from actual dogs. She and several of the other girls relaxed immediately, and placed their hot-dog orders — they preferred them without the bun.

 

Later as the girls enjoyed their treats, I heard some of them laugh among themselves. Apparently they all thought a hot dog was dog meat. The rest of the market was a great experience. We bought baskets, enjoyed ice cream and laughed with each other as we watched people walking countless species of dogs throughout the Farmers Market.

 

Visit the Spirit of Uganda page on Facebook for more photos from the Spirit of Uganda’s first few weeks on tour in Northen California.

SPIRIT OF UGANDA SOARS AT DALLAS CHILDREN'S THEATER

Editor's Note: The following article by Lisa Schreiner ran in the Neighbors Go section of the Dallas Morning News on July 19, 2008.

In a riveting performance of music and dance, Dallas Children's Theater (DCT) recently collaborated with Empower African Children (EAC) to present SPIRIT OF UGANDA in a joint fundraiser as they concluded their 21-city, coast-to-coast United States tour. SPIRIT OF UGANDA is comprised of 22 young ambassadors from East Africa who invigorated and inspired an audience of all ages at DCT's Rosewood Center for Family Arts.

Special guest Brenda Teele of WFAA’s Good Morning Texas, and DCT Board President Julie Hersh conducted a thrilling live auction raising $48,000 immediately following the performance! Proceeds from the entire evening totaled $240,000 and will benefit Empower African Children and Dallas Children's Theater's Education Programs.

 
DCT executive artistic director Robyn Flatt with Spirit of Uganda artistic director Peter Kasule and EAC executive director Alexis Hefley. Click here for more photos from the article.  All photos by Andy Hanson.

For additional information about Empower African Children visit www.EmpowerAfricanChildren.org

For additional information about Dallas Children's Theater visit www.dct.org

2008 Tour in Pictures

Now that the Spirit of Uganda 2008 Tour is over, we still have a huge task in front of us: organizing the thousands of photos that the children and staff took while on the tour. This process has reminded us of how deeply the tour impacted the life of each performer, the lives of the thousands of people they met along the way, and even our lives here at Empower African Children. It's been wonderful to relive some of these experiences and memories.

We just had to share some of these photos with you. Here is a quick preview of a few of our favorites, on-stage and off. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery here and join us in looking forward to the next tour in 2010.

At the United Nations in New York, NY

Experiencing cold, snowy weather


Teaching others about Uganda culture, music, and dance

Taking time to play, relax, and have fun


Making new friends


And, of course, performing on stage