Youth participating in the “Back to School Breakdance Challenge"
On May 23, 2009, I organized a “Back to School Breakdance Challenge” for the youth participating in the Hip Hop Therapy Project. The purpose of this show was to provide these youth with an opportunity to showcase their skills and talent and to reward them for their hard work and dedication. It also served as the official launch of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU) in Gulu. The event was a success with 200-300 people in attendance and fifty youth ranging in age from 8-20 years old performing and competing in the following categories: › Continue reading
The King is Dead. That was the headline of the one of the major Ugandan papers today. The front pages of all of the other daily Ugandan papers were also dedicated to the story of Michael Jackson’s death. Many radio stations here are playing his music all day and local Ugandan politicians and celebrities are speaking out about his death.
Although, my Fulbright is not directly related to pop music or Michael Jackson, I wanted to briefly comment on this. Like many people, I grew up listening to Michael and was very saddened to hear about his death. He was truly an amazing entertainer. While watching and reading about the worldwide reaction to his death, what fascinates me the most is that he was genuinely a global “household name.” I can’t think of any other artist of my generation that is as well known as Michael Jackson. Just a month ago, I was speaking to the guardian of one of the young people in the Hip Hop Therapy Project and I asked him how he felt about his nephew winning the popping competition at the Breakdance Challenge I recently organized and he responded “I’m so happy and proud of him and I hope that one day he will be able to dance like Michael Jackson. Yes, one day he will dance like Michael Jackson.” I remember thinking at the time how interesting it was that I was sitting in front of a mud hut in a very rural part of Uganda and someone was talking to me about Michael Jackson. I see kids in Gulu doing the moonwalk and trying to dance like him and am again amazed at how far-reaching his influence was. I think that despite the controversies and eccentricities that often dominated news coverage about him, he has obviously left an imprint on the world and will be missed. RIP MJ.
During the recent needs assessment exercise I conducted with children participating in the strong>Hip Hop Therapy Project (HHTP) two of the needs that emerged were:
1.The children expressed a need for more information around sexual and reproductive health.
2. The children expressed the desire to showcase their breakdance skills and talents.
In an effort to respond to the first expressed need, I decided to partner with Straight Talk Foundation. Straight Talk Foundation is a Ugandan health communication organization that promotes communication for social change through print, radio and face-to-face interventions for adolescents (ages 10-19) and young adults (ages 20-24). Straight Talk Foundation also operates the Gulu Youth Centre, which provides free tests and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), counseling services, and health information materials for young people.
Straight Talk Foundation has agreed to provide space at the Gulu Youth Centre for breakdance classes to take place. This will help to expand the size of the Hip Hop Therapy Project as well as increase direct access to sexual and reproductive health education and services for the young people participating in the project. › Continue reading
In a further attempt to share more about my daily life here in Uganda, here is another installation of “I Never Thought I Would”. Enjoy!
I never thought I would…
Enjoy a cold shower: I’m one of those people who always take scalding hot showers. I’m talking about the kind of hot showers that leave the air in the bathroom heavy with steam and leave you unable to see anything in the bathroom mirror. In Uganda, there is no hot water where I live. When I first arrived, I would diligently boil water in a kettle and use it to bathe. As the weather began to change however, so did I. I arrived here in November during the rainy season and the temperatures were relatively cool (low- to mid- 70s). January, however, is the beginning of the dry season and one of the hottest months of the year. One sweltering afternoon, the idea of bathing with hot water was unfathomable so I decided to try a cold shower. I felt so much better and refreshed after that cold shower that it has now become standard practice. Before coming to Uganda, the very thought of taking a cold shower would fill me with dread. I now enjoy and look forward to cold showers and that is something I never thought I would do!
Buy an empty water bottle: When I first arrived in Gulu I noticed that a lot of people, particularly children, were collecting and selling empty water bottles. I knew from previous travels to developing countries that empty water bottles can be very valuable to poorer families as they allow for the storage of various liquids and can also serve as cups. So, while I could understand why someone would collect empty water bottles, I didn’t understand why someone would buy one…until the day I did. There is no electricity where I live so I frequently rely on kerosene lamps to make my way around the house at night. One day, I went to the gas station to purchase kerosene and realized that I needed a container to carry the kerosene once I bought it. I looked around and saw that everyone else in line had an empty water bottle to put their kerosene in. I looked around some more and noticed that several children were hanging around the gas station selling empty water bottles. I purchased one for about 10 American cents, got my kerosene, and left. I frequently buy bottled water in Uganda and give the empty bottles away to children who sell them…buying an empty water bottle however, is something I never thought I would do!
I strongly believe that any time you enter a community with the goal of “helping”, you should work closely with that community in determining what issues need to be addressed and how to address them. › Continue reading
The King is Dead. That was the headline of the one of the major Ugandan papers today. The front pages of all of the other daily Ugandan papers were also dedicated to the story of Michael Jackson’s death. Many radio stations here are playing his music all day and local Ugandan politicians and celebrities are speaking out about his death.
