HEALS Hip Hop Therapy Project
On November 8, 2008 I will be moving to Uganda to work on the HEALS Hip Hop Therapy Project.
The purpose of the HEALS Hip Hop Therapy Project is to use the positive elements of Hip Hop music and culture, which children around the world embrace and identify with, as a form of therapy and as a tool for building self-esteem among war-affected children in Northern Uganda.
The kids in the Hip Hop Therapy Project practice for their first show!
For the past 22 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has led a brutal war in the Northern part of Uganda in an attempt to overthrow the Government of Uganda. The primary victims of this war have been the Acholi people who have seen over 25, 000 of their children abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves.
A good friend of mine, Jolly Okot, was abducted nearly 20 years ago at the beginning of the war and was forced to serve as a child soldier for 2 years. When she escaped captivity and returned home, she found that one of the things that helped her get through her trauma was the ability to play, have fun, and just be a kid again.
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