Safari Njema!

This photo makes me miss living in Tanzania. It was actually taken in Kenya but I saw similar views in the Serengeti. The sky really does seem bigger in Africa. (By the way, safari njema means have a good trip!)

Via: Ben Heine on Flickr

The Congo's Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra

Would you ever imagine that deep in central Africa there was a symphony orchestra made up of average Congolese people performing Carmina Burana (in its original Latin!!) and performing it well? One of the reasons I got goosebumps watching this video is because it showed me a stereotypes I didn't even know I had. Stereotypes concerning musical taste, appreciation and ability were in my mind purely through assumption. I suppose it could be rational to be surprised people in the third world have access to certain instruments but other than that I should not be surprised by the power of music to bring people together, provide catharsis and general life improvement. Another reason for my goosebumps was because I had just seen a new side of a country which I had only been told a single story. A story of extreme sadness and hardship full of human rights atrocities. But with this video you see a more nuanced Congo! Excitement, joy, self worth, creativity, and so many more positive things. It's just so great!!!

Via: IC

Alex presents: Commando

Today I received an email from my friend Dionne with a link to a video. She sent it to me because she knew I used to live in Tanzania and this little boy is Tanzanian. Little did she know............ HE WAS ONE OF MY FORMER STUDENTS AND THE SCHOOL BEHIND HIM IS WHERE I TAUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So needless to say, I LOVE this video. My reasons are threefold.
    1. This says his name is Alex but it is really Alhadji. When I was there he was 6 years old and so sweet. He loved to watch wrestling and be tough but was still so cuddly. I called him kidege yangu, my little bird, in Kiswahili. The little boy next to him is Shadrack and was always quieter but sweet.
    2. I miss that accent and the way Tanzanians spoke English. *sigh*
    3.Alhadji is smart, hilarious, bi-lingual, not an orphan, not a child soldier, not starving, doesn't have AIDS, and thus breaking most of the stereotypes we have about Africans. This video is from Mama Hope and is part of the Stop The Pity, Unlock The Potential campaign.

This is the first video in the Stop The Pity, Unlock The Potential campaign and I can't wait for more!!!! If you go to the Mama Hope youtube page there are tons of other videos featuring children I taught and Mr. James my boss at St. Timothy's in Pasua. Thusly, I....am....freaking....out. In a good way of course.

Here is a picture of Alhadji, on the right, and his older brother, only by one year from 2008.