The Rain Returns

This month kicked off with a ‘Connoisseurs Festival’ fundraiser for Kampala Music School - an afternoon of wine tasting and live music hosted in the Sheraton Hotel Gardens.  Apart from a little bit of drizzle (so it’s not just England where the rain likes to try and spoil these things!), it was a truly lovely day. There were performances from a range of KMS ensembles, including the jazz band, Sauti Ya Africa, and the symphony orchestra. M-Lisada brass band also came to join us for the day, along with Sylvia - the yogi supreme. Sylvia is an ex-street child who I am currently teaching violin to, who is also practising yoga and has become quite famous in Kampala for her elastic backbone.

Sylvia performing at a different concert a week previous to Connoisseurs

It’s an unusual act that the M-Lisada organizers have put together, but entertaining all the same – the brass band play ‘What A Wonderful World’ whilst a very zen Sylvia contorts herself in to some weird and wonderful shapes for the audience to admire.

I found out last week that there are still numerous children at M-Lisada who are without sponsors, and thus cannot attend school. So in the morning, when most the children get their uniforms on and head off for a day of learning, there are 17 children who get left behind and spend the day waiting for their comrades to arrive back from school. What is most heartbreaking is that school fees for one of these children costs in the region of just £150 for a year! M-Lisada have a further 150 children on their books that they care for, but who are not currently residing at their home, who are also not in school. If anyone is interested in sponsoring one of the M-Lisada ex-street kids, either a resident or visiting child, then please let me know so that I can forward you the list of children and their profiles.

All the ladies of Kampala are now wandering around with plastic bags tied over their head, which marks the start of rainy season, of course. Yes I was confused too, but all has been revealed; African hair, when grown out, is very hard to manage and is therefore either chemically straightened or braided. This is not a cheap procedure, nor quick, but at least both style options are fairly long-lasting (normally a quarterly trip to the salon is sufficient) ... unless ones hair gets wet. To the Ugandan lady who was explaining this all to me, I pointed out that - on the plus side - she must save a lot on shampoo costs. Oh, on the subject of hair, Nicholas the Head of Strings at Kampala Music School was just the other day showing off the uses of his:

The natural pencil holder