Liwalo Updates

Greetings!  I would like to thank all those who have supported the activities of the Liwalo na Liwe FDN. The past few months have been quite exciting and rewarding to say the least. I am particularly appreciative of those educational and religious institutions that have invited me to give presentations about the organization, film, and boarding school projects.  (The picture on the left is from a discussion conducted at Illinois State.  You can read the article here.)

From the start, one of our main objectives was to engage the student population—from the primary to the tertiary level—and we have yet to be disappointed. That students are inspired and compelled to act is quite significant, especially among the prevalent criticism that depicts them as inept and complacent. I am often awestruck by the discussions that ensue after a screening or presentation. I remember one student from a Chicago area high school commenting “I wanna go to Africa” and in reference to the street children, “I wanna get me one a dem.” Her enthusiasm made me proud as it had been a personal goal of mine to get Afro-Americans interested in the African continent in a more qualitative way.

Until recently, I thought nothing would compare to how students, even people outside the academic setting, have been impacted and inspired by the activities of Liwalo. However, I had the honor of attending a performance by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II, which was choreographed as a tribute to the film and the plight of street children. I was moved to tears as I watched. To see the spirit of the film and the boys’ personalities articulated in modern dance is beyond words. I was stunned as the audience reacted to the performance with a standing ovation. This was one of my proudest moments ever. I get goose bumps just writing about the memory. I cannot imagine what the future holds but I am quite excited.

I would like to conclude with a special thank you to the directors of the organization, for without you none of this would be possible. Also, on a sad note, I want to let people know that one of the university students in the film, Shushul Rajal (Sherry), who was to be quite instrumental at the administrative level at Uhuru na Jukumu boarding school passed away last month. She was a victim in a drunk driving incident in Iringa last month. We will keep her memory alive.

Peace, love and let us know what you think about what we are doing.

Michael Stewart, Director

Tags: dance, Liwalo, Liwalo na Liwe, Michael Stewart, presentations, update

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.