Ivuka Arts Studio - Rwanda

I LOVE this multi-color brick wall!

I mentioned the Ivuka Arts Studio in an earlier post, but I wanted the post these cool pictures up that photographer, Ryan Frost, took while he was there this summer. I met Ryan through my friend, Jenny Conaway, while heading over to one of their friend's going-away parties in her jeep. It was a memorable moment when I was getting out of the back of her jeep and unknowingly stepped into the brownie cake (she had made for the going-away person) sitting on the floor of the jeep. SQUISH! I gingerly extracted my chocolate-covered foot out of the baking tin. The party had to eat around my distinct "flip flop" footprint in the cake, but everyone seemed pretty good humored about it.

Ivuka Arts is a studio in Kigali, Rwanda where accomplished artist, Collin Sekajugo develops new artists. The painters here are able to sell their paintings and make enough money to provide for themselves financially. Collin's artwork is sold to patrons from around the world.

The African Children's Choir - Rwanda

I learned about the African Children's Choir from Barbara Mankoski, a patron of ACC, who has been sponsoring one of the orphans at Gisimba Orphanage in Kigali for over 10 years! She has been a enthusiastic supporter of the projects Heather Metcalfe and I have been working on and her devotion to her sponsored child, Jean Claude's well-being, is admirable. 

Below, is a highlight of the ACC's work in Rwanda.  

In 1984, in the midst of Uganda’s bloody civil war, human rights activist Ray Barnett was called on to help the many thousands of orphaned and starving children, abandoned and helpless to feed and protect themselves.

Realizing the enormity of the task Ray and his team came up with a unique approach. The only way to make a meaningful difference was to impact the lives of these children, one child at a time.

"Inspired by the singing of one small boy, we formed the first African Children’s Choir to show the world that Africa’s most vulnerable children have beauty, dignity and unlimited ability."

The first choir group was formed in 1984, selected from orphaned and vulnerable children in Kampala and Luwero, Uganda.  To date, the ACC has extended its reach to Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana.

The African Children's Choir currently provides sponsorship for over 50 Rwandan Choir children, now working on their secondary and post-secondary schooling.

The African Children’s Choir also forged a special relationship with the Gisimba Memorial Center. The Choir helps fund the center, provides assistance with operating costs, meals, clothing, school supplies, and medical care.  The organization also helps support children and staff with counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder and fund various community development projects.

Each year, Music for Life volunteers from around the world conduct enrichment camps for the children at the orphanage and in the surrounding communities. These camps are a time for the children to forget their circumstances and just have fun.