Rwandan
children’s troupe performs at Mario Umana Middle School Academy in
East Boston to help raise awareness for country’s orphaned youth
Appearance includes award-winning Rwandan performing artist
Jean Paul Samputu
BOSTON (December 3, 2007) –
The Mizero Children of Rwanda – comprised of children orphaned
during the Rwandan genocide – performed at Mario Umana Middle
School Academy in East Boston on Monday, Dec. 3 to help generate
awareness for that country’s orphaned youth. Performing under
the name Mizero – which, in Kinyarwanda, means “hope’’ – these
cultural ambassadors took the audience on a journey into the
lives of Rwandan people through music, dance, costumes and
drumming.
Mizero’s performance in East
Boston was one of several on a North American tour designed to
raise enough money to construct and operate an arts academy with
housing in Kigali, Rwanda. The tour kicked off at the Lake Eden
Arts Festival in Asheville, N.C., in October and concludes at
the United Nations Day (December 19) in New York. While at a
Human Rights Summit in Canada earlier this month, the troupe so
moved Mia Farrow that she donated $30,000 on the spot.
“My vision for Mizero is to
build, bring and to spread hope to Rwandan children through our
vibrant music and dance traditions,” said Jean Paul Samputu, the
Rwandan singer and songwriter who formed Mizero Troupe and also
won the prestigious Kora Award (African Grammy) in 2003.
The Mizero Troupe includes about
25 children aged 13 to 18 – many of whom are homeless and
struggle to find food, and all of whom suffered significant
losses during the Rwandan genocide. This is the first time any
of them have left their Rwandan village. While their funding and
sponsorship fell through in the days before leaving on the tour,
they decided to come anyway – hoping their faith and goodwill
would offset the fact that they didn’t have any warm clothes,
shoes or even a way to travel from one place to another.
“The Arts-Academy will be a
university level conservatory where students will have access to
a general education and an opportunity to learn the aesthetic
traditions of various East and Central African cultures,’’ said
Mizero president Brent Swanson. “We also plan to emphasize the
blending of technology and the arts as a source of empowerment,
in order that they may be competitive in the modern world.”
The children first came together
in December 2006. A team from the Lake Eden Arts Festival joined
Samputu in Rwanda to help youth who were orphaned during the
1994 genocide or as a result of AIDS. They matched the troupe
with native drums, guitars, costumes and mentors, and provided a
safe weekly gathering place to continue to learn their
traditions.
From this collaboration sparked
the formation of the Mizero Children of Rwanda, a nonprofit
organization that believes through music and arts, youth receive
self-confidence, life skills and creative expression that will
help them heal and go forward. These children are sharing their
gift of music and performance while raising awareness for the 1
million other Rwandan orphans.
Mizero Children of Rwanda looks
forward to creating other programs in collaboration with other
forward-thinking organizations.
For more information on the
Mizero Children’s Troupe or to make a donation, please visit
www.mizerochildren.org.
