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Friday, March 11, 2005

saw a Ugandan children's choir perform today. their spirit is incredible. their voices - glorious. within a minute of them dancing on to the stage, my eyes filled with tears as i thought of all the kids who became really special to me last summer.
these choir kids are all HIV/AIDS orphans. they belong to a child care ministry. as the concert went on, it became more and more obvious how 'professional' this group is - the presentation was sooo scripted - in some way it almost did not seem quite genuine. and i hate myself for thinking like this, but when the kids would speak in between songs of how their parents died, they went to live with their abusive aunt who would deny them food... it was so obvious they had been trained to put emphasis on certain words with certain intonation. i felt as if i were watching a play. hmm. have now checked out their website, and yeah - they go on EXTENSIVE nearly year-long tours all over the world. guess that explains it all. i guess it felt strange because at first they totally reminded me of the mwandi kids, but then i realized how different these kids actually are, traveling the globe in their decked out tourbus, 'GOD Loves You' written on the front of the bus. (i saw it drive away)

it quickly became obvious how religiously based they are... ok. so i realize religion plays a significant role in African development... it's a way for these kids to get help... and it makes me sad to say this, but ... the video they played featuring the founder of the ministry - well, it disturbed me. my mood completely changed. i just can't help being very critical of the fact that they say things like - 'we provide food, shelter and education for these kids, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, we suffocate them with the word of the Lord.' okay so that last part is a bit off, but i can't remember what he said. argh. i couldn't bring myself to donate at the end. of course i want to help orphans in africa. i am a poor student but that's not quite an excuse not to give even a few dollars. well, other than the fact that i only had a 20 on me, i think you really have to pick and choose which charities to give to. and the deeply religious affiliation of this one was a real turnoff. not to sound harsh, but it's true.

end rant. on to other things..
like this:
(it's real. was in a newspaper)
!!!

~ rebecca 12:47 AM ~ [+]