Thursday 28 October 2010

A Taste of Milégé: Repainting Uganda

Milégé Afro Jazz Band started out in January 2009 with a message of love and tolerance for all humankind through universal language of music—a fusion of classical jazz and traditional African sounds. It is a perfect blend of modern and traditional that signifies the place of contemporary Africa in a global village.
The name “milege” is derived from the Luo word for a rattle-like bell worn around the ankle during traditional dances that herald the arrival of the chief.

The Milégé sound reflects passion as the drums resonate a celebration of joy, love and happiness, soft, delicate and melodious is the harmony as the rhythm bounces along—fiery when fast, soothing when slow. This seven-member band promises to bring a new meaning to jazz by incorporating African culture and tunes while showcasing originality in its compositions.

It is in this spirit that Milégé Afro Jazz Band is headlining a concert Repainting Uganda to illustrate Uganda’s rich cultural diversity. The event scheduled for 29th October will serve as a platform to expose Ugandans to the rich talent that exists within their country. This is also the month that Uganda marks her independence. So, it is as good as it gets.

For more information about Milégé, go to www.milege.org but for a taste of their music, download this mix that I did for my listening pleasure and now sharing it with the world.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

A Case for a Noble Profession

Dear Susan,

I became a teacher by accident....at the time the Ministry of Education had declared that there was need to train more teachers and I was among those who were forced to that profession. I spent two weeks at the Registry office begging him to change the course. The registry became very curious and asked why l desperately needed to change that noble profession. I told him while at school I was very stubborn, naughty, full of mischief and that I did not want to be treated in the same way. The gentleman laughed and told me I would remain in that profession and he predicted for those reasons I would be a good teacher and would be grateful to him many years to come and today I can never thank him enough why?

The teaching profession is not about methodology but its a perfect understanding between a teacher and a student, it is a spiritual/sacred feeling, a mission, an ideal that arises betwen a teacher and a student and this help us to construct a better world and future by opening minds and lowering walls.

Teaching means youth, you are young all the time, you meet young people and you feel young (ask Bitamazire) Ed-Uganda's Minister of Education

Its an art as you create different ways to impart knowledge, ability, skills and moral character for intellectual development. The teacher shares the parents' responsibility and directly involves promoting health, mental and moral life of children.

While the teaching profession promises no financial prizes equal to those obtained in law, engineering the material rewards that teaching brings are not the chief reasons for going into it. In my scenario Namasagali gave us the opportunity to enjoy, practice and excel coz teaching was not only confined to the classroom but it included extra curricular development, technical planning, policy making and instructional design. Father encouraged us to grow, experiment and learn different ways to promote the profession. He always reminded us that this is a noble profession and for it to remain so we had to develop its full potential otherwise society would suffer a permanent loss. So Susan some of those challenges you sent below are some of the things that made teaching very interesting and humorous ....

Good day, Lau