Albion College students Alyson Howe (left) and Sarah Heddon (second from right) with members of the Bitone Project, a combination orphanage/performing arts group.

‘Bitone’ Means Talent
Albion College Students Sarah Heddon and Alyson Howe Discover Hope in Uganda
Friday, March 9, 2007

Peace is an elusive and complex concept especially in the context of Africa. People often ask me how to promote peace in areas like Uganda or Rwanda, countries that are healing from genocide and massive civil strife that have displaced millions of their citizens. It is difficult to wrap our brains around the true human value of statistics emerging from this area of the world. Yet, returning from our travels this winter to the Bitone Children’s Home in Kampala, Uganda, I might define peace in new ways.

Bitone is wonderful and unique in that it supports children orphaned through the violence of Uganda’s brutal 20-year civil war, and seeks to rehabilitates them through traditional Ugandan music, theater, dance and folklore. Along with gaining 25 new friends, with whom we ate, slept and played, Alyson Howe and I learned a lot: how to cook with banana leaves, speak a little Lugandan, construct beaded necklaces and play traditional African instruments. Most incredibly, we got a glimpse of the depth and breadth of Bitone children’s talents and potential.

Many of the children told us heart wrenching stories of the horrors that brought them to the Bitone Center. Some had seen their parents brutally killed by rebel forces; others had watched their parents die slowly in their own feces, due to the debilitating effects of AIDS; others had been abducted and forced to join the fighting, even forced to commit murder.

Many of the children sobbed when thinking about friends and siblings who remain in desperate poverty, in the streets or in violent areas of the north. Yet during their performances, the kids were embodied with confidence, courage, and passion. This initially surprised me. I came to realize that each song, dance and poetry recitation was a new opportunity for them to express the joy they felt about their new role at Bitone. Through their dances they became so much more than just troubled orphans, but were now artists and and leaders with the knowledge and skills to help other Ugandans heal through similar tragedy.

Through their art, these children are trying to actualize their dreams, their potential and their ability to share their newfound hope with others like us. The energy and spirit present in their performances unites individuals from all over Uganda -- and now, all over the world.

As were leaving, immersed in hugs and tears, the kids told us that they practiced and performed every day because “art without practice is dead.” Alyson and I have truly begun to appreciate why art is so significant in the lives of our new friends and in countries such as Uganda. Despite the chaos still festering in East Africa, in this little area of Kampala, at least 25 kids are alive and using their talents not only to heal, but to promote peace.

For more information, visit the Bitone Project website