Rukoki School Integrated Sing/Sign Choir - By Bethan

Us westerners believe the myth that "all Africans can sing" or, better than that, "all Africans can sing in beautiful harmony".  Well I'm here to crack that myth.  I spent every Friday afternoon for the last month stuck in a dark unfinished brick room with smoke from the wood cooking fire billowing in, trying to teach 50 kids (25 at a time) how to sing together as a choir.  The children are a mixture of mainstream primary school children, some with physical difficulties, some with learning difficulties and quite a few deaf.  We are therefore sing-signing using Ugandan sign language.  The process of teaching is not helped by the 50 onlookers staring unabashed through the holes in the walls singing the line I taught ten minutes ago ad nauseum while I am trying to teach the next line!  I was not expecting much when the teachers said that we needed to present the songs to the rest of the school and the teachers. I took Gareth, Sam and Jonah along and told them not to expect anything amazing.  But then as we lined up in rows under the mango tree and the rest of the school organised themselves in any shade available I was suddenly pleasantly surprised by what came out!