A Cultural Dance Session Gift (Digital download)
This gift pays for one session of cultural dance at either the ICC or mobile projects. Cultural dance is a perfect way for the children to learn new skills rooted in their culture. It also allows them to exercise as well as well laugh and to be children again. This gift is perfect for any music or dance lovers!
How your gift has helped Laughter Africa children in the past:
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul"...You'll hardly go a day without seeing or having a dance yourself in Sierra Leone. It's a fundamental part of the West African life; it's an expression of culture, a way to let go of life's stresses and be grateful for the blessings in life.
The ultimate embodiment of the joy dance can bring is Fatmata. Fatmata lives with a disability that means she cannot walk although she does not let this define her, she lives life to the fullest - she performs on the floor. We would quote the cliche 'dance like no-one is watching', but when Fatmata dances everyone stops to watch and join in the fun she brings. We met Fatmata living on the streets when she came to our mobile project. Here’s her story:
“My name is Fatmata and I am 16 years old. My mum died of Ebola. I don’t know where my father is. The last time I saw him he denied me and told me that I wasn’t his daughter. All my family have rejected me because of my disability. The only person who will let me live with them is my Grandma. I crawl on my hands for hours to go on the streets as my granny doesn’t have money so I beg to get money for food.
I feel like I am invisible to people. They don’t see me. They just see my disability and think I am a fool. People provoke me. People beat me and slap me as they know that I can’t fight back. My name on the wharf is the Temne version of millipede, “Nitoro.” They just call me a cripple and treat me like I am not important. I can’t fight back cos of my disability. I am an easy target."
We see you Fatmata and we love you. You are not invisible to us! To see Fatmata dancing, please visit here.
You can also see some cultural dance in action in a documentary all about the work of Laughter Africa here.