A Cultural Dance Session Gift (Digital download)

How your gift has helped Laughter Africa children in the past year:

"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 21 year old Musu aka Pessi. Pessi first went onto the streets 6 years ago when she was 15. Her mum died during Ebola and Pessi was left to support all her brothers and sisters as she was the oldest child. They ended up living with an aunty but her aunty did not treat Pessi well. Pessi wasn’t able to go to school as there was no one to pay her fees. Instead she was forced into child labour “where I was treated like a slave.” When we first met Pessi at our mobile project in Bomeh, she was pregnant. She said, “I am a dancer. I used to always dance in the village. Dancing gives me pride and helps me forget about my problems. I am pregnant and there is only me to bring up the baby. The dad is not around. I am scared. But when I dance, I can escape reality…even just for a bit.”

Pessi was dancing right until she gave birth, always with a huge grin on her face. Pessi finally gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in October 2024 and she will be starting to attend vocational school in a few months time. And we know that no matter what, dancing will always be part of Pessi’s life!  

Alpha James Kai was an amazing dancer. He was always busting some moves especially when he attended our mobile project in Grafton in 2022/2023. When he was dancing, he always had a smile on his face! On Tuesday 9th April 2024, we received some sad news. Alpha James Kai and his friend Sallu were in a serious vehicle accident. Sadly Alpha James died instantly. Alpha had lived on the streets for at least 3 years before we met him. He was 20 years old. While living on the streets, he raised money for his school fees by engaging in different jobs including a job as a dancer. Despite all these challenges, he got a fantastic mark in his school exams which shows his strength of character and determination. In May 2023, we reunified him with his family. He started attending university late last year, studying Public Health. Alpha’s funeral took place in Grafton on 11th April 2024. Over 2000 people came to bid farewell to Alpha and another boy Wurie (the brother of one of the girls we support) who also died in the same accident. At least 200 Laughter Africa children came to say goodbye to their friends. It was a very emotional, overwhelming day.   

To give you a taster of a cultural dance lesson, below is a cultural dance performance performed by some of the young people at our mobile project in Bomeh earlier this year: