THE AFRICAN BEAT
7 JULY 1999
Mr Lewis, a parent, came into school to talk to pupils about his experiences in Kenya.
In 1984 he made a life-changing decision. 'I decided raising money just wasn't enough and
I wanted to do more.' He worked on community projects such as building life saving
hospitals and schools. He was also involved in supplying water to villages. Mr Lewis had
many varied experiences in Kenya and found the people welcoming. He had an odd experience
when he was given a goat as a gift! As Mr. Lewis did not want to to hurt his hosts'
feelings, the goat ended up travelling around with him in his car and made a
terrible stink! Another unusual custom was the way African people always gave each other
lifts. So you could be driving along with loads of people in your car as well as a smelly
goat!
'Kanu Griot'- a love for music
The sounds of Africa greeted us as we entered the music rooms. One year seven explained
to us that they have been singing an African song which sounds something like this: 'Demoro
te manan demora la sand cul ware kono feala ban temanan'. A rough translation is 'I
have not come here to fill my stomach, I have come here to have my baby.' This is
performed to celebrate new birth and the whole community takes part in this ceremony. An
energetic dance accompanies this, involving hand waving, knee bending and foot stamping.
Mr Frost and Mr Guy even had a go at the dance and we were impressed by their efforts!
After Mr Frost finished, he came back to his seat bright red and gasped, "It was a
superb dance, much easier than the English style. It was different, but fun. Everybody
seemed to be enjoying themselves." We asked a student what he thought of doing
African Music all day. He said "I was amazed that we were dancing as well as singing.
We've learned a lot about African culture in a fun and interesting way".