The East Africa Music and Drama Festival has drawn critical attention to themes on environmental conservation and social ills affecting the society.
Students presented items on drug and substance abuse, greening the environment, gender- based violence, women and girl rights among other themes.
The fete that is taking place at the lakeside city of Jinja in Uganda has brought together over 1,000 participants with items ranging from plays, music, dance , poetry and public speaking .
The showstopper on Wednesday was Moi Girls Nairobi’s choral verse Angela that was produced by the indefatigable Margaret Njaaga.
The verse had a strong message on drug and substance abuse among teenagers and was delivered in spectacular style with vocal variation and facial expressions enhancing its appeal.
A school from Karamoja, Uganda, during the official opening ceremony of the East Africa Music and Drama Festival at Wanyange Girls School Jinja on August 27, 2024.
Photo credit: Anthony Njagi | Nation Media Group
Angela, the central character, is mentally conflicted and sees no escape from an impressive “Jamo” — a relatively old man — who poses as her “mentor” and leads her to drug abuse. She is torn between him and sticking to the morals that her mother constantly emphasises in her life.
The choral verse exposes the mental torture that young girls go through in society today, which drives some of them down the path of destruction.
“We are glad to have come here in Jinja because the girls have learnt so much from other performances. We are proud to have represented our country at this international festival in Uganda,” said Mrs Njaaga whose choral verse was number one at the Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama Festival in April.
Ms Rose Mugeni, a teacher at Kasenye Senior School from Central Uganda, said: “We really love Kenyan performances because the quality is high, and we can't have enough of it.”
Her counterpart from St James Senior School, Mr Hendrick Nyanzi, was impressed by Senende High School’s presentation of a rendition of Congolese music star, the late Madilu System’s song in the Zilizopendwa category.
Students from Sabunley High School, Kenya perform a Somali cultural dance a the East Africa Music and Drama Festival at Wanyange Girls in Jinja Uganda on August 28, 2024.
Photo credit: Anthony Njagi | Nation Media Group
“The message of friendship, vocal harmony and instrumentation was immeasurable,” said Mr Nyanzi, the head of music at St James.
Buruburu Girls High School, also from Kenya, will be presenting their award winning cultural creative dance Jalupo directed by Patrick Ngere, which is a major highlight in today’s programme.
The dance depicts a widow with economic challenges fending for her family. The fishmonger is frustrated as she tries to eke out a living in the male-dominated trade. The fishermen demand sexual favours, and this puts her at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases .
She takes a bold move to venture into fishing after acquiring a fishing boat and nets against the established social norms.
Rising stars Mukuuni Boys High School will take to the stage with their play, Player No 10, that depicts a talented school boy who uses his gift to help fight cattle rustling in his community. Sabunley Boys performed a Somali folk song.
