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Ganda Boys: Musicians fighting poverty, poor health & unemployment in Uganda

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Ugandan singing duo, Da Twinz, comprising of singers Denis Mugagga and Dan Sewagudde were once the biggest group from Uganda with songs like Ndeku, Midomo, Nafunye among others. Though, ask for some of their latest songs and you will hardly get any answer!

Majority of Ugandans think the group stopped recording songs but they are wrong. The duo re-branded to Ganda Boys in 2008 and even changed the direction of their music.

The group is no longer into singing about ladies, money and booze but it has rather switched to music dedicated towards making a difference in the lives of the people of Uganda and other disenfranchised populations around the world.

In fact, their song ‘Forgotten People’ has been nominated in the Independent Music Awards.
Through a mail interview with Eagle Online, the duo opened up on their new musical direction and their foundation, on which more focus has been dedicated to.

What are you doing currently?

“The first step is empowering people through education. United Earth Education and Communities connect the infrastructure, buildings, and environment in our communities with education through community-based projects. Ugandans who want to create projects in their villages are supported through education, mentoring and resources.”

Secondly, by creating and building projects in villages and communities is part of each core course, and students get credit both when they are in the field or in the classroom.

What kind of projects do you undertake?

“The projects will come from the minds of students and the residents of Uganda cities and villages. However, to get started and to focus some students, the following projects are proposed for initial implementation. After identifying villages and schools that have students with basic literacy skills and access to online information, students will be recruited to create a Ugandan Youth News Service. Students will be trained in finding information, Communicating clearly, and creating print and graphic materials. Students could also be mentored by local teachers and journalists.

They also aim at ensuring girls stay in school. In Uganda, because of lack of access to hygiene materials for menstruation, 40 per cent of schoolgirls miss up to 5 schooldays a month or 30 per cent of the school year leading to lower performance and a high dropout rate. Girls who drop out are more likely to get pregnant, die in childbirth, and be unable to provide basic needs for their children. 

Do you have partners for these projects?

We are partnering with organizations already working in Uganda, United Earth will increase access to information, simple and sustainable materials, and help to decrease and reverse the shame and ridicule that often comes from menstruation.”

Their foundation further aims at fighting poverty among Ugandans, especially those living in villages.

Poverty robs Uganda of its vast human potential. As people struggle to survive, they are unable to have the time and resources to get educated, build robust cultural arts programs, or create innovative solutions to help their community. Using micro-financing, United Earth could target women who have a business idea but lack either the skills and/or the equipment to implement it. Courses can be made available in one of the other programs, and capital can be provided by micro-financing.

How are you handling the health aspect?

On health, we intend to provide better access to water for hospitals. Lack of access to clean and close water costs Uganda in productivity and leads to disease, lack of education, hunger, poverty, and death. United Earth uses technologies as varied as bikes that help to transport and filtrate water to water baskets that gather condensation to satellite images that show subterranean near-surface water for drilling wells. Kawolo hospital is an early candidate, but further work with the Ugandan government and hospitals will help to identify the best candidates who can utilize the UE technical insights based on population, infrastructure, and geo-location.

Meanwhile, on their music, the Ganda Boys have been nominated in the Independent Music Awards and can be voted for through this link http://fans.independentmusicawards.com/artists/ganda-boys/)

 

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