by Unisa Dizo-Conteh
Music has always been used as an effective tool to entertain people and trigger waves of emotions in them. In their recent UK tour, pupil singers of the Milton Margai School for the Blind from Sierra Leone used their musical talent marvellously not only to entertain their audience, but also to trigger in them waves of emotions. This also brought about a deep sense of inspiration, pride, admiration, wonderment and self-satisfaction.
Most of the hundreds of people, if not all, who watched the group perform at the Methodist Central Hall, one of UK’s prominent buildings, which is a few minutes walk from the House of Commons in London, were emotionally blown away.
“Seeing those children perform touched me to the very core” explained Dr Isatu Kamara, who had watched the group perform twice before.
Founded in 1961, the Milton Margai School for the Blind was established to develop pupils with sight impairments in three key areas – speaking English, reading Braille and touch typing.
It was in 1961 that the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone Sir Milton Margai launched an initiative that would raise funds to construct a building which would provide educational services to the blind.
Owing to their exceptional performance at this year’s UK tour, 25 pupils of the choir, accompanied by 5 members of staff, left an indelible mark on the memory or minds of hundreds of spectators, including Sierra Leoneans in the daispora and tourists from all over the world, who watched their fantastic concerts.
Twenty-year-old Imamurrala Vandy, a pupil of the school for 11 years said: “I feel very happy to entertain people in the UK. We have shown to them that we’ve got the talent and ability to entertain.”
He added: “UK is more receptive to people suffering from disability. The reception is very very marvellous. We went to beautiful places in the UK. This is a very historic moment. People used to think that it would be very difficult for a blind person to be educated. It is a surprise to them… Today I’m here (in the UK) to represent my country.”
But it has not been always smooth for the school. Cotton Tree magazine spoke to a couple of the members of staff that accompanied the pupils. One of them, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels, 76, who has been serving the school since 1958, and is now chairman of the school, revealed that they received very little funding from the government. He also told me about how the civil war disrupted them immensely.
He said: “during the height of the war bullets were flying everywhere. … Some of the pupils were wounded by bullets; some with minor sight impairments lost their sights for ever.”
Cotton Tree magazine also learnt that some of the pupils even lost some of their relatives and friends during the war.
Barbara Davidson, another member of staff, who revealed that serving the school remains the “best thing” she has ever done in her life, said, “I felt very guilty at leaving the children behind and not knowing how they were,” after she was evacuated in 1997 during a military coup.
Despite the devastative impact of the civil war on the school and the memories of the pupils, the school has been fighting very hard to keep things going. Tremendous support has been coming from compassionate people beyond the shores of Sierra Leone too. One such person is the kind-hearted former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold, who served in our country during the civil war.
Penfold, who was raised to the status of Paramount Chief in Sierra Leone for his relentless and inspirational effort to bring peace to the country, said that his inspiration for giving support to the school was “part of the commitment I have for Sierra Leone.”
Not only is he effectively involved in fundraising activities for the school, he has also written a song for the school, which he sang together with the Blind School choir on stage recently in London
“The objectives for doing the song are three-fold,” said Penfold. “One was to provide a memorable experience for each of the children - to extend the horizon for them to explore the possibilities of the things they could do in their future life. The second objective was for the school - because they need new songs to keep the school going. Third is to provide an opportunity for the audiences, here in Britain, to see and hear the talents of these remarkable children.”
The pupils of the Milton Margia School for the Blind have gone back to Sierra Leone, but their greatest hope is that we show our kindness by supporting them in any way we can to help them build a better future.
If you wish to find out more or wish to make a donation, please go to the following website: http://www.miltonmargaischool.org/
Photo: Top L-R: Pupil - Imamurrala Vandy, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels. Bottom: former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold
Most of the hundreds of people, if not all, who watched the group perform at the Methodist Central Hall, one of UK’s prominent buildings, which is a few minutes walk from the House of Commons in London, were emotionally blown away.
“Seeing those children perform touched me to the very core” explained Dr Isatu Kamara, who had watched the group perform twice before.
Founded in 1961, the Milton Margai School for the Blind was established to develop pupils with sight impairments in three key areas – speaking English, reading Braille and touch typing.
It was in 1961 that the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone Sir Milton Margai launched an initiative that would raise funds to construct a building which would provide educational services to the blind.
Owing to their exceptional performance at this year’s UK tour, 25 pupils of the choir, accompanied by 5 members of staff, left an indelible mark on the memory or minds of hundreds of spectators, including Sierra Leoneans in the daispora and tourists from all over the world, who watched their fantastic concerts.
Twenty-year-old Imamurrala Vandy, a pupil of the school for 11 years said: “I feel very happy to entertain people in the UK. We have shown to them that we’ve got the talent and ability to entertain.”
He added: “UK is more receptive to people suffering from disability. The reception is very very marvellous. We went to beautiful places in the UK. This is a very historic moment. People used to think that it would be very difficult for a blind person to be educated. It is a surprise to them… Today I’m here (in the UK) to represent my country.”
But it has not been always smooth for the school. Cotton Tree magazine spoke to a couple of the members of staff that accompanied the pupils. One of them, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels, 76, who has been serving the school since 1958, and is now chairman of the school, revealed that they received very little funding from the government. He also told me about how the civil war disrupted them immensely.
He said: “during the height of the war bullets were flying everywhere. … Some of the pupils were wounded by bullets; some with minor sight impairments lost their sights for ever.”
Cotton Tree magazine also learnt that some of the pupils even lost some of their relatives and friends during the war.
Barbara Davidson, another member of staff, who revealed that serving the school remains the “best thing” she has ever done in her life, said, “I felt very guilty at leaving the children behind and not knowing how they were,” after she was evacuated in 1997 during a military coup.
Despite the devastative impact of the civil war on the school and the memories of the pupils, the school has been fighting very hard to keep things going. Tremendous support has been coming from compassionate people beyond the shores of Sierra Leone too. One such person is the kind-hearted former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold, who served in our country during the civil war.
Penfold, who was raised to the status of Paramount Chief in Sierra Leone for his relentless and inspirational effort to bring peace to the country, said that his inspiration for giving support to the school was “part of the commitment I have for Sierra Leone.”
Not only is he effectively involved in fundraising activities for the school, he has also written a song for the school, which he sang together with the Blind School choir on stage recently in London
“The objectives for doing the song are three-fold,” said Penfold. “One was to provide a memorable experience for each of the children - to extend the horizon for them to explore the possibilities of the things they could do in their future life. The second objective was for the school - because they need new songs to keep the school going. Third is to provide an opportunity for the audiences, here in Britain, to see and hear the talents of these remarkable children.”
The pupils of the Milton Margia School for the Blind have gone back to Sierra Leone, but their greatest hope is that we show our kindness by supporting them in any way we can to help them build a better future.
If you wish to find out more or wish to make a donation, please go to the following website: http://www.miltonmargaischool.org/
Photo: Top L-R: Pupil - Imamurrala Vandy, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels. Bottom: former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold
No comments:
Post a Comment