Africa

They say that Africa is a humankind cradle. In Olduvai, an ancestor of the contemporary man appeared for the first time – Homo habilis and Homo erectus – and from the heart of Africa, it spread into the whole world. The area of the East African Rift Valley is rich for the many fossil findings and Olduvai is just here in Tanzania. However in year 2002, Brunet et al. published in scientific journal Nature^* about the oldest hominid petrifaction. This would not have been anything so strange, but question is: Where were found these petrifactions? The scientists found them in distance of 2500 km (1 553.43 miles) from the East African Rift Valley in central Africa in Chad and they estimated their age between 6 and 7 million years!!! This is Africa surprising.

Africa, these are the streets of Marrakesh, the pyramids near to Cairo, the temples in Luxor and Karnak, the cities like Casablanca and Alexandria, the lost Timbuktu with its doors, the endless plains of the deserted and sometimes green deserts like Sahara or Kalahari, or the deep and impenetrable rainforests with the richness of flora and fauna that often disappear forever.

Africa, these are the Nile River with its cataracts and with all burying Aswan Dam, waters of the Victoria Falls, with snow covered peak of the highest mountain known as Kilimanjaro and the deep mines with diamonds and gold in Kimberley and Congo.

Africa is also the extreme poverty in glamour of the riches. It is hopelessness, high unemployment, pain and sadness, worry and death. These are the depopulated villages. These are prejudices and superstitions. It is hunger, HIV and it is AIDS.

I was in Africa only once sometime in year 1985, it was in Algeria. Nothing of what I have now written, I have seen or experienced. Only the oleander flowers attracted me through their aroma and I drowned in them under rays of hot African sun.

Come back to the reality. Africa has materialized for me on just ending weekend. The theatre “Husa na Provazku” (Goose on String) in Brno has entertained some group of people, enthusiasts, doubters, but even faithful and selfless people and donators this Saturday (26.06.2010). Africa has materialized for me in the form of the large photos, beads and small baskets made by people that are far. Africa has materialized for me in the form of African drummers from Congo; by the way they live in Czech Republic. Their drums have totally overturned the world and the theater has become a furnace of Africa.

However, in an intermission we have listened narrative of Missis Gita Fuchsova about many projects that are under way in Kenya and in neighbouring countries. Missis Gita Fuchsova is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UNEP and UN-Habitat ((UNEP = United Nations Enviroment Programme, UN-Habitat = United Nations Human Settlements Programme).

The wide spectrum of programs has covered, for example, the preventive vaccination of dogs in Mt. Kula mountain chain in Kenya, which is every year made by people from the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno and they do it successfully. It is also “Doll for UNICEF” project, where the voluntaries sew some doll and it is offered to an adoption for 600 CZK. This amount is needed to revaccinate of one child in the underdeveloped countries against six mortal child illnesses.
And of course, it was Bwindi Orphans, because this civically association and its activities in Uganda were a midpoint of that day. It has begun by some afternoon talk and has continued then in the theater passage and in the evening also during the concert. It was not missing also a connection between Bwindi Orphans and the virtual world Second Life, which was tried to explain by Fanda Ryba. I think that he has succeeded it. At his presentation, he has shown us also several pictures from SL, where is also placed the school, for which there is a fund-raising campaign through the pink pigs that are on many sims of Czech and Slovak community in SL. Around this school you can see also picture made by the court photographer of Bwindi Orphans Michal Prihoda. The account amount is updated regularly on this web site and all donators (more than 400) are there listed even with the respective amount of Linden dollars. To this day (01.07.2010) people has donated 634 805 L$.

However, the performance of the band called Cankisou (maybe pronounced as Tschankeyshow). This band was founded by bigbeat musicians at some Christmas party in year 1999. With help of the most various instruments form the whole world, they threw themselves into absolutely new waters of ethno, world music and in an original way, and they based their work on some legend about an ancient uniped nation of Canki (Tschanki). During 10 years of it existence, the band has gained the solid place in musical sun and today they belong to the top of Czech world music.

To describe an atmosphere in an auditorium and even on a stage is quite difficult, one have to experience it. So, at least there are several pictures from this event here: ones on the official site of Bwindi Orphans and other ones on Zuza Ritt stream. Well, finally you can look at three clips of Cankisou only for an idea what they play.

Zuha clip was shot in Pakistan by LP Fish during our participation in World Performing and Visual Arts festival 2007 in Lahore. Borrega clip is animated one made by students at Film Academy of Miroslav Ondricek and Independent Film College in Pisek. Last one was based on materials that Michal Prihoda recorded and shot in Uganda.

^*M. Brunet et al.: A new hominid from the Upper Miocéne of Chad, Central Africa. Nature 418, 2002, 145.

Pictures: Offical site of BWO [only in Czech], Zuza Ritt stream

SLurl: 3D-model of the school on Shinyland

(Sources: Cankisou [only in Czech], UNICEF, UNEP, UN-Habitat, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Embassy in Nairobi, Wikipedia, YouTube)