Talent Academy for 100 Young Ugandans Annually

Key Highlights of the Quarter

• Ensibuuko-Born Fire Brainstorm

This quarter was a reflective period, brainstorming on and making an understanding and appreciating Music, Dance and Theater at our newly developed idea of “Ensibuulo-Born Fire Brainstorm”. This initiative is intended to bring around scholars, artists, celebrities, politicians and all personalities, stakeholders onto a targeted discussion mainly one that promote and build confidence of young people in the field of Creative and Performing Arts.

The discussion stated thus, the fact that young people should and have a responsibility in protecting and preserving the industry. The idea came through from the Board of Directors seating, which raised concerns on how much the young people especially the Rockies Academy are investing in ensuring we have professionals in this field.

The discussion made progress and gave us a clear understanding that performing arts ranges from vocal and instrumental music, dance and theatre to pantomime, sung verse and beyond. They include numerous cultural expressions that reflect human creativity and that are also found, to some extent, in many other intangible cultural heritage domains.  We would like to share with you some of our thoughts and findings.

Music is perhaps the most universal of the performing arts and is found in every society, most often as an integral part of other performing art forms and other domains of intangible cultural heritage including rituals, festive events or oral traditions. It can be found in the most diverse contexts: sacred or profane, classical or popular, closely connected to work or entertainment. There may also be a political or economic dimension to music: it can recount a community’s history, sing the praises of a powerful person and play a key role in economic transactions. The occasions on which music is performed are just as varied: marriages, funerals, rituals and initiations, festivities, all kinds of entertainment as well as many other social functions.

Dance, though very complex, may be described simply as ordered bodily movements, usually performed to music. Apart from its physical aspect, the rhythmic movements, steps and gestures of dance often express a sentiment or mood or illustrate a specific event or daily act, such as religious dances and those representing hunting, warfare or sexual activity.

Traditional theatre performances usually combine acting, singing, dance and music, dialogue, narration or recitation but may also include puppetry or pantomime. These arts, however, are more than simply ‘performances’ for an audience; they may also play crucial roles in culture and society such as songs sung while carrying out agricultural work or music that is part of a ritual. In a more intimate setting, lullabies are often sung to help a baby sleep.

• Shifting to a more spacious place

The month of September saw us make a temporary shift into a more spacious premises to allow for expansion of the Entrepreneurship department. This department has now been able to add on 3 Electronic Sewing machines, this means that we shall have increased effectiveness in the department especially in making products for both the market and the attires for our stage performances.

• Annual Segal Family Foundation Conference

Our Executive Director and the Director of Programs represented the Organization at the Annual Segal Family Foundation Conference in Nairobi-Kenya. Segal being our partner has opened enormous opportunities for us, it gave us the understanding of many potential spaces not only for learning but also networking and fundraising. Just like we got the opportunity to be featured on GlobalGiving, it’s the opportunity provided by Segal. While in Kenya, another opportunity was created for our Director of Programs to join our Founder into storming this space where Segal brings together donors and partners to interact and share thoughts on how well donor-grantee relation can be enhanced, a great networking space that has proven to be a good lead for great partnerships from the networks created.

Welcome back Rockies supporters. We are very happy to be back with you, and we very humbly beg your pardon for the delay in this report - we have been very busy lately!

This quarter we have added focus towards empowering girls. Our curriculum offer is maintaining its broad and balanced outlook, and continues to provide all students with the opportunity to attain a wide range of skills. It takes into account the needs of students and offers opportunities for both academic and vocational pathways, ensuring that all students have clear progression routes and an environment in which it is feasible for them to attain this!

Within an open appreciation of diversity, we have time and again admitted young talents from all religions and from all cultural backgrounds.   As a Rights Respecting Organization, we provide a safe, supportive and stimulating learning environment in which every child values her education and makes the most of every opportunity so that she is able to fulfil her potential.

Gifted and talented girls thrive in such a richly diverse environment, being able to debate and discuss their views with other bright minds who have different perspectives and experiences and also prepare for life beyond in the ever changing world.

Exciting schemes of learning will be delivered as we look forward to fully paying off the balance to the Academy Land which will host excellent performance facilities which include; an auditorium with state of the art lighting and sound, a dance studio, fully equipped music rooms, a music studio, music practice spaces, drama studios as well as the Theatre.

Our lessons are complimented by a wide range of trips, performances such as our Annual Make Them Smile Concert, hired performance, music concerts and lots of workshops with visiting professionals in their field.

Highlight

1. Rockies Family Day is a special gathering for the entire team, the board and the surrounding community join in a fun day. This day happens annually in celebration of being able to hit milestones that are set out to achieve in a given period. This year the celebration was mainly dedicated to having been able to acquire land for which the academy will be constructed and also being able to win the award of the Finest Traditional Dance Troupe in Uganda. We continue as a family to map out our strength and weakness over a period to help us achieve much more in a given period.

Active partnerships and Engagements

2. The organizational capacity assessment conducted by Segal Family Foundation. This one day assessment was conducted ahead of the African Visionary Summit where we are proud to announce that our Team Leader and Founder SSozi Brian was selected to be amongst the 15 fellows for this year’s Visionary cohort to have a deeper understanding of our needs, strength and areas that need more support for further development. This full day interactive workshop was packed with quite a number of activities a space that provided our team to think broadly about the potential that we possess as Rockies. The Segal team was represented by Beatrice Onyango the Coordinator of African Visionary Fellowship, Gladys Onyanga the Programs Director, Ruth the programs officer, joined by Segal consultant Meddie.

3. Rockies Performed at the 4th Common Wealth Youth Parliament. The theme of this conference was “securing a better future for Africa; role of the youth” this conference attracted over 200 delegates from all the common wealth countries.

4. As part of our continued outreach programs covered in our academy, exposure and experiential learning is key for our young people. We get to join into many activities we are invited and this time round Makerere University Faculty of Performing Arts invited us at their Open Day and Dance Festival 2018 at Makerere University Freedom Square; the goal was to bring the community of Makerere to a festival featuring upcoming dance troupes and companies as they dialogue with the dance students from Norway and MAK students.

5. In a bid to realign our goals and ensure that we move synchronized as a team, we organized a 3 day brainstorming in house workshop that required developing our one page strategic plan. This workshop involved working on our values as an organization, revisiting our vision and mission statement, having to draw a protracted to-do list for the next 3 years, mapping out our value proposition, our theory of change and the activities needed to achieve.

6. We are now intensifying our music classes given the target for this year that will see us come up with a number of productions that are in line with showcasing our vocal abilities. The music classes are more theoretical helping our young people appreciate music from understanding codes, keys and the different voice toning according to vocal ability. These were facilitated by Fr. Martin of Bukalasa Parish in Masaka renowned music teacher and trainer

7. Cross Cultural Foundation Uganda-CCFU held their 3rd National Cultural Heritage Awarding Ceremony were we took part as partners to the event as we provided the day’s cultural entertainment. The event was graced by the State Minister for Tourism and Antiquities Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda

8. Fresh Dairy, the producer of a wide range of dairy products in Uganda, rebranded all its yoghurt as part of its strategy to satisfy the constantly changing customer needs while increasing its market share both in Uganda and the East African region at large. Because this product is an energy giver, the organizers of the event felt it prudent to invite the youthful team of Rockies Troupe to unveil these products to the media and the public at large.

9. Our partnership with MindLeaps has given much more exposure to some of our members, the two selected members Mataba Douglas and Kapule Annet took on the roles of trainers around Uganda and are now currently in Rwanda for a 3 Months dance training at the MindLeaps training center in Kigali. On return the dual is expected to fully take up training roles under MindLeaps to a number of countries that will be assigned to them. Rockies being an organization that nurtures talents of young people to become professional performers, joined with other partners to front the same cause which helps to achieve our intended objective.

10. Rockies Troupe took part at the second edition of the Dragon Boat Festival, organized by the Chinese Embassy and the China Africa Friendship Association of Uganda. This is one of the international platforms that we work towards ensuring that our team performs at. This year’s event just like last year took place in Entebbe at the Uganda Wild Life Education Center-UWEC. This event was graced by the Chairman of the China’s top political advisory body the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference-CPPCC Mr. Wang Yang.

ACHIEVEMENT OF MILESTONES

List of Identified Milestones

3 Girls and 2 boys have been enrolled into formal education in different learning centers from Primary level to Higher institutions of learning including vocational institutions

7 Are formally enrolled with Rockies Talent, Leadership and Skills Development Academy.

2 programs of Brick Laying (Paver making) and Tailoring (Fashion and Design) are currently being implemented.

20 Different functions made it to our quarter programing, ranging from state functions, Church and Cultural weddings

We hope that you have enjoyed our progresses as much as we have and have also enjoyed a good quarter of your own!

As you can see, we have been extremely busy, and have made the most of the daily challenges have encountered. In order for us to continue thriving, we appeal to you, our loyal donor, to please make a one-time, or even better, recurring donation in order to sustain and enlarge our activity. 

We want to reach more youth more efficiently and with better suited programs and equipment for their needs. We want to be able to continue to show youth the values in African cultures, and help them find their place in modernity without needing to turn to foreign cultures to do so. 

Webale nnyo, thank you very much,