The annual Suubi Music, Dance and Drama Festive continues to get bigger and better with each year that passes. What began as a relatively small event in 2008 has now grown into the hugely successful festival which was recently held.
Due to the fact a record number of primary school (16) were keen to enter, it was decided that two preselection days would be held to see who would make it through to the finals. This saw eight schools competing at Kiwangala Primary School on November 8th, followed by the 2nd eight at Kyssonko Primary School on November 9th.
The theme for this years event was based around the nationwide fight against malaria. With 320 people dying every day, it is the highest killing disease in Uganda. With this in mind, Suubi staff had set the theme of "Malaria, an enemy to our education and future, how can we fight it?" All participating schools did an outstanding job of incorporating important messages about malaria into the the five items they were required to perform. (traditional and creative dance, a poem, a skit and a composed song)
There was a sea of color at Kiwangala Primary School as the each school stepped up to present their items.
Important malaria messages were pass on to the large crowd that came to watch.
In the lead up to finals day there was a real buzz amongst the schools and the wider community. Everyone had seen the standard of preselection performances and they were excited by the prospect of the eight selected schools (Kyasonko, Kiswera, Kawerimidde, Lubanda Islamic, OMODING, Sharon and Kyembazzi primary schools) heading to Kankamba playground on November 16th.
This time thousands of people turned up! Students, parents, teachers and the wider community all had a wonderful time as they were entertained, but also educated about malaria. Suubi Clinic, other NGOs and the district health officials all took the opportunity to pass on vital information such as the importance of sleeping under a mosquito net and the need to be properly tested and diagnosed. The district also used the event to advised people that they have 36,000 malaria nets to distribute.
Suubi Clinical officer, Kaweesa Robert, educated the large crowd and highlighted the services offered at Suubi Clinic for diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
The chef guest for the event was the Minister for Health and Education in Lwengo District, Mr. Matovu Willy Saitoti. He thanked Suubi and its partners for their hard work to organise and run such a wonderful event which so successfully educated the people in Kisekka sub-county. He was thankful for co-operation with the district and promised to always work closely with Suubi to ensure the lives of the people in the sub-county and the district continue to improve.
A real stars of the day though were the children who performed! You could see how much hard work they had put in to practising all their performances. It was marvellous to watch their enthusiasm and to see everyone having so much fun.
The high energy traditional dance was a favourite of the large crowd that watched on.
The drummers from each school expertly provided the rhythm for the dancers.
Brightly coloured costumes helped to distinguish schools from one another.
It was clear to see that everyone was having lots of fun.
Another highlight of the day was when BB Muwanvu wanvu, a hip hop artist from Kampala, stepped up to give his take on the malaria theme. It is not often that people in the village get the opportunity to see someone of this calibre perform so everyone love it. Not to be out done though, Suubi youth drama group also added to the show and were also a great hit.
Kampala hip hop artist, BB Muwanvu wanvu, was a highlight for everyone at the event.
At the end of the day this years winner were announced. Kysonko and Sharon primary schools were the stand out performers. Hope Bulemere and Kyembazzi primary schools took out the prizes for the best school garden and sanitation award which had been judged prior to the event.
The real winner though was the whole community. It had been an amazingly successful festival, across three days, in three different village. The malaria message had been passed on loud and clear while everyone took the opportunity to enjoy such great entertainment!
An enormous thank you goes to all the dedicated Suubi staff, teacher and students who worked tirelessly to make this happen. We can't wait for an even bigger and better event next year!
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