When award-winning Bermudian dancer Nikia Manders, who is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in dance education, was given the opportunity to join 12 fellow students on a two-week, New York University ‘Study Abroad’ programme to East Africa, she did not hesitate.

The purpose was to learn the traditional dances of Uganda with teachers at Makerere University in Kampala.

After three days of tuition, Miss Manders was paired with a Ugandan to prepare and teach a suitable lesson at the Kampala Ballet and Modern Dance School. Run by the Queen of Buganda, its students were from orphanages in the area, as well as the war-torn Gulu region of northern Uganda.

“Uganda has about two million orphans whose parents have either died of AIDS, or genocide by the LRA, a government party which is killing people,” Miss Manders says. “The Gulu war is 30 years old, and the parents and kids have grown up with it all their lives. A lot of the kids have been through very tragic events but they are amazing. All they want is the same things kids elsewhere want: to be happy, to play, and be educated.”

During her week at the Kampala dance school, which ended in a public performance at the N’dere Centre, Miss Manders was particularly struck by children’s energy and enthusiasm.

“The Ugandans love their stories, dance and music, which is their culture. They don’t identify any (individual) art form. The kids dance, sing and act as one complete thing,” she says. “When we didn’t have music, we would use the drums and create a song. It was all inclusive. We had a lot of drums, and one of the musicians taught us a song.”

In fact, the Masters degree candidate has high praise for the country, its people and its culture.

“Ugandans are great people. They were there at the airport to welcome us. The hugs and kisses. I felt very welcome there. We went to Jinja and saw Lake Victoria and the Nile. It is a beautiful country, with a great climate and a lot of natural resources. They have bananas all over the place, sugar cane, and a lot of clays, so there is a lot of brick.

“On the other hand, Uganda is a struggling country, and they have a lot of problems. The main issue is that, ever since they got their independence in 1962, they have had bad governments and rulers. Obote killed 100,000 and Amin 300,000; then there has been a war in northern Uganda and southern Sudan for over 30 years.”

In terms of culture, Miss Manders says her group got to see as much of community life as possible in the time available, including a play-musical, a skit and a few night clubs.

They also worked with two orphanages, Heritage Roots and Kayda, both of which had performance programmes “to give kids positive alternatives”.

“We would give them a joy of life through arts and dance,” she says. “At Heritage Roots the kids came for dinner and performed for us. Then, while they went to dinner, the teachers got up and entertained us, singing and dancing. It was so festive, and the abundance of the arts was everywhere. It is the way of life there, so it was beautiful.”

In fact, Miss Manders was so inspired by her visit that she now wants to go back again to collaborate with the artists. There is also the matter of an orphan girl’s request, which touched her heart.

“One of the kids asked me to help her find a sponsor to go to high school. A lot of their parents have died, and there are children in desperate need who want to be educated and find ways to have a better life for themselves and their families. I am looking at ways to help that girl, as well as helping teachers to help the country. The cost of living in Uganda is much lower than Bermuda, yet the people’s pride in themselves and their country is so high.”

Miss Manders says children start school at 8 a.m., and most of them will have walked two miles to get there. They stay in school until 5 p.m. and then walk two miles to get home again.

“They are so proud, Ugandans walk a lot. The streets are dusty, but you see them well dressed. University students wear suits, jackets and ties,” she says.

“A writer at one of the places we went to said that the people are so hopeful. They are happy to be alive, and they see change — not great change — in their country. My generation has a positive outlook and feels that anything is possible. They don’t have half as many opportunities as people in America and Bermuda do, but their mind set is not even comparable.”

Miss Manders also noticed how articulate (the people are),” she says. “They are good speakers, and can think and write, and their pride in education is very high. This despite the fact that many of the people have no resources — no text books or a proper dance studio, yet what they perform is phenomenal. I would like to be able to bring them to the Bermuda Festival.”