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Children of Uganda In Palo Alto, Friday 2/17

The Children of Uganda Tour of Light will be appearing in Palo Alto on Friday evening, February 17th at 7:30pm thanks to the generosity of First Methodist Church who have offered their sanctuary -- free of charge -- to allow us to hold a local public performance.  While this show will not be the big performance that you can see at Yerba Buena, the next evening, it will give local residents who are unable to get a ticket to the big show, a chance to see the kids again, to hear their music and share an hour.

First Methodist is located at 625 Hamilton Avenue, in Palo Alto.  Tickets will be $20/person and sold at the door.

Performances of the UCCF Tour of Light

The Children of Uganda Tour of Light will be performing at several locations in California and around the country.  After leaving the Bay Area on February 21, 2006, The Tour of Light 2006 will proceed to the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference in Monterey where they will be performing for the TED 2006 "The Future We Create". 

Because we expect seats for the Yerba Buena Show in SF on Saturday, February 18 at 8:00pm to sell out, I am looking into other ways Bay Area residents might meet and experience the children.  Stay tuned.

The Children of Uganda, Tour of Light

   

On February 14, 2006 the Children of Uganda Tour of Light will be returning to the Bay Area on their every other year tour to perform to raise money for their orphanage and awareness for the impact of AIDS on the children of Africa. We will with be handling the logistics for their week long stay, Bay Area performances and the 150 volunteers we will raise to make a meal and meet the children. 

My own association with this remarkable group of kids occurred some 8 years ago when a friend asked if I could help some children visiting Palo Alto from Kampala, Uganda.  That visit, like other unexpected events, profoundly changed my life, and I have been involved with the children and the some 800 others they represent ever since.

Now the Children of Uganda Tour of Light will return bringing to the Bay Area February 14 - 21, 2006, bringing with them a sense of hope and purpose, that is as inspiring as it is joyful. These children remind us that there can be resiliency amidst loss, promise out of devastation and real hope from surviving some of life's most difficult challenges.

The Children of Uganda also present a very different face to Africa and its promise and potential.

Over the past 7 years, UCCF (Uganda Children's Charity Foundation)Tour of Light has also cast its glow many who have been involved with it. As a result of participating with that first visit to the Bay Area, one of the young men on my staff, join the Peace Corps and is now serving in West Africa.  One of the young Ugandan women who came to the US with the UCCF is now working under Kofi Anin's Head of Refugee Affairs, after completing her Masters Degree from Fletcher School,Tufts, full scholarship.  And this year's tour itself is being supported by a generous grant from the Monua Janah Memorial Foundation.  Monua, a friend and fine investigative reporter for Fortune and the SJ Mercury News, was among the first volunteers to serve the children a meal team when the first the Tour of Light came to the Bay Area.

This year the Tour of Light's big public performance will be a Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 18th at 8pm.  As tickets will sell out, you should reserve tickets soon, if you wish them.

I have a friend who defines the unexpected, and sometimes unasked for, things that changes one life for the better, as "bluebirds".  I think the Children from Uganda are mine.   I feel so honored to have them in my life and to remind me, especially at this time of year, of what is important.