By now I hope that all of you have seen the news about the famine in the Horn of Africa. If not, here is just one of the many sites about it. I would like to say that Andy and I recently went to a benefit concert for the famine victims with purely altruistic motives, but the sad reality is that someone invited us and we had nothing else going on, so we went.
The event was held in a ritzy hotel around here and our friend got there first and called to report that everyone was all dressed up and while it was too late to save herself, she urged us to not wear jeans (none of us had any idea what said "benefit concert" actually entailed before signing up). So, we accessorized and headed over--40 minutes late but this is Africa and naturally, they were still setting up--and took our seats among the other diplomats and members of Kenya's high society while being feted with fancy hors d'oeuvres and alcoholic beverages.
The event itself was much more amazing than we anticipated. First they showed us a heartbreaking video of the Turkana, one of the Kenyan ethnic groups that is most affected by the drought, after which Andy and I privately vowed to do more, but more on that adventure in a later post. Then a variety of Kenyan opera singers, a quartet, and a choir performed some amazing pieces for us. The absolute pièce de résistance was the very last song, an encore that was a Kenyan song that the choir performed and I'm telling you, it brought goosebumps to my arms and tears to my eyes it was so breathtaking. Everyone jumped to their feet when the song was over and there were few dry eyes after the performance. Here is a youtube video of the choir we saw if you want to check them out.
There was an intermission during the event and everyone was encouraged to participate in the silent auction they were having. Andy and I were feeling guilty for not doing enough, buoyed by the upper crust crowd, and probably a little tipsy from all the alcohol, so we decided to have a look. Somehow one of the lovely lady attendants convinced me to bid on a vacation to Kenya's coast. The deal looked reasonable to me, three days and nights at a 5 star resort on the coast, all meals and the return flight included, and the starting bid was not outrageous. So, I threw out a silent bid and at the end of the event, when they announced the winners, lo and behold, I won! Obviously, I say that with excitement only for the starving Turkana who are the real beneficiaries here (but honestly, the vacation is exciting too).
And then we returned to normal life and started plotting our next adventure.
Congratulations! Would it be culturally insensitive if I said the video made me want to re-watch the Lion King?
ReplyDelete