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[lilting folk music playing]
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[speaker beeps]
[Suuna, in Luganda] Ready? Hold on a bit.
Let us try it once again.
Are we together?
Tell yourself that you can do it!
Say, "I am able!"
[pop music playing over speaker]
Come on! Last one is a rotten egg!
[all shouting excitedly]
Show them.
Let's go!
[children cheering]
[man] Get low!
[Suuna] Music, it makes you forget all your stresses and problems.
[cheering]
[Suuna] Masaka kids
have been able to inspire and change their village
through music.
- [music stops] - [children cheering and screaming]
[Suuna] But when you get to hear their stories,
you'll understand these are kids for whom the world had no hope.
[children singing]
[in English] ♪ We are the stars of Africa! ♪
- [Suuna] We are! - We are!
- ["We Are the Stars" playing] - [children] ♪ Shining of Africa ♪
♪ Early in the morning ♪
♪ We are the stars ♪
♪ We shake the world ♪
♪ In the name of Lord ♪
♪ We are the stars of Africa ♪
[music fades]
- [birds singing] - [people chattering]
[gentle music playing]
- [children chattering indistinctly] - [child] We dance!
- We dance this one. - We start now!
One, two, three!
- Dah! - Dah!
Dah!
No…
And we dance!
[Suuna, in Luganda] The reason we started Masaka Kids Africana
is to change the lives of kids in the ghetto
and ones on the street.
Those in a situation where they need our help.
[all] ♪ Eh-eh! ♪
♪ Eh-eh! ♪
[Suuna] We call ourselves ambassadors
for the children in the ghetto and on the street.
We do this through dancing.
We do this through singing.
We do this through music.
- [all] ♪ Eh! ♪ - ♪ Ime! ♪
- [all] ♪ Ime, eh-eh! ♪ - ♪ Eh! ♪
- ♪ Eh-eh! ♪ - ♪ Eh! ♪
♪ Eh, eh-eh! ♪
[children chattering]
[child playing drums]
♪ Eh-eh! ♪
[all, in English] ♪ I'm in the moods! ♪
♪ Dancing moods! ♪
♪ I'm in the moods! ♪
[in Luganda] ♪ Start dancing As you're dancing ♪
♪ Go down, I'm having fun [in English] I'm in the moods! ♪
- ♪ Doo-doo-doo ♪ - ♪ Eh-eh! ♪
[in Luganda] ♪ Hey, let's dance! ♪
♪ Hey, let's dance! ♪
♪ Let's have a lot of fun Hey, let's dance! ♪
♪ Hey, let's dance! ♪
[Suuna] What gives us joy is to see these children's lives changing.
[children continue singing]
- [singing fades] - [somber music playing]
[Suuna] The Masaka region has the highest rate
of HIV transmission in Uganda.
It is estimated that one half of kids under the age of 15
have lost one or both their parents.
Many children die on the streets.
Very many children are abused. Children that we don't see or even know.
I've been on the streets before.
I know what is there.
My mother died when I was young.
The scar I have on my face,
on the side of my head,
is from my stepmother.
I decided to leave rather than die at home.
Life on the street was not easy.
During the day, we would collect scrap to sell to buy food.
Everyone who collected scrap in Katwe
was considered a thief and would get beaten.
I started getting tortured by the situation.
But whenever I would think about ending my life…
I would see my mother asking me why I wanted to kill myself.
However, I had a song I sang to myself.
♪ I am in distress I feel the waves, I am suffering ♪
♪ My mother has left me ♪
The song strengthened my heart, and I felt that this would come to an end.
[somber music continues]
[Suuna] I sold clothes for a while.
From the capital generated from that, I established a barber shop.
But I was concerned about some children who I used to see in the village.
That passion compelled me
to do something to help children in bad situations.
We want one person over here.
- [boy] Make a line over here. - Make a line over here.
- [children, in English] One, two, three… - Ah-ah!
[all laughing]
- One… - [children] One, two, three, enter.
[chatter and laughter]
One, two, three, enter.
[Madinah, in Luganda] Me and Suuna met in 2011.
Come here. Come.
[speaking indistinctly]
Okay, here.
[lighthearted music playing]
[Suuna] You know, my daughter loves me more than Madinah.
So this annoys Madinah.
[Madinah] When we met, we were out hanging out…
in those lively venues, I used to love music.
There were two things I loved, being a DJ
and taking care of kids.
He had love for kids, which I also had, and that made us get along really well.
[Suuna] That's when I still had swagger.
I was so full of swag life, in a way, but I was so broke.
[Madinah] Suuna was from the street,
and my parents didn't want me to be with him.
They were like, "A person from the streets is ill-mannered."
"They are not good people."
I stood up to my parents and told them he's the person I love.
[Suuna] She started looking after the kids
because she loves what we do, and she loves the children.
[Madinah] I create a loving environment amongst them.
That's what makes them family.
[excited chatter]
After a while, the organization had started growing.
So I sat down and thought, "I have children,
but what can I do to provide for them?"
[wistful music playing]
[Suuna] I was on my computer.
I saw the America's Got Talent search show.
I told one of the children we could do the same.
[plays cheerful melody]
[Suuna] In those days, the singer Eddy Kenzo was big.
He was very popular in Uganda.
[Kenzo speaks Luganda]
[sings lively song in Luganda]
[Suuna] We made a video to the song "Zigido" by Kenzo.
- ["Zigido" playing] - ♪ Kizunguzungu ♪
- [lively brass music playing] - ♪ Kizunguzungu ♪
[in English] ♪ Turn it up! ♪
- ♪ Living a life ♪ - ♪ Turn it up! ♪
- ♪ We de living a life ♪ - ♪ Bless touch! ♪
- ♪ Oh, na-na ♪ - ♪ God is everything ♪
♪ Oh, na-na-na, na-na-na ♪
- ♪ Kenzo, man ♪ - ♪ Oh, na-na ♪
♪ Oh, na-na-na… ♪
[Suuna, in Luganda] It went viral without us even knowing about it.
It started airing on Masaka media platforms.
It caught people's attention.
[lyrics in Luganda]
[Suuna] And we had started getting a connection with Kenzo.
Kenzo had organized a huge concert in Masaka.
- [in English] -♪ Sugar, de ♪ - ♪ Simple yeah, simple yeah ♪
♪ Turn it up ♪
♪ Turn it up, turn it up ♪
[upbeat music playing]
[Suuna, in Luganda] We performed with him.
[cheering]
[boy] Are you there? Are you there?
You want more?
Kenzo, all together!
[crowd cheering]
[boy] All together! All together!
[Kenzo] The kids from Nyendo are smart.
[piano chord plays]
[Kenzo] Do you know this one?
[cheering]
[Kenzo] You see…
[Suuna] It was a big win for us.
Wherever we went around the village, everyone said, "There's the Kenzo kids."
[all] B, C, D, E, F, G
H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q…
[Suuna] It started to change the lives of the kids
that were labeled thugs off the streets.
They started respecting us once again.
[gentle music playing]
[man, in English] Quiet now. So we're gonna start with the left leg.
It's gonna be in front, and then the right one behind.
And then the hands here.
And then, boom.
I think I was around eight or nine.
By the time I reached this place, I joined the Masaka Kids Africana.
One, two, three, let's go.
Boom-boom, boom-boom-boom.
Okay? Let's go.
[Johnny] My parents…
Hands are up.
[Johnny] …they passed on because of HIV.
Good. Then?
Up.
- [child] Mm? - Yeah.
When I was living at the street, I could see children with their parents
laughing, playing around,
and I was like, "I couldn't have that opportunity."
- [all] One, two, three. - Then?
- [all] And boom. - Then?
Boom-boom-boom, boom.
- Sound. - Boom.
Let's put the sound.
- [cheerful music playing] - ♪ Mr. Masaka, I'm in the moods ♪
♪ Dancing the moods, I'm in the… ♪
[Johnny] These kids, they're like my brothers and sisters.
♪ I'm in the moods… ♪
[Johnny] Me teaching them dance moves,
it makes me happy,
and I said that, "At least I have helped someone,
or I have made someone also happy."
♪ Dancing the moods… ♪
That groove that comes out of your body when you're dancing
makes you forget all the pain that you have.
- [song continues] - ♪ Ba-da-da-da ♪
♪ Da-da-da-da ♪
[lyrics in Luganda]
♪ I'm in the moods ♪
♪ Dancing the moods ♪
♪ I'm in the moods ♪
♪ Dancing the moods ♪
♪ I'm in the moods ♪
♪ Dancing the moods ♪
[track fades]
[chatter]
[Madinah, in Luganda] Rashida, which kind of man would you want?
Where would you want to find yours, in a club like me, or…
[Rashida laughs]
Me, I want someone who's my friend.
Which kind of man would you want, Nabirah?
Me? I don't know.
- I want to study… - Mm-hmm.
- …get a job. - Mm-hmm.
So that by the time I get married, I have my own stuff.
[chatter]
[Nabirah] I survived the challenging situations
girls usually go through in the village
because I ended up here.
[solemn music playing]
[Suuna] The majority of the people who are contracting AIDS in Uganda are children.
Men find them on the street or in vulnerable circumstances
and lure them with some money in exchange for sex.
A girl is left with a pregnancy, perhaps not even understanding how.
In the process, they end up getting the disease.
[excited chatter]
[Madinah] I have some girls that have grown older.
As a mother, I have to prepare them
so that they understand how to stay safe as young ladies.
I am given guidance and counseling that helps in life.
Other girls that don't have parents or their parents don't care about them,
they don't have that opportunity.
[playful music playing]
[children chatter]
[children singing]
[Suuna] Can you make a rooster sound?
Wa-la-la-la.
[high-pitched] Woo-loo-loo-loo!
[Suuna imitates rooster]
[high-pitched] Ooh-ooh-ooh!
- [Suuna bleats] - [children] Meh!
[Suuna] I was offered a job at a school.
I was teaching dance.
- [Suuna] Ready? - [child] Yes.
[Suuna, in Luganda] I started getting some money.
I didn't get a chance to go to school. I wanted to be sure the children would go.
[rooster crows]
[Suuna] I would ask for scholarships or bursaries,
so I would hustle that way and see to it that the children study.
[car horn beeps]
- [rooster crows] - [children, in English] See you, Mama!
- Bye, Papa! - [Suuna] Bye!
- [children] Bye, Papa! - [Suuna] Bye!
- [in Luganda] Run! Mohamad, run! - ["Back to School" playing]
Hurry, Mohamad!
[upbeat music playing]
[in English] ♪ Let's go to school so we never retire ♪
♪ I will never look my back ♪
♪ Pick up your shoes, pull up your socks ♪
♪ And go ♪
♪ Let's go to school so we never retire ♪
♪ I will never look my back ♪
♪ Pick up your shoes, pull up your socks ♪
♪ And go ♪
♪ I wanna be a doctor when I grow up ♪
♪ Treat all my friends And the people at home ♪
♪ Teach them to love ♪
- ♪ My mother ♪ - ♪ My mother ♪
- ♪ And my father ♪ - ♪ And my father ♪
♪ My country ♪
[lyrics in Luganda]
♪ Let's go to school so we never retire ♪
♪ I will never look my back ♪
♪ Pick up your shoes, pull up your socks ♪
♪ And go ♪
♪ Let's go to school so we never retire I will never look my… ♪
[Johnny] At first, when they took me to school,
I couldn't believe it.
I was like, "No, this is not me."
'Cause I could sit with children
who have parents that are rich.
I couldn't even think about…
I am studying the same thing they are learning.
Between the north and east is… Uh-huh?
- Ninety degrees. - [teacher] Ninety degrees. Very good.
Number of number plates.
Last number plate plus…
minus first number plate, brackets plus…
[teacher] Number of units.
Number of units equals last unit minus first unit.
[teacher] Hey, hey!
[children clapping]
[hopeful music playing]
[Suuna, in Luganda] I found him living with his grandmother,
but he had dropped out of school.
His grandmother told me that she couldn't feed the kids.
Ian was in the village
stealing people's sugarcane and jackfruits.
[Ian] People would shout
that the old woman's son is stealing their sugarcane and jackfruit.
I would do whatever I wanted from the time I woke up.
But then one day, I heard loud music and followed where it was coming from.
We have a program called "dance community"
because we realized that music
could become the key to all that wasn't working out.
We set up a speaker and dance with people.
Music can pull any child closer to you.
We are trying to gather the kids who are orphans.
or those who need help.
[speaking Luganda]
[rooster crows]
[children speaking Luganda]
[music fades]
- I've calculated seven. - Yes.
- Is it seven? - Yes.
They've asked you to expand.
- [boy] Like this? - [Ian] Yes.
[Suuna] They told me when I was bringing him here,
I got a challenge.
- [rooster crows] - [boys chatting]
[Suuna] They told me that I shouldn't take him
because he's not good around other kids.
[boys chatting]
[Suuna] The world had given up on him.
They just need to be guided.
[percussive music playing]
[Nabirah, in English] Good morning, class.
[all] Good morning, Teacher Nabirah.
Sit down.
[all] Thank you, Teacher Nabirah.
Today, we are going to study about coronavirus.
Coronavirus is a current disease that kills at a high pace,
especially through blood connection.
[Nabirah] Clap for her.
[Suuna, in Luganda] During COVID,
most people were in grief,
and they had pain because of their loved ones.
They had pain because of their jobs.
They had pain
because of the disease that had taken over the whole world.
We saw ourselves as people who can make others forget their grief.
We thought of something that can take away the sadness of our people.
We gave them the love we had.
What we had to give to the people,
it was dance.
- ["Toosie Slide" playing] ♪ Leather gloves, no sequins ♪
♪ Buckles on the jacket, it's Alyx shit ♪
♪ Nike crossbody, got a piece in it ♪
♪ Got a dance But it's really on some street shit ♪
♪ I'ma show you how to get it ♪
♪ It go right foot up, left foot slide ♪
♪ Left foot up, right foot slide… ♪
[reporter 1, in English] This is a group of children in Uganda,
and they're doing their rendition of a new Internet dance challenge.
It's set to Drake's new song, "Toosie Slide."
Look at that cutie patootie.
[reporter 2] Drake himself was so taken by the kids' performance,
he posted it to his Instagram and his millions of followers.
[in Luganda] The comments people were leaving would be like…
[in English] "This kid is amazing."
[in Luganda] "These kids have touched my heart."
♪ Every day with it I'ma show you how to get it ♪
♪ It go right foot up… ♪
[Suuna] From there, I won't lie to you, our lives changed.
♪ Basically I'm sayin' Either way, we 'bout to slide ♪
- ♪ Can't let this one slide ♪ - [children cheering]
["Joy of Togetherness" playing]
[upbeat music playing]
[reporter, in English] Kids' dance group Masaka Kids Africana
is set to represent and wave the Ugandan flag high,
having been nominated in the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
[exhales sharply]
[in Luganda] They tell you you're going to take an airplane.
We asked ourselves, "Is it possible?"
- ["Habibi" playing] - ♪ Habibi, habibi ♪
[in English] ♪ Enjoy my city… ♪
[Suuna, in Luganda] Masaka Kids went abroad,
and there we got a new life that we had never experienced.
- [track continues] - [in English] ♪ Enjoy ♪
♪ I said Come here, come here, come here… ♪
All the way from Uganda, welcome to Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab.
We're very happy to have you guys here with us.
[Johnny] My first time that I took a plane,
you feel like your soul is going out of your body.
Like, when it's going up…
Ah! I was like, "No! My soul is going!"
♪ We meet again… ♪
Masaka Kids Africana that are here in Barcelona.
♪ Habibi, habibi, welcome to my city ♪
- [track continues] - ♪ Habibi, habibi ♪
♪ Welcome to my city ♪
♪ Habibi, habibi, enjoy my city… ♪
- [reporter 1] Barcelona. - [reporter 2 exclaims]
Uh, that's one in a million.
♪ Welcome to my city ♪
♪ Habibi, habibi… ♪
[Nabirah, in Luganda] When I was on the stage in Turkey,
it felt so good that all the fans were excited for me.
- [cheering] - [in English] ♪ I said ♪
♪ Come here, come here, come here… ♪
[in Luganda] I did not believe at that moment it was me, Nabirah, there.
[Johnny, in English] It's difficult to believe
that the kids the world is seeing flying in airplanes,
performing on national TVs,
these are the same kids that were living on the streets some years back.
[pensive music playing]
[Suuna, in Luganda] We are so proud because right now,
the land that we are standing on belongs to Masaka Kids Africana.
This is our dining room.
This is the kitchen.
This is the boys' bedroom. That is where the boys sleep.
It was through donations from our friends.
Friends that we have never seen or know anything about.
[in English] One, two, three, here we go!
[Nabirah, in Luganda] We used to sleep on one small mattress,
but now every kid has their own bed.
[in English] This is where we used to live.
This used to be one of the rooms where our kids used to sleep.
Here used to be our art… art gallery. It was in the tree house up here.
And then here was our kitchen.
And then here, this used to be our dance stage.
This is where we used to dance from.
Where kids could laugh and dance.
I still
believed in Suuna, what he taught me,
that one day, everything you dream of can happen.
When I arrived here,
we could only have one meal a day.
But everything has changed.
[rooster crows]
[expectant music playing]
[Suuna, in Luganda] Where we are now, we had never anticipated to be.
We started with just 15 people.
Today, we have a family of 38 people.
This wound that I am trying to bandage is a very big wound.
It is bigger than me.
Good morning.
Tragedy has befallen us. One of our children has lost a mother.
[indistinct greeting]
- [man] Your name, sir? - [Suuna] Suuna Hassan.
[man] Do they call you dad or uncle?
- They call me Papa. - [man] Papa.
It's such a tragedy.
[Suuna] Even if a parent does nothing or has nothing, they are still a parent.
[man speaks Luganda]
Let him stay strong!
Give him strength.
Stay strong.
[pastor singing in Luganda]
[all singing]
[Suuna] One of our kids lost their mother. We must be there for him.
[singing]
[Suuna] When my mother died, I failed to bury her.
By the time I arrived, they had already buried her.
I had no one to turn to.
We must make sure our children
have the love of a family to get them through their grief.
[wistful music playing]
[Suuna] The group keeps growing because I never turn down any child.
Every time kids hear that Suuna helps children from the streets,
they would then tell their friends.
So I had to add to the number I had.
Fortunately, my wife supported me because she was also okay with it.
How did you sleep?
Well.
You have any problems?
The only issue I have now is my sore throat.
You're likely coming down with the flu. You have to drink lots of warm water.
- I have flu too. - Oh?
- Should I cough and show you? - Go ahead.
- [child coughs] - [Madinah chuckles]
Something else that I wanted to ask you,
how long did you say you were on the street for?
Four years.
Four years!
When you get better, do you want to stay or go away?
Here we stay full time. I think you saw the kids at night, didn't you?
I did.
I see myself staying here for a while.
[Madinah] All those kids used to be like you when they came.
They got used to the place.
[Madinah] The sadness I see in the children when we've just brought them…
I become everyone's parent.
I try my best to show them
because some of them come without having that love.
[determined music playing]
[horn beeps]
[Johnny, in English] Most of the time, it's very hard to believe
that I came from the street.
If I didn't meet up with Suuna,
I don't think I would have gone to university.
Now I can achieve the goals that I have.
I can achieve my dreams.
I… I study hard because I want to become a good lawyer.
[Nabirah] Sometimes we go into the villages,
and we find children that are sleeping on tiny mattresses.
These things make me sad.
I want to be a teacher when I grow up.
What I really want is to build a school
where I would admit those children that don't go to school.
Put them there to study and feed them.
[Ian] When I grow up and finish studying,
I want to help others
because I've seen many people help others,
and I was also helped.
[Suuna] Now Masaka Kids has its own goals, which I believe it can achieve.
I have hope that Masaka Kids Africana will produce doctors.
It will produce big artists.
I believe I have presidents.
I believe I have ministers.
Because if you look here at Masaka Kids, every kid has their own dream.
And if I try to look into their dreams,
I see that I'm on a good path.
I just have to light up their path.
["Never Quit" by Masaka Kids Africana playing]
♪ Masaka ♪
♪ Kids ♪
♪ Africana ♪
[upbeat dance-pop music playing]
♪ Power! ♪
♪ I will fight and never stop ♪
♪ Until I reach the end ♪
♪ When I fail, I'll try again ♪
♪ A thousand thousand times ♪
♪ Never quit ♪
♪ Never ♪
♪ Never quit ♪
♪ Never ♪
♪ Negative feelings come my way ♪
♪ Negative people to pull us down ♪
♪ But you just bring lessons in life ♪
♪ To make us strong and to make us win ♪
♪ Never quit ♪
♪ I will fight and never stop ♪
♪ Until I reach the end ♪
♪ When I fail, I'll try again ♪
♪ A thousand thousand times ♪
♪ Never quit ♪
♪ Never ♪
♪ Never quit ♪
♪ Never ♪
[music fades]