Under The Moon- Uniting the Children of Uganda & St. John Through Music

You guys…Are you ready for some serious FEEL GOOD stuff today?  The video I’m sharing with you today is a cooperative musical project featuring talents of the children from the Kare Afrika Orphanage (KAO) in Uganda and the musicianship of kids and adults from here on St. John.  The final product of their efforts will literally fill your heart with love and your mind with a very important message.

The Under the Moon musical video project combines the talents of nationally acclaimed children’s musical producer, Andrea Green, with local musicianship, the talents of 23 children on St. John and the same of 32 orphans in Uganda with on the ground coordination in Love City by St. John School of the Arts via Green’s summer theater camp.

Green, award-winning playwright, composer, music therapist, is known for bringing people together through diversity via her productions and this particular piece of art is no exception.

Her musicals make a difference in the unique way they bring people together with acceptance and respect- taking down the fences of fear and prejudice and building bridges of support, understanding and love that last in memories for a lifetime.    – AndreaGreenMusic.com

She has also led several summer theater camps at the St. John School of the Arts, this year via Zoom.  When KAO director Grace Magala reached out to her, after researching the validity of his requests, she began conducting similar Zoom meetings with he and the 105 orphans under his care in Uganda.

According to an article from Andrea Milam in the Virgin Islands Daily News, “One evening, as she (Green) gazed out the window at the full moon and thought about how the Ugandan orphans and the Virgin Islands children she’d worked with at St. John School of the Arts were sleeping under that same moon, inspiration struck. She composed a song called ‘Under the Moon,’ and decided the song would be a vehicle to bring the children in Uganda and St. John together.”

In Under the Moon, children on St. John perform choreographed dances and idyllic harmonies in sync with the children of Uganda; an ocean away.  Through the power of technology, these two ensembles of children, with the support of a few local musicians you might recognize, come together to produce a beautifully moving and joyful message via song.

“Our houses are different and so are our faces.  But under the moon we can sing the same song.”

Pretty inspiring stuff, right?  Two very different sets of children in two very different places, brought together via technology and music…Shining a light on the lives of each other.  Thousands of miles away.

The children at KAO receive only two meals a day, and without much sustenance to them.  The growing children find joy in in singing and dancing which distracts them from their hunger, according to Magala.  KAO is partnered with a ministry project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with non-profit status under a partner organization.  The Ugandan Mission Project aims to “uplift and encourage the Ugandan people along their journey towards independence through love, compassion, & partnership.”  To learn more about KAO please visit their Facebook Page and follow along to see more beautiful musical creations from the children of Uganda.  To support the orphanage, please visit donate to the Ugandan Mission Project and select “Kare Afrika Orphanage” from the drop down menu.