Not all of our students have the opportunity to perform at the Kenya Music Festival, so to highlight their many talents, and to encourage them to communicate with confidence in front of an audience, the first annual Mawewa Talent Show was held in the Mawewa School Hall the day before the August break .Talent categories included singing, dancing, poetry, comedy, preaching, public speaking, art, and sports expertise. The performances were, in turn, poignant, enthusiastic, inspiring, and hilarious – all were entertaining.[caption id="attachment_3200" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
The audience enjoyed a comedy sketch about a man, Kuku manga, who visited a village, ate all their food, and made the town folk sing a song in his praise.[/caption][caption id="attachment_3201" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
The preaching groups had two minutes per speaker to deliver their sermons. John N. reads from scripture.[/caption][caption id="attachment_3202" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
Natasha & Nasra, the only children of the Muslim faith at Mawewa School, read a lovely passage from the Quran.[/caption][caption id="attachment_3203" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
A student skillfully demonstrates the art of soccer dribbling.[/caption]There were quite a few surprising performances in the group. Students who chose their own talent or topic gave teachers and staff insight into how home and community influences a child. It was also a display of how they spend their time away from school. These observations will give us an opportunity to discuss specific issues in our Creating Positive Relationship program.[caption id="attachment_3204" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
The talent show judges were (L-to-R) Stella Ndiho, Kenya Fundraising Coordinator; Pauline Ng’ang’a, Kenya Communications and Marketing Coordinator; and Joseph Njenga, Community Support Ministry Coordinator. In addition to judging, this committee set-up rules for the competition.[/caption][caption id="attachment_3205" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
All members of staff and the Preschool students were on hand to watch the performances and animatedly support the performers. The event lasted the entire afternoon and near the end of the day, sleepy faces in the audience peered up at the stage with a bit less animation.[/caption]It was great fun and quite insightful watching the students display their varied talents. Next year, we plan to include the younger children with new, age-appropriate categories. Also, we would like this annual event to be student led, giving our older students an opportunity to work on their leadership skills. Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” We can’t wait to see how the Mawewa students will showcase their cleverness and genius in the 2017 Mawewa School Talent Show!