Warm welcome for children from Africa

Sonoma County offered a warm welcome to the children of Spirit of Uganda earlier this week. The African children, aged 8-18, arrived at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts on Tuesday and were quickly whisked off to Safari West for a fun, complimentary visit to the wild animal park. On Wednesday, a pair of local special needs children had the heart-warming opportunity to meet backstage with some of the young African performers. This up-close and personal encounter was especially touching for one little girl who is deaf and mostly blind. During their brief visit to Sonoma County, the children of Spirit of Uganda performed two shows, a day-time performance for students through the Center’s Education Through the Arts program and an evening performance for the public. Spirit of Uganda is part of the Empower African Children Project. The young performers represent their homeland’s 2.4 million orphans and are touring nationwide to spread their message of hope and resilience.