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October 20, 2020 2021-12-19 21:22Become an Instructor
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KOLOTO SIRAJI an Ugandan dance artist, creative facilitator and Events organizer, founded Ensibuko Arts Foundation (EAF). The movement is an indigenous and multicultural non-profit organization whose vesicle life lies in the inspiration to blend the Ugandan ancient traditions with the modern trends. We intend to use dance as a tool to address social issues, narrate stories of the world, empower, rehabilitate and heal communities, EAF was named after a native word: “ “ENSIBUKO” which in English translates to “THE ORIGIN”. EAF aims to lay a foundation for future generations. The movement especially aims to create access to dance and creative arts in a setting where communities would otherwise lack access. Set within underprivileged communities in villages and slums in Uganda, the EAF initiative is a safe space for interaction free of discrimination in regards to age, background, gender, race, or religion. While grounded in local culture, EAF seeks to open youth up to the global aspects of life and to international interaction.
EAF aims to address the disunity within underprivileged Ugandan communities, that is due to misunderstanding between generations, miscommunication within homes, societal sexism, and the challenges that face vulnerable youth, such as discrimination and violence. Our goal is to create peace, mutual respect, and healing between individuals and groups as we facilitate safe spaces of learning and sharing through artistic dance and other arts classes, workshops, and performances. EAF is necessary in Uganda, because we are facing obstacles of varying levels of class, education, and communication skills within our communities, yet dance and other creative arts are traditional aspects of our culture that can be used to reach and connect with all community members regardless of these differences. Dance and art allow individuals to lose their inhibitions by sharing in a fun bonding experience with others, leading to moments of vulnerability where community members are more willing to open up about what they have in common, what social issues need to be addressed, and how the future generation can improve.
The core of our work is in Jinja, Walukuba. We grew up in the streets of this area, and when your roots are plated in a place, you want to see it grow. What started with a few young people dancing in the rural areas of Uganda, is now grown into various training centres, full of creative dance artists across the country. Through new friendships and trust, we have created a society where the young people can express themselves. This expression goes through the dance art. It’s our aim that young people learn the disciplines of these art forms, and that they learn how to use their skills in daily routines, for example through forms of career guidance and personal expression.
But besides all this, the most important thing to us is that the young people feel safe. We give them a family, because many of them may have no families and no one to return to. We create that no biological family where all are equal. Ensibuko Arts Foundation gives these young people an alternative to the streets and a future perspective. ‘Each one help one’; we are a friendly community to relate to and where young people can interact within our community, all in the name of dance.
Over the years, we have created a variety of programs to achieve our goals. The programs serve young people in many different ways, but all with the same aim: creating a foundation for future generations, and defining who we are Our programs vary from weekly training sessions, to community events, and more which run in community centres, prisons, schools, and rural areas. All these culminate in our annual international dance arts festival. Click to watch a short documentary video of our activities: documentary video
Ensibuko Arts Foundation is an open-minded and growing organization, which means that we are open to various ways of partnerships and involvement from organizations and individuals who’d want to contribute volunteer or visit our office at Zibondo road, Walukuba Community Centre, Jinja
OUR VISION:
To be an iconic organization in elevating the relevance of dance/arts in community development.
MISSION:
To promote cultural diversity and contribute to the uplifting of the dance and arts industry in Jinja,Uganda and beyond
To create employment through performances and private classes.
We aim to use Dance to empower, rehabilitate and heal communities
EAF aims to extend arts to communities that would otherwise have no access, and creating safe spaces where young people can freely express themselves, learn, showcase, exchange and interact through dance.
To lay a foundation for future generations by providing an intercultural exchange platform for urban and traditional arts so as to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and diverse community.
Using creative arts to address social issues.
MEET OUR TEAM
Koloto Siraji
           FOUNDER|CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Koloto Siraji is an Ugandan Social Artist; a dance artist, creative facilitator and events organizer. His passion lies in sparking communities to come together and advocate for common causes. Siraji is enthusiastic and he’s the creative mind behind Ensibuko Arts Foundation.
Onyu Julius
                                            ARTIST
Julius porpularly known as bboy gasiya known as bboy gasiya a professional dance artist with strengths in breakdance. He’s a dance teacher and performer. He also features in dance battles and competitions. He has a protective and generous character
Joshan Joan Tusingwire
Joan is an Ugandan actress, creative writer, motivational speaker, events organiser and manager, project planner and implementer. Joan completed a dual degree in Business Administration and Accounting and Finance Management in which she graduated with first class honors in 2013 at Cavendish University Uganda. She has since then worked with many companies and organizations, artist groups and individuals providing personal accounting and financial services customized to each client’s short term or long term goals as a freelancer. She is the financial manager at Ensibuko Arts Foundation.
Cassie Bingham
Cassie is an American social anthropologist, international developer and social activist. She is a volunteer Doc reviewer and advisor. Cassie graduated with a degree in Social Anthropology and International Development, studies which shaped the way she sees the world. She believes in the inherent value of all types of humans and the cultures they build, and has applied this belief while living for months at a time in Ghana, Japan, Bolivia, Uganda, and Greece. Her cultural studies led her to a passion for social activism, which informed her work on the development team of a community organization for Hispanic immigrants in the US, and as a humanitarian team leader for an international nonprofit. She is the cofounder of Kinfara Travel, an ethical tourism company that connects tourists to community-led, culturally immersive experiences in Uganda. Cassie believes that each individual can harness their various talents and passions to build communities and make the world a better place.
Vizara Daniel
                                               ARTIST
 Daniel is an Ugandan dancer (teacher and performer) with strengths in break dance and fusion. He’s also into rapping and fashion. Daniel is a very talkative person and an easy communicator.
David M. Wampamba
Is a Ugandan – Kampala based Software developer (mobile/web applications) with over 8 years of experience. He coaches junior coders’ and runs businesses. At Ensibuko Arts foundation, he is a volunteering adviser and website designer.
THE CAUSE
We promote meaningful dialogue, understanding, and cooperation through the arts, especially dance. Dance is a valued facet of traditional Ugandan culture, and has often been used to facilitate communication regardless of class or education level. We use cultural dance therapeutically, to create safe spaces where individuals share more freely. EAF is one of the only organization in Uganda that explicitly encourages equitable inter-generational dialogue. We believe community healing requires work from both ends of the age spectrum. Therefore, our artistic workshops that produce mutual understanding between generations aid in developing more sustainable solutions to community challenges. We use artistic means to convey messages and open up conversations around challenging social issues. Community members, especially those in underprivileged areas, are much more likely to listen, retain information, and become activists, when issues are brought up using entertaining, artistic performance instead of through more traditional routes. Click on the photo to read about our approaches.
THE FESTIVAL?
Ensibuko Arts Festival is an annual arts gathering at the heart of the historical jinja city. The festival brings together people from diverse cultures and backgrounds to exchange knowledge, artistic skills, and life experiences, but also showcase and market their work. Every once a year, the world comes to the historical jinja to experience the tales of the African cultures, ancestral games and sounds as they are being blended into the modern culture. the festival provides artists with a platform for joint learning, exhibitions and knowledge exchange, with aim to open international opportunities for local creatives. It is at the core of our purpose to produce innovative Unique concepts, mind-bending performances, and artworks.
WANT TO HELP?
Ensibuko Arts Foundation has been in operation for nine years and has seen the benefits of community outreach in Uganda through the Dance art. Through grassroots-level organising and an abundance of volunteer labor, we have been able to touch the lives of hundreds of underprivileged individuals, and facilitate peace-building conversations within families and between diverse social groups. Our approach to community healing is innovative and unique, and has resonated with our beneficiaries in ways that traditional strategies have not. We believe that our Community Unification project can reach a greater number of people and develop more professional and effective workshops and trainings if we expand through outside funding or other partnerships. Our mission is to embrace diversity, while encouraging intercultural understanding where it has lacked within Ugandan communities, whether between the young and the old, girls and boys, or any other groups. Our intercultural concept is innovative, and will continue to benefit hundreds of community members as it receives potential partners and supporters. Join us today.
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