Ugandan Children Sing and Dance in Mill Valley

A group of talented African children from Uganda put on a riveting performance of music and dance at the in front of a sold-out crowd Thursday night in an effort to promote awareness of Uganda's crisis of AIDS and civil war.

The group known as the Spirit of Uganda, which consists 22 young people ages 8 to 18, is touring the United States for more than three months to raise funds to support other children who are being served by Empower African Children transform the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children through the power of innovative education. The group raises and educates orphans, provides scholarships for U.S. university study and is building a model secondary school in Uganda to prepare the next generation of leaders and improve life in this impoverished nation.

There are currently 2.4 million orphans in Uganda and over half the total population is under the age of 15.

Empower African Children is a non-profit organization inspired by success stories from more than 15 years of work with Africa's vulnerable children. It was launched in 2006 by child advocate Alexis Hefley whose work with Ugandan children has won her international acclaim.

This year marks the fourth time Spirit of Uganda has come to Mill Valley as part of the 's cultural exchange program engaging with diverse cultural traditions and fostering global citizenship. The Spirit of Uganda spent the day with students at Greenwood School prior to their performance at the community center. 

The Greenwood students held a Dipsea Steps walk-a-thon and solicited local sponsors to raise over $10,000 to support the work of Empower African Children.