African Night on 8th October 2016 at the Protestant Riedberg-Parish

For the second time, we were invited to present a charity event for the benefit of our NGO.

This time we were glad to welcome Facko Traoré with his drummer ensemble “Anka Fó”, Freddy Luzolo and Jacky Massinge with the French-reformed parish’s choir and the singers “Passion for Christ.”

After an introduction by Joan Agboro, the chairwoman of HH4A, Facko Traoré opened the event with a piece of drumming, slowly beginning and gradually growing louder and faster. “Music is the universal language, it appeals to our heart and our soul,” he said.

Afterwards, our member Peter Paschke gave a short slide presentation, explaining the purpose of our NGO using a number of examples. “The smallest sum can bring about a lot,” he said, “for example, with ten Euro, a child can attend school for a whole term.”

Then it was the drummer ensemble’s turn again. Facko Traoré introduced a tale from the savannah playing the Koni (an African string instrument), accompanied by his drummer ensemble.

Jacky Massinge from the French-reformed choir, together with the drummer ensemble, encouraged the audience to join in, and everyone sang the chorus “Hakuna Matata” before the choir started singing their first song.

After the break – many conversations, contacts, running children, coffee, tea, and cake – the program continued with an African fairy tale from Mali ending in a surprising turn – the story was about a fox and a rooster, no more will be revealed here.

The French-reformed choir went on with several songs with catchy rhythms and melodies, accompanied by keyboard and drums.

Before the choir sang the closing song, the three singers of the group “Passion for Christ” performed two songs singing a capella.

An altogether felicitous evening that was enjoyed by all participants – contributors, audience, and organizers.

Sincere thanks to the Protestant parish of Riedberg who supported us in such a friendly way!