Child Trafficking Spectacle--May 17

Jaren and another PCV, Chanti Johnson, organized a talent extravaganza as an awareness campaign about child trafficking in Parakou. Local artists from around the area registered to perform original songs, poems, comedies, plays and dances interpreting child trafficking and the theme, “Nul part n’est mieux que chez nous”. Three members from the community judged the competition to choose the best of all talent categories. The winners will, at a later date, record their talents onto a CD that will be disseminated throughout the country.

The event was a huge success. With a week’s worth of radio publicity and interviews, we were able to draw a crowd of a couple hundred including mostly of students and young professionals.

Here are pictures of various acts:

Our neighbor Eric tapping his inner-thespian

Theater troupe showing the inevitable problems that come from sending a kid to a relative for domestic work (silly hat optional)

These boys dancing tried to hard - but looked so unbelievably ridiculous doing so. Imagine four people having simultaneous seizures wearing Stan Smith-era tennis whites and Saturday morning clown show ties.

Our neighbor Claude singing a really touching and well performed ballad