In the heart of Africa’s largest refugee camp, the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre stands as a beacon of hope and creativity, providing a safe space for over 250,000 refugees to express themselves through music, dance, and art.
In the heart of Africa’s largest refugee camp, the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre stands as a beacon of hope and creativity. This vibrant arts venue provides a safe space for over 250,000 refugees to express themselves through music, dance, and art.
The Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre is a cultural institution located in the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, Uganda.
The centre provides a platform for refugees to express themselves through music, dance, and drama.
With a focus on community engagement, the centre hosts regular performances, workshops, and training sessions.
According to reports, over 10,000 people attended events at the centre in its first year of operation.
The centre's mission is to promote cultural exchange, understanding, and peace-building among refugees and host communities.
The centre was born out of a dream to create a place where young people could come together and nurture their talents. Edward Byemba, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who teaches music at the centre, recalls how people would gather under a fig tree to sing and dance before the centre was built. ‘This tree represents the place that sheltered us until we grew and built the centre,’ he says.
The centre’s mission is to promote healing, social cohesion, and transformational change through creative expression. Victor Aluonzi, a music teacher at the arts centre, explains, ‘We had to find a way to handle all this conflict [in the refugee settlement]. In a refugee settlement, it is important that you reinforce messages of peace and positively impact the society.’
Many young refugees struggle with the past, often resorting to harmful behaviour to cope. Ceaser Godfrey, 21, shares his story of how he used to be a headache to his community before finding solace in music at the centre. ‘When I sing, I think about the future,’ he says. ‘We, the youth will change a lot of things – not with guns but with all the things that we have learned in Uganda.’
Moses Modi, a traditional musician and South Sudanese refugee, takes his mission seriously. ‘If there is no peace, I will sing about peace. If there is no love, I will sing about love. If there is hatred, I will use bold music to ask why,’ he says.
The centre’s vision is that in 10 years’ time, the people of Bidi Bidi will have moved past the uncertainty and conflict that plagues the settlement. Aluonzi says, ‘It is not just about the music; we talk about playing for change because we work towards all kinds of transformations – economic transformations, united communities, less violence and more healing.’
The centre’s impact extends beyond the arts. Modi, who also works as a chef, shares his vision of rewriting his country’s story so that future generations can live in peace. ‘We shall return to South Sudan changed because in the settlement we are not fighting,’ he says.
As the sun sets over the Bidi Bidi refugee camp, the sound of music and laughter fills the air, bringing harmony to the midst of adversity. The Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre stands as a testament to the power of creative expression and the human spirit’s capacity for transformation and hope.
