March 7, 2020
6-10:30 pm
The Vault | 35 E. Gay Street
Tickets go on sale February 2nd!
Proceeds from this fundraiser benefit Rafiki Children’s Center School of Music.
For upcoming information visit the Short North Rotary website.
Upendo Choir from Tanzania joins in the celebration.
Dr. Terry Davis recently traveled overseas for his annual trip to Rafiki and is delighted to report that all is well at the Rafiki Children’s Center. The weekend was a great celebration of multiple accomplishments of our founder, the Rev. Dr. John Nganga.
On Saturday, February 17, a service of Thanksgiving was held to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Founding of Rafiki, the 30th Anniversary of Rev. John’s ordination and Rev. John’s 56th birthday! And what a celebration it was, we also celebrated the renaming of the Academy to Rafiki Terry Davis Academy. We were honored that the Upendo Choir traveled to Kenya to join in the celebration and provide their own brand of spectacular music.
Cakes for the occasions.
Click here to read Dr. Davis’ full report and see more photos.
Terry Davis
Columbus, OH
February 2018
It didn’t seem quite right to be at Rafiki without John Nganga, the founder and CEO of Rafiki whose original vision and constant “pressing on” for 18 years has 
been the underpinning of the entire project. However, we are so grateful that
his health is holding up with the help of a skillful medical team, a dedicated wife and family, and the Grace of God. God willing, John is currently planning a return to Rafiki this summer. For this trip, John’s cousin Eston Kihara had been here for several days when I arrived, and represented John for the many events we had packed into a few days. Eston has just become a member of the US Rafiki Board.
Click here to download and read Dr. Davis’ full report.
The Rafiki Orchestra is in its birthing process. Thank God for faithful friends, Sara Burley from St. Benedict’s Church, Plantation, Florida and Jesse Henry from Columbus, Ohio for the wonderful gifts of the musical instruments to the Rafiki kids in the John & Joyce Edmondson School of Music. Special appreciation goes out to the Short North Rotary Club of Columbus, Ohio for the dedication and commitment towards the funding of this glorious music project that continues to blossom and grow. The sky is the limit. Shalom.
Daden teaches Elius (L) and Lewis (R).
The John and Joyce Edmondson School of Music is up and running. Rafiki has employed two music teachers to give our students a personal and quality music education. Edward has been working with the choir and teaching private keyboard lessons. Daden is our guitar instructor. He gives private lessons to the Rafiki children on Saturdays. They use a book written by Dean Jesse Henry called the “Colored String Method for Beginning Guitar.” So far they are very close to finishing the first book.
All of the children are given the opportunity to make music and take lessons. So far every child
Edward directs Class 3/4 Choir.
participates in the group choir. We have four students who have really taken a liking to guitar – Lewis, David, Naomi and Eluid. Other children have also taken up keyboarding.
Jesse Henry will be returning to Rafiki in January/February of 2014. During his time there he will be assisting the music teachers and helping them further develop the music curriculum. Rafiki also looks forward to growing the music deparment little by little with student concerts and recitals.
Students in the classroom at the Rafiki Academy.
Rev. Nganga in the new computer lab at Rafiki Academy.
As of our July 2012 update, Rafiki Academy had started and was doing reasonably well with three classes (Preschool, Grades 1 and 2), but enrollment was somewhat anemic at about 35 students. The problem was transportation. We didn’t have a school bus that could pick up the students in town (an hour or so walk) to come to classes at the Academy. Thanks to major donations from the Rotary Club of Columbus and First Community Church, the bus became a reality. Enrollment has exploded!
To read more, view Dr. Davis’ February 2013 Rafiki Update here or download to your computer to view.
In March 2012, a group of Rotarians from the Capitol Square Rotary Club in Columbus and musicians from Columbus, OH, organized by Kirk Horn, and headlining Jesse Henry and Eric Nassau, made the trek to Rafiki to share the gift of music. Bringing with them the proceeds from the wildly successful “Music in the Round” fundraiser for Rafiki in Columbus, the group arrived at Rafiki ready to get to work.
They spent time with the kids on the Rafiki campus, writing songs with them, and rehearsing with the Upendo Choir from Tanzania. It all came together with a collaborative performance at Rafiki on Saturday, March 10, 2012 and at the Wida Motel auditorium the next day. Both performances were to “packed houses” and could not have been more fun for the performers and the audiences, as well. Dancing and clapping were the norm.
All proceeds from the performances benefited the future John & Joyce Edmondson School of Music at Rafiki. A Department of Music at Rafiki Academy has been started, providing for a teacher as well as various musical instruments.
Here are some scenes from the Saturday show at Rafiki.
At the Wida Motel the next day many local musicians from the area, organized by Peris Ndungu, joined the Upendo choir, the Rafiki kids, Eric Nassau and Jessie Henry from Columbus. Together they rocked the house!
But it wasn’t all rehearsal and performance. There was plenty of time to hang out and get to know the wonderful Rafiki kids. A bonfire on Friday night was used to show the kids how to roast marshmallows.
