OUR MISSION
To protect, heal, empower, and support vulnerable children and youth through music, life skills, and education.
OUR VISION
To be a leading organization in transforming the lives
of Uganda’s new generations.
Our Story
Music, Life Skills, and Destitution Alleviation (M-LISADA) was formed in 1996, under the leadership of Segawa Bosco, and 8 other street children, in the slums of Katwe, in Kampala Uganda. Bosco’s parents both died before he was 11 years old. Saddled with the task of looking after his 3 sisters, Bosco spent his days on the streets of Kampala, collecting saleable junk, and doing menial tasks, to buy food for his sisters and himself.
In Katwe, Bosco came upon a musical performance by the students at St. Peters School. He was captivated by the music and by the crowd applauding and showing their appreciation. That day he saw music as a way to create a new life. Bosco shared his inspiration and desire to learn music with his street friends and together they went to St. Peters School to see if they could be taught to play. Initially they were turned away. But Bosco and his friends persevered, and eventually Teacher Ssendawula agreed to teach them brass band music after school and on weekends. Using borrowed instruments, Bosco and his friends practiced as much as they could. They loved learning and playing music and saw it as an opportunity to change their lives.
In 1996 they met Christopher, an activist from Germany, who saw them playing music. When he heard that music was life for them and gave them a valuable talent, he suggested they name their organization M-LISADA (Music, Life Skills, & Destitution Alleviation).
In 1997 the M-LISADA band performed at Rainbow International School in Kampala. This concert marked the start of their public performances. Christopher went back to Germany and raised money to buy them their own instruments. When they arrived, they bore the name M-LISADA on them.
The next year, M-LISADA rented a single windowless room home in the Katwe slum. At times up to 40 children would come and sleep on the floor. This was the home of M-LISADA until 2008.
M-LISADA added acrobatics to their performances, to give more children something productive to do, and to stand out from the rest of the marching bands. M-LISADA saw what the transformative power of music did for the almost all male band. Because the girls were still intimidated to play instruments and were dissuaded from doing so by the surrounding community, M-LISADA created their cultural dance program as a way for vulnerable girls to develop music and life skills and to be part of M-LISADA.
In 2007 a safari tour company called Real Africa asked M-LISADA to perform for Chellaston Academy school from the UK. During the performance the members of M-LISADA told the audience their individual stories and the story of M-LISADA. M-LISADA, in further conversations with Chellaston Academy, mentioned their most immediate need was for a bigger home and center. Chellaston Academy went back to England, and under the leadership of Richard Karran, raised money for the M-LISADA Organization. Chellaston Academy acquired the land where M-LISADA’s Kampala home is currently located.
In 2009, during a concert, a child who was performing with M-LISADA made a public request to the audience to support his education. The request was accepted by an audience member and M-LISADA’s official educational sponsorship program began.
In 2013, M-LISADA introduced their band to the local schools on Kalangala Island and opened a Brass Band outreach there. The following year M-LISADA began building their Kalangala Center which opened in 2016.
Initially, M-LISADA’s outreach programs worked with children who were on the streets of Kampala. However, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the police would take the street children to Kampiringisa Juvenile Detention and Rehabilitation Center where they were placed with juveniles who had committed crimes. In 2014 M-LISADA visited Kampiringisa, in an attempt to better the lives of the children detained there. M-LISADA’s Psycho-Social Support program originated at Kampiringisa when M-LISADA saw an opportunity to help transform the lives of the two different populations of children and youth.
Dance of Hope, an International platform for cultural dance and education, was founded at M-LISADA. It was created to share the power and beauty of Ugandan cultural dances with a larger world, and to provide vulnerable children with an opportunity to travel extensively and give them a voice to share their cultures, communities, and stories with an international audience. In 2018, Dance of Hope toured the USA, performing at 45 schools in 15 states.
In 2019 after many years of planning, M-LISADA opened Passion Primary Boarding School, a school especially designed to recognize and accommodate the diverse and complex backgrounds and needs of vulnerable children.
Since M-LISADA started in 1996 we have worked with close to 2,500 vulnerable children and youth.