Uganda's Dance Group Of Orphan Children To Visit Turkey

A dance group of orphan children from east African country of Uganda will visit Turkey to perform in several programs later this month.

Masaka Kids Africana, which retrieved its name from Masaka town in southern Uganda -- located around 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of the capital Kampala -- attracted the attention of the world with local dance videos posted on the social media.

The story behind forming the group started with a house built with an initiative of a local resident in Masaka area, which became a new chapter in the life of orphan children.

Later on, the kids founded a dance group with the support of a local resident in the region.

The dance video of children with Karina Palmira -- a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer -- was viewed 28 million times on YouTube.

Osman Muzaffer Afyon, a Turkish traveler who met children during his trip to Uganda, told Anadolu Agency that he arranged an event scheduled for the dance group in Turkey.

Afyon said with the support of some people, he managed to invite the group from Uganda to his country.

He said that children in the Masaka town have formed a "kind of a dancing school", where they dance and "constantly improve themselves".

He said the group has its own record album and songs.

The traveler said that children live in a "bad environment" and have some difficulties that are common in Africa, adding: "But you can't see it because they always laugh and dance."

Afyon said the initiative of inviting the group to Turkey was aimed on enabling the orphans to gain popularity in Turkey's metropolitan city Istanbul, since "they make a living with the videos they share".

"We think the more we promote and donate them, the more beautiful it will be," he concluded.

Masaka Kids Africana dancing group is scheduled to participate in various television programs in Istanbul on Dec. 14-23.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev -