Bidi Bidi | The Movement

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Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement

The Music & Arts Centre

This year, The Movement has partnered with To: in an effort to bring dance and mental health resources to one of the world's most vulnerable populations.

Our new project takes place in northern Uganda, in Africa’s largest refugee settlement, Bidi Bidi.

Having witnessed the immense creativity and lack of access to resources and opportunity to nurture talent in the settlement, our partnered organization has been working to build a state-of-the art music and arts center to nourish talent, artistry, and most importantly: hope. The Music & Arts Centre has been designed pro bono by renowned architecture firm, Hassell Studios. Along with being a hub for creativity, the building has been designed to harvest rainwater – providing a local solution to dire water access challenges. The building is set to open in the fall of 2023.

The Movement will spearhead the project's dance and mental health initiative. Since the start of the refugee crisis in 2016, a severe lack of mental health resources has lead to widespread mental health crises, including suicide. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that 19% of refugee families in northern Uganda have at least one family member who has suffered with psychological distress. Last year alone, 60 suicides were reported in refugee populations across Uganda. According to Racheal Kisakye Tukahiirwa, the Mental health and psychosocial support supervisor at TPO Uganda, suicide cases are even happening among the children populations.

The Movement aims to combat this.

The Movement has developed a robust dance therapy curriculum built to specifically focus on addressing the mental health crisis among the refugee youth. This summer, a group of MVMT dance therapists will travel to Bidi Bidi to teach the curriculum to the first cohort of local dance instructors over a 2-week intensive training program. These instructors will gain the skills needed to then lead a dance classes for refugee youth. Our goal is to raise funds to cover the costs of the 2-week training program and sponsor 22 classes/week for the next year.

Please join our mission to bring dance and mental health resources to the youth of Bidibidi. Together, we can restore hope to those who need it most.

If you're interested in becoming an official Movement Sponsor by donating $5,000 or more, please contact our team here.

To set up monthly donations, click here.

Dance as Therapy

The Movement Dance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN: 86-1808269. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. No goods or services are provided in return for contributions.