IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RESOURCE VILLAGE OF

                            ALBUQUERQUE                          

 

May 31 2017

 

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

 

Albuquerque’s Refugee and Local Youth Empowerment through Song, Dance, Micro-Enterprise and Modeling.

 

CONTACT: Nkazi Sinandile (505) 435-5741 [email protected] or Lungile Sinandile

 

Farmington and Albuquerque: In Celebration of World Refugee Day the Matunda Ya Yesu African Youth choir will present a series of musical concerts, fashion show of clothes, tote bags and jewelry that they will create starting next week so as to supplement family budgets. The young people are from African refugee camps and receive tutoring in English As a Second language, other life skills and will start training in sewing and beading next week. Free training is offered at Immigrant and Refugee Resource Village of Albuquerque and New Mexico Women’s Global Pathways - www.irrva.com; www.nmwgp.org. Most of the time their parents use them as child keepers of their siblings while parents work. Some of them will be attending summer school at Lutheran Family Services, an agency that resettles them in Albuquerque.

 

On Saturday June 24 the Matunda Ya Yesu African choir under the direction of Lungile Sinandile with assistance of his wife Nkazi Sinandile co-founders of IRRVA AND NMWGP will present an inspiring musical concert at Pinon Hills Church (see below). They sing songs of experience, resilience, struggle, hope, love and unity in their own tongues as follows: Swahili, Bembe, Xhosa, Zulu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi and English.

 

A joyous celebration will be held at African American Perfoming Arts Center in Albuquerque. Caltural dancing, music , drumming , and stories of home. There the youth hope to sell some of the creations that they will create while in training at NMWGP. The girls will also be trained in modelling since they have never modeled in their young lives. For sewing, beading and modelling they will be joined by other youth from New Mexico ( USA’s and Middle East). The choir members were all born and raised in refugee camps. The choir rehearses weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 6.00 p.m. and 07.45 p.m at the Manzano Multi-generational Center, located at 501 Elizabeth Street, SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. There will be different times for the sewing, beading and modeling practice.

 

Venues and Times:

 

Pinon Hills SDA Church, 5001 Foothills Dr. Farmington, New Mexico 87402

 

Admission is Free, but free will donations will be accepted.

 

Date: Saturday, June 20th, 2017 from 7.00 p.m.

 

then at the

 

African American Performing Arts Center

 

310 San Pedro Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 on Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 4.00 p.m

 

THANK YOU