Fordham and Quy Deanery mark World Aids Day
Stunning exhibition of Ugandan art and candlelight service marked World Aids Day
Fordham and Quy Deanery marked World Aids Day with a debut art exhibition of work by two Ugandan artists, Mayanja Richard and Lukandwa Dominic in Reach village. Lukandwa Dominic, said ‘through the exhibition I want to show that despite the suffering inflicted upon our people by AIDS, we are able to create and show that God is still reigning in our lives through our talents and we are showing this to the whole world to see.’
Dominic started drawing with sticks in the dust in his rural village. When he went to secondary school his teachers recognised and encouraged his talent. He stumbled across a batik artist and taught himself the process of painting with wax. Through sales of his art he has been able to pay his university fees and pay for his siblings to go to school. Judith Goddard, a member of the Fordham and Quy Deanery works for the blood transfusion service in Uganda, met him and brought his work to the UK to give it a broader audience. When plans to mark World Aids Day were drawn up, it seemed ideal to showcase his and his fellow artist Mayanja Richard’s work. Such is the quality of their work over £2,000 of their paintings were sold in the 6 hours the exhibition was open and the hall buzzed with excitement at the vibrancy in their pictures.
At a candlelight service the same evening, people heard Judith Goddard explain the impact of HIV/Aids in Uganda: there are two articles about HIV/Aids in every daily newspaper, and before retrovirals were available about 10% of the staff of companies and organisations were dying of HIV/Aids. Retrovirals are giving people diagnosed as HIV positive a much better quality and length of life, but there is now a rise in new infections, which may be due to complacency. Twelve students from Soham Village College, recently returned from a drama and music trip to South Africa sang and drummed before everyone poured out of church back to the exhibition for mulled wine and mince pies. In addition to supporting the work of the artists over £300 was raised for charities working on HIV/Aids in Uganda and 450 beaded Aids badges from South Africa were sold, providing vital income for mothers with children who are HIV positive and a visual reminder of all those affected in the UK and around the world.
If you would like to know more contact Jo Jones, 01638 743131, 0771 1816894