BY MARGARET PARSONS
TRAVERSE CITY -- Dominic Akena and John Okello had never watched a movie. They had never been jet skiing or miniature golfing. They had never heard of sheep or seen a ballet.
But when Kim Gribi, the Record-Eagle's Human Resources Director, decided to bring Akena, who she saw in the documentary "War/Dance" at the 2007 Traverse City Film Festival, and his friend, Okello, who didn't appear in the documentary, from Africa to Traverse City, it opened up a whole world of new experiences.
"It is different in tradition and climate," Okello, 17, said, noting that even in summer, Traverse City is too cold for him.
At the Patongo Refugee Camp in northern Uganda, there is no electricity, no running water and the 60,000 people packed into the camp have little safety from rebel attacks. At their school, there are 445 students for one teacher, no computers and not enough supplies.
But Akena and Okello have found solace in their music. Both are talented percussionists. In "War/Dance," Akena, 16, who was forced to fight for the rebel forces, the Lord's Resistance Army, and his classmates travelled to the National Music Competition in Kampala along with 20,000 other schools. There, Akena won the Best Musician Award for his xylophone playing.
Gribi was touched by Akena's story and initially wanted to bring him to the Interlochen Summer Camp. Interlochen, however, was unable to accommodate him because he does not read music.
"I had a plan B," Gribi said. "My back-up plan was that they could live with my family and have kind of a musical vacation. But you can't ask a child to get on a plane alone and fly halfway around the world. So, that's how we got John."
"War/Dance" directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine said they were ecstatic when Gribi first approached them about bringing Akena to Traverse City.
"We were just floored," Andrea said. "We always hoped the movie would inspire others to take action."
Sean agreed, adding that in the month since he last saw Akena and Okello a lot of things have changed.
"They're so different," he said. "They're even physically different. Kim's given them the childhood they never got the chance to have. They live in a place where they can't play because of the rebels, but here they've been given the chance to do that."
Both shy when meeting strangers, Akena and Okello said they were "excited" to come to America and that it was Gribi who they were most excited to meet.
"Kim is a good mother," Akena said. "Kim is not a bad person. That is why we wanted to come here."
Okello didn't tell anyone he was coming to America, because, he said, there "might be jealousy."
"Not might be. Will be," Akena said. "We'll lose our friends. They will have many questions. They'll notice we were missing school. We'll have nice clothing. (They'll think,) 'We should beat him.'"
Akena and Okello have been staying with the Gribi family since July 5 and Gribi has kept their schedule packed with music lessons with locals Tom Kaufmann and Dave Warne, soccer games, trips to Mackinac Island, concerts at Interlochen, jet skiing and tubing.
Akena and Okello have also performed at the Dunegrass Festival in Empire, and before the Traverse City Film Festival movie, "Goodbye Bafana" and will perform Saturday at Madonna's film "I Am Because We Are."
They both said they are excited about the performance for Madonna, even though they had never heard of her.
"I know who she is now," Akena said. "I think it will be very exciting to meet her. It's very different because it's all very big."
Akena and Okello said that they have enjoyed every activity but it was seeing bees at the Gribis' friend Mike Street's bee farm that got Akena excited. Akena sells honey in Uganda, but the only way to harvest the honey there is to simply stick your unprotected arm into the bee hive and pull out the honey.
Okello is more interested in learning how things work here. He wanted to know how to vacuum and do laundry and was amazed by the microwave, which can do what would take six hours to do back home.
But the more time they spend here, the more at home they feel.
"They used to get up early and go to bed early," Gribi said. "That doesn't happen anymore."
Instead, Gribi said, they stay up until 12:30 a.m., watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Lord of the Rings."
Akena and Okello leave Traverse City on August 4. They will spend another two weeks in Washington D.C. with Sean and Andrea Fine. Okello will then head back to Patongo, while Akena has an offer to attend Appleby College in Toronto.
Akena said although he is happy to have the opportunity to stay in North America, he wishes he could stay in Traverse City.
"Traverse City is the best place for me," he said. "I need to stay here. I love this place so much."
If you wish to donate, make checks payable to AMREF USA, with Patongo Scholarship Fund in the description line, and send them to AMREF USA, 19 West 44th Street, Suite 710, New York, NY 10036.
