Global
community activist and Oscar award winning actor
Sean
Penn and Robin Wright Penn visit UAACC/KUJI
Arusha
Times correspondent
July,
2005 Imbaseni Village
Pete O’Neal and his
wife Mrs. Charlotte Hill O’Neal and KUJI Foundation founder Mr. Geronimo ji
Jaga, recently hosted Oscar winning actor Sean Penn and his family at the United
African Alliance community Center UAACC, located in Imbaseni Village, Arusha,
Tanzania.
Sean Penn, who won
the Academy Awards Oscar for the 2004 hit movie, Mystic River and is
currently starring with Nicole Kidman in the block buster thriller, The
Interpreter, was in Arusha, Tanzania, to support the work of UAACC and the
KUJI Foundation, a community organization founded by former political prisoner
and human rights activist, Mr. Geronimo ji Jaga. UAACC and KUJI have
formed a strong partnership which has resulted in several successful projects
serving the people of Tanzania, including the Imbaseni Community Water project
and the Spirit of the Panther community bus service.
O’Neal, formerly
Chairman of the Kansas City Chapter of the Black Panther Party, founded the
UAACC in 1991 in order to provide an educational center for the youth and elders
in Imbaseni Village, the rural community located outside of Arusha, that he and
his wife, Charlotte have lived in for nearly three decades. Pete O’Neal
founded the Heal the Community exchange program in 1995 which provides cultural
immersion activities for ‘at risk’ youth in cities across America.
DeLaSalle Education Center located in Kansas City, (one of Arusha’s Sister
Cities), has been selecting youth to participate in this positive life altering
program since its inception.
Sean Penn, who arrived in Arusha July 19, was accompanied by his wife, Robin
Wright-Penn, also an accomplished actress and movie star and their two children.
The Penn family visited the Arusha region for one week, taking in the rich
cultural offerings of the local community. However, their primary purpose was to
witness the work of KUJI and UAACC, so that they can “serve as ambassadors of
goodwill back in the United States, sharing the success stories of these
organizations with others in the film and entertainment industry”.
During
their visit, the Penn family were able to visit a remote Maasai village;
participate in an ngoma (traditional dance) ceremony lead by the African
Traditional Dance Group; toured the campus, enjoyed delicious meals and visited
with students and volunteers at the UAACC; went to a local orphanage and village
primary school; assessed the feasibility and needs of several new projects
initiated by KUJI, including a plan to bring solar power to the local village
around UAACC and KUJI headquarters, as well as a joint venture with Arusha Node
Marie ANM (a non profit internet service provider) to increase the bandwidth and
service of Elimu on Line, ANM's community service component which offers free
Internet service to qualifying schools and community organizations.
Pete O’Neal also organized a unique adventure to the world renowned Serengeti
National Game reserve with George Mavroudis Safaris, one of the top luxury
safari companies in the world. The Penn Family accompanied by O’Neal, ji
Jaga and UAACC/KUJI volunteer Gaidi Faraji, were able to get a birds eye view of
both Mt. Kilimanjaro, (the tallest point in Africa) and Mt. Meru plus several
active volcanoes in the area, as they flew in a chartered plane to the
Serengeti. They later drove through the midst of hundreds of thousands of
wildebeest, zebras, elephants and other animals on their annual migration to
greener wilderness.
While
this was Sean Penn's first visit to Africa, Robin Wright Penn has visited Africa
before, spending time in Senegal, West Africa. “Our time here in Tanzania has
been absolutely magical”, Mr. Penn said before departing, “and we will
definitely be back!”
This
trip was not the first for Penn in support of the Kuji Foundation. A long time
supporter and member at large of the foundation, Penn travelled with Kuji
founder geronimo ji Jaga to Selma, Alabama in 2000 to support a campaign for
fairness and equal access in the electoral process in that city, and across the
southern United States, which remain highly segregated and politically backwards
even forty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights act of 1965 (of which several key provisions are set to expire in
2007).
During
their visit the Penn family visited with students and volunteers at the UAACC,
went to a local orphanage, assessed the feasibility and needs of several new
projects initiated by KUJI, including a plan to bring solar power to the local
village around UAACC and KUJI headquarters, as well as a joint venture with
Arusha
Node Marie to increase the bandwidth and service of
Elimu
On Line, ANM's community service component which offers free internet
service to qualifying schools and community organizations.
