At a remote village in the Western part of Kenya , grand-mothers break into song and dance holding masks in a new beginning in their sorrowful lives. They have just learned a new way to recount their experiences in a society badly hit by the HIV Aids scourge.

After making contact with a US based organization-Kiboko Projects- the grand mothers in their 50s and 60s can now freely express their feelings over their lost ones. Their memories are obviously laced with sadness, anger, hopeless­ness and sometimes emotions.

Most of them spoke about their losses in a way that they would never have. Through the process of making masks, they were able to overcome their shyness about a disease which is still considered a taboo in this region.

Mark Scheflen and Jill Raufman-Directors of Kiboko Projects have been in Kenya on their second tour in as many years seeking to cement the organization's bond with communities afflicted by HIV Aids besides other problems.

Their second tour this year took them to Nakuru, Kisumu and Nairobi where they carried out projects with communities and schools. Like last year the tour has proved that the cultural link, which the group sought to establish a few years ago, is coming of age.

"The grandmothers like most of the people we have made contact with seem to have broken their shyness over HIV Aids. They have gained a degree of confidence through the masks. Masks have given them confidence to express them­selves" said Scheflen. Raufman adds that "it has been quite a revelation as they grapple with the problem of raising the children left behind by loved ones"

"It is an experience that is going to spur a lot of interest from other communities around the world" she said.

A little over 10 years ago, Kiboko Projects was established in the US with the aim of creating a new cultural bond between communities in America , Kenya , Russia and South Africa .  Scheflen who had made several visits to Kenya came up with idea mainly because he wanted to involve young people from these countries to share experiences on issues affecting them. According to Scheflen, such experiences could be shared through story telling via masks photo diaries and videos.

He reckoned that masks, videos and photo diaries "were an ideal way to let groups and communities from these countries communicate."

This led to the first portion of the diaries project being under-taken in Kibera last year where participants, mostly HIV Aids victims, recounted their experiences. The messages were powerful and appealing. Schools, which participated in the first project, were Moi Forces Nakuru (Lanet),

St. Nicholas ( Nairobi ) and members of the KICOSHEP from Kibera. This year, several schools in Nyanza Province were introduced to the masks project, in Nairobi , Riara Springs Academy has joined up on the program, in Russia , Kiboko collaborated last year with a school in St. Petersburg while in the US several schools In Baltimore and New York are on the project.

The Kenyan experience seems to be topping the bill though.  The second tour has proved quite revealing with Kiboko casting its net to involve several prominent personalities in the sports sector. Those who have agreed to work on the project include former World 3,000m steeplechase record holder Wilson Boit Kipketer and several top athletes from Kenya Prisons.

They will spearhead the campaign whose main aim is to address social issues like HIV Aids, genital mutilation and drugs among the youth. The group will also widen its involvement with Southern Sudanese refugees residing in Kenya .

"We have a vision of ensuring that some of the Sudanese refugees share their experiences with the rest of the world" says Raufman. "We want to tie them up with some of the Russians who have talked about their experiences in the Chechnyan war and Americans who are returning from Iraq " she adds. A representative of the Sudanese group in Nairobi said this will surely give our people a forum to speak about their lives."

In an indication of just how serious Kiboko intends to take their Kenyan involvement, young people drawn from various schools were entered in the National Women Aids Day run in the city of Nairobi . They ran for a worthy cause in what is seen as furthering the cultural bond that seems to be maturing with time.

Kiboko's tour of Kenya came with a package of exhibits-the latest in the continuing-series of art, educational and cultural exchange programs. The exhibitions included hand painted, masks, photo-diaries and videos of the projects created by Kiboko Projects through organized workshops by various student groups, people with HIV/Aids, recover­ing drug addicts and families in New York Baltimore, Kenya and St Petersburg, Russia.

The tour of Moi Forces Academy and schools around Kisumu was particularly captivating. Many of the young participants spoke about their hope for the future and com­mented on key issues affecting their lives.

“It is interesting that poverty also exists in the US . This has been the root cause of many social problems in Kenya especially HIV Aids. The Kiboko Project has actually enabled many of us learn what is happening around the world when it comes to issues like Aids and poverty” said Angela Marinka, a student at Moi Forces Academy in Nakuru.

"The dilemma facing many young women in Kenya is that they don't have the support of the society. Empowerment through education is what is needed now more than ever before'" she said.

In Nyanza Province , the schoolchildren were seemingly forthright. Many of them orphaned by the HIV Aids scourge spoke about the need to give them more attention and their personal ambitions. Like their grandmothers, they are victims of a "a scourge, which is beyond our understanding"

The statistics in this part of the country are quite revealing. In many of the schools, 80 percent of the children are orphans directly under the care of their grandparents.

What we have is a situation that many of the children and their guardians would hardly talk about in a normal set up. They need a forum to discuss what they are going through and that is why the masks and the photo-diaries have helped to open them up" said Scheflen.

As Kiboko's profile grows, the list of collaborators has also been blossoming. In Kenya groups currently working with Kiboko include Sports Resource Center (SRC), Kicoshep, YMCA Nairobi, Moi Forces Academy (Nakuru), Riara Springs and St Nicholas. In the US , Kiboko Projects is involved with Eleanor Roosevelt High School , St Marks Church while in Russia , the Russian Union of Artists in St. Petersburg and Project Hope are on the list of collaborators. It is indeed befitting that two prominent members of the US Congress have personally recognized the work of Kiboko Projects through letters of appreciation to the organization.

Congressmen Charles Rangel and Jerrold Nadler have indicated that 'the cultural program commenced by Kiboko Projects is a rewarding opportunity for young people in Kenya and the rest of the world to explore possibilities of opening up new opportunities"

"You can always count on our support" they said