From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Aug 28 2008 - 08:40:02 EDT
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080828TDY03101.htm IN THE NEWS /
Singer's AIDS song a hit in Africa
Shiomi Kadoya / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG--"African people are strong and lively. I feel the spreading
AIDS tragedy that afflicts them as if it were my own," said Kohei Yamada,
28, whose song about AIDS is gaining popularity in Africa.
Yamada, who visited Eritrea in eastern Africa in July, introduced his
AIDS-related song in the local Tigrinya language. The song, about a woman
who resolutely accepts that her boyfriend is suffering from AIDS, is quite
popular in the country. The upbeat tune sung by a Japanese in jimbe casual
wear seems to have been accepted well by local people.
Yamada first sang the song "Ndimakukonda" (I Love You) in the Chichewa
language spoken in the southern African country of Malawi, where he worked
as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in 2005.
He wrote the song after being shocked at seeing his friend from the area
suffer from AIDS. He also hopes the tune, which has ranked No. 1 on the
country's hit chart, will encourage young people to be tested for HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS.
Most of Africa's 22 million AIDS sufferers, who account for two-thirds of
the world's total, are concentrated in the sub-Saharan portion of the
continent. The song aimed to raise awareness of HIV tests among African
young people who are apt to shy away from AIDS topics.
Since Yamada returned to Japan, he has widened awareness of Africa through
his lectures and books. He has never forgotten "African people who laugh at
their troubles."
Yamada hopes to contribute to AIDS prevention in Africa by singing the song
in local languages.
(Aug. 28, 2008)
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