Gbongbor, singing at the SHOUT kickoff

Bright lights, dancing and upbeat music contrasted with a past full of violence, death and refugee camps at a concert last Tuesday night.

Songs from a Sierra Leone War Survivor starred Saa Andrew Gbongbor, a student, dance/raggae musician, and refugee of the Sierra Leone civil war. The concert was put on by SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance), a human rights awareness group. It took place at the Centre Communautaire Sainte-Anne

Ken Kierstead, board member of the Canadian Council on Africa, opened the concert with a lecture.

He spoke about the power Canadians have to help the poor in Africa.

He also called people to action.

“Are we our brothers keepers? I think we are,” he said.

A promotional video followed. There was a black screen with the sounds of heavy breathing, running and gunfire. It showed images from the war in Sierra Leone, and SHOUT members talking about their organization and their African friend. It also showed Gbongbor working on his music and talking about his life.

“I started music in Gambia when I was a refugee because the Gambian people are very musical,” Gbongbor said in the video.

“At the camp, everybody want to do something.”

Gbongbor also spoke about his mother, Isata.

“I haven’t seen my mom since … it’s almost been nine years now,” he said in the video.

Gbongbor, performing at the SHOUT kickoff

“My mom never know I can sing music, my mom never know I came to Canada.”

Gbongbor has recently managed to contact his mother through phone messages. The phone service is too poor in her village for them to actually talk.

Gbongbor then came onstage. He danced and sung about topics like God, Africa, and his mother.

The near-capacity crowd clapped along with the music, and some people danced near the stage.

“More music Mr. DJ. I love it, I love it,” Gbongbor called out between songs.

A promotional video followed Gbongbor’s performance. It explained how SHOUT began. It formed out of students returning from the March of Remembrance and Hope, a trip to concentration camps and holocaust memorials in Poland. The students wanted to act on what they had seen, so they started SHOUT.

After the second video several artists played acoustic songs. Many of them were dedicated to Gbongbor.

Gbongbor then re-took the stage with three more songs and a finale featuring a full band.

They received a standing ovation.

The concert was about more then spreading awareness. Donations at the door raised $1400 to help Gbongbor’s mother finish building a house.

A message from her was played halfway through the concert.

“My suffering in this village has been reduced because of the participation of this SHOUT,” she said.

“Bravo to you all. May God continue to flourish you all and the organization.”

This article originally appeared in the Aquinian