Bongo Bash
On December 5, 2009, the Touch Foundation's Young Leaders' Michigan Chapter held its inaugural event at Club X-Cel International Lounge in Downtown Lansing.
December 5, 2009
Bongo Bash guests, including many students from Michigan State University, enjoyed a night of cocktails, dancing and African music from DJ Mus Mus to benefit healthcare in Tanzania.
For news coverage of the event, click here.
In August 2009, Michael and Mwavisu Beasley contacted the Touch Foundation about creating a Young Leaders chapter in Michigan, our first chapter outside the NYC area. Michael, a medical student at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, had previously lived and worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Shinyanga, Tanzania, where he was active in educational and health promotion activities for secondary school students in the Lake Zone region. Mwavisu, a Tanzanian national, is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Medical Technology from Michigan State University. Her family's hails from Tarime, which is in the Lake Zone's Mara region.
The name of the event has interesting origins. "Bongo" is derived from the Swahili noun, "ubongo," which means "brain." The history of the name can be traced to the 1980s in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In a time of economic hardships, salaries were insufficient to sustain families and there were not enough jobs. To survive, one needed to use his "bongo." Today, Tanzanian pop music is affectionately called "Bongo Flava."