About three months ago, I moved to Cameroun from New York City as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Being of African descent, I was excited to know that I will be living in Africa for the next two years. Indeed, I had some doubts which one of them was wondering how I will continue to be a writer contributor for music. During my training sessions on malaria, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer named Imoite Omulepu, now working with Stomping Out Malaria in Africa – a Peace Corps initiative-, presented a music video that was raising awareness about malaria. It was released earlier this year with a line-up of Cameroonian pop stars : X Maleya,
Sine, Grace Decca, Duc Z and Kate. The song title is called K.O Palu anthem -Tous Unis Contre Le Paludisme.
On December 5th, 2013, I had the opportunity to interview one of the singers- Sine- in Yaoundé. As we sat down and talked about why he decided to be part of such a movement, Sine explained that he was born and raised in Cameroun. As he pursued his dreams of
wanting to be a musician at an early age, Sine had to leave his home and face difficult challenges to make it as an artist. He said “ I can relate to those who are unfortunate, to those who do not receive proper education. We (musicians) can educate people with music”.
In the month of April, The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with Malaria No More (MNM) and K.O. PALU partners hosted a free concert at Palais de Sports in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Around 7,000 people attended the concert. Last month, Sine was invited to perform in New York City, NY at the Lincoln Jazz Center for the organization Malaria No More annual fundraiser. It was a privilege for him to perform in front of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who accepted the Global Leadership Award. He stated: “Music has the power to shift a negative zone to positive zone. It’s a healing factor to the mind that should be encouraged in every society”. Sine has participated in previous K.O Palu anthem’s and will remain connected with the movement. Currently, he joined forces with Cameroonian pop icon Petit Pays, who also has been involved with the campaign against malaria, in the new single PAPLÉ which is receiving a lot of airplay here in Cameroon.
It isn't rare for musicians to contribute in humanitarian work. Hit songs like "We are the world" by Michael Jackson or " What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye always reminds the audience that artists aren't disconnected from the society. It was a pleasure meeting Sine knowing that regardless of his hit records, he and many other stars partake in such campaign against malaria.