Global citizenship -- Celebrating diversity through the arts | Catherine Ndungu-Case | TEDxLivermore

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. The birth of Catherine's twins in 2007, seven years after leaving her native country of Kenya, exposed a dearth of cultural diversity and resources in Catherine's local community in Northern California. There were few opportunities to share with them what she experienced in her own childhood. What started as a personal search for cultural experiences for her children has opened up to a warm village welcome for children and adults of all ages to actively participate in the music and dance of Africa. Catherine founded the non-profit organization Cheza Nami foundation, which is Swahili for "Come Play with Me", teaching empathy and play through music, dance and the arts to schools and corporations, alike.

Catherine was born in Kenya and spent her early years growing up in a rural village outside the capitol city of Nairobi. While her upbringing was of modest means, her childhood was enriched through a traditional African home life that emphasized the importance of family and culture. She immigrated to the United States in 2000 and is currently working on finishing her masters in biology.

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