My 2005: Sara Mitaru, singer

BEST MOVIE?
The Constant Gardener. It’s really good but I think I’m biased because it was shot in Kenya and you get to see a lot of my country.
BEST RECORD?
My selection of music really ranges, but I’m going to have to be biased again and go for Mr. Omondi’s No.1 Singers. For the reason that it’s Kenyans helping out Kenyans and it’s raising funds to build Kenya, so that makes it tops.
BEST BOOK?
I prefer short stories, especially by African writers, so it has to be Kwani ’05 which is a collection of short stories. But for a more familiar writer I also like John Grisham!
HERO OF 2005?
Nelson Mandela, definitely. Okay, he’s a long-time hero but it’s only because he stands out every year.
VILLAIN OF 2005?
I don’t know, I don’t think I have a villain of 2005.
BEST THING ABOUT THIS YEAR?
It was working on the Mr. Omondi project, and that’s an honest answer. First of all because it was different from my daily routine as a radio producer and the first time I was involved in a singing project. But also going down to see the schools was fantastic, you know, to actually see that we were doing something so worthwhile. Then coming to Dublin and having all these interviews and seeing the feedback, actually seeing people buy CDs, that’s really good.
BEST PERSONAL MOMENT?
When I went up to north Kenya and saw a group of four or five boys who were really happy because they had gone to school so they could communicate in both English and Swahili. And just seeing the excitement – there was so much hope and life in them because of being in school. It was really heart-warming because with hope there’s dreams and there’s vision. It was exciting, I have goose-bumps thinking about it.
FUNNY THING ABOUT 2005?
I’ve had some fun nights out in Dublin. I was really impressed by the fact that late at night people are out and having a good time on the streets instead of in the buildings. And your bars close at 3am!
HOPE FOR NEXT YEAR?
I’m in my final year doing my degree in Commerce and Marketing and I’m working as a radio producer so I hope to finish and keep going with my singing because I do enjoy it.
I hope that this project will spread its wings through the whole of Europe and back to Africa. Three CDs would allow a child to attend school for a year, that’s !60 to give them lunch, give them clothes, give them supplies, everything. So I hope we can take thousands and thousands of children to school for the next maybe ten years. Every time people listen to the CD at home they’ll remember that a child is in school now because of them.