Many children there grow up with no money for school, and some with no family at all. That is where a man named Dauda Kavuma started to take them in.
He gave them food, a place to sleep and their school fees. Around 30 children ended up living with him in one house. They call him “Dad”.
And he gave them something else: dance.
The children practised in the dusty streets, barefoot, to music from a small speaker. In 2014 they filmed themselves dancing to a song called “Sitya Loss” by the Ugandan singer Eddy Kenzo. Somebody put it online, and it went viral all over the world.
Suddenly the Ghetto Kids were famous. They appeared in a music video with French Montana. They performed in other countries. The money they earned went straight back into food and school for the children at home.
There was heartbreak too. In 2015, one of the boys, Alex, was killed in an accident. He was just 14. The children kept dancing in his memory.
In April 2023, a group of the Ghetto Kids walked onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent in London, wearing bright green outfits.
The music started, and they exploded into the most joyful dance anyone had seen in years. The audience was on its feet within seconds.
Then something happened that had never happened on the show before.
Halfway through the routine, judge Bruno Tonioli could not hold back. He slammed the golden buzzer while the children were still dancing. Gold confetti rained down on them as they carried on, grinning from ear to ear.
When the music stopped, one of the youngest girls, Josephine, burst into tears. The children hugged each other on stage, hardly able to believe it.
The golden buzzer sent them straight through to the live shows. They won their semi-final and reached the final.
Back home in Uganda, the money and attention meant more children could go to school.
Not bad for a group of kids who started out dancing barefoot in the street.
Did these kids put a smile on your face? Tell us in the comments.
