Achilla Orru facts for kids
King Achilla Rufino Orru Apaa-idomo (born August 17, 1959 – died February 4, 2013) was a talented musician from Uganda. He was blind and mostly played an instrument called the lukembé, which is a type of thumb piano. He belonged to the Karamojong ethnic group.
Growing Up and Learning Music
Achilla Orru was born in a place called Karamoja in Uganda. When he was seven years old, he lost his eyesight. He then went to a special school for blind students called Madera Special School. There, he learned to play the Kalimba, which is another name for a thumb piano. He became very good at it and even won a prize for his amazing skills!
In 1989, Orru came to Canada as a refugee, seeking a new home. He decided to continue his education and studied international development at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He worked hard and graduated in 1995. While he was studying, he also started his first music group, which he named Baana Afrique.
A Musician's Journey
After finishing university, Orru moved to Toronto. In 1995, he started his band, Baana Afrique, again with new musicians from Toronto. He traveled a lot, performing with his band and also by himself. He used the stage name King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo. In 1996, he released his first album of lukembe music, which was called Apaa-Idomo.
In Toronto, many people knew Orru because he often played music in the TTC subway stations. He was especially known for playing at the Bloor-Yonge subway station, bringing music to daily commuters.
In 2003, Orru performed at a big event called the World Music Exposition in Germany. This showed how his music was becoming known around the world.
Orru's album from 2004, named Dho-Mach (which means Sacred Gift), was nominated for a Juno Award in 2005. The Juno Awards are very important music awards in Canada. In 2008, he performed as a solo artist with the Royal Dutch Wind Ensemble in Amsterdam, showing his talent on a big stage.
Orru passed away on February 4, 2013, when he was 53 years old.
Family Life
Achilla Orru often visited Uganda, his home country. In 2004, he got married there. He and his wife, Rose, had three children together. Before his first trip back to Uganda, his first child, Benjamin, was born in Halifax, Canada. At the time of his passing, he was working to bring his family to live with him in Canada.
