After five months of touring the U.S., Patience Namata, a 7-year-old from Uganda, will perform a concert at the First United Methodist Church in Columbus on Sunday with 17 other African school children.
The children are the African Children’s Choir, part of a faith-based non-profit organization called “Music for Life” that funds education for 7,000 to 8,000 African children per year. The choir is made up of children between the ages of 7 and 9 who come from the programs the organization supports. The children tour the U.S. and Canada for nine or 10 months often before touring the United Kingdom as well, performing concerts of English and African music in churches and concert halls alike.
Since her first concert in North Carolina on Sept. 11 of last year, Patience and the rest of the choir have been all over the Southeast, as well as New York, singing programs up to 80 minutes long. Her favorite place she’s seen so far is Kentucky.
“Because it has a funny name,” she said.
Program’s history
Since the program began in 1984, 44 choirs have toured.
Ray Barnett, the organization’s founder, came up with the idea in the 1970s and 1980s when he traveled to Africa to assist children who had been victims of war, famine and disease.
“There was a little boy who had just lost his parents and (Barnett) gave him a ride to another village and (the boy) sang Christian praise songs on this jeep ride and Daddy Ray…was just very moved by that,” Tina Sipp, choir manager, said. “And so he (thought) if the West could just see the potential and beauty of these children and the dignity of these children, wouldn’t they want to help? That’s what kind of sparked the idea for (Barnett) to bring out the first choir in 1984. One thing led to another…here we are 44 choirs later.”
Choir members are guaranteed financing for their education up through high school and into college or vocational schools, Sipp said. The children in the organization’s programs usually can’t attain an education through other means.
The non-profit is fully funded by donations, many of them from the choir’s audiences. Those donations fund not only the education of the choir members but of the thousands of other children Music For Life works with.
Beautiful spirit
First Methodist’s music minister Doug Browning arranged for the choir to visit Columbus and perform at the church’s Sunday morning services. He had seen former choirs perform before and always wanted to host the children at First Methodist, but until recently, the timing was just never right.
“My pastor Raigan Miskelly was all about it and she told me to go get them and that’s what I did,” Browning said.
Churches like First Methodist are essential to the choir’s touring, said Sipp. Churches arrange host families for the children and their chaperones to stay with, as well as space to rehearse, do schoolwork and, of course, perform for audiences. Host families and churches also provide the children with food and activities.
Sipp said that by touring the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, choir members are exposed to a much bigger world than they have seen growing up. When they return home, their English is much better, which gives them an advantage in countries where exams are often still in English, Sipp said. The children also learn some of the history and culture of the places where they are touring, seeing sights like the Grand Canyon or other famous tourist destinations.
But the children themselves also have an impact on their audience and host families, Sipp said.
“What’s really quite beautiful is obviously their smiles and they’re gorgeous children, but (also) their spirit,” said Sipp. “Their spirit is so beautiful. They’re kind of what every parent would dream of a child being – respectful, polite, appreciative, humble, funny. They’re very non-assuming children, very creative.”
The choir will perform at First United Methodist at 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday, according to Browning.
The children will also perform at Columbus High School on Monday according to tour leader Heidi Moen.
For more information about the choir, go to africanchildrenschoir.com.
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