African Children's Choir captivates audience in energy-filled performance Friday

• The choir's CDs are available on the website

Between exciting rhythms from drums and the vocal and physical exuberance of about two dozen young singer-dancers, the African Children’s Choir kept hearts pumping as they performed a concert at First Baptist Church Friday.

The performance was part of the Music for Life program that selects children from Uganda, tours them around the world and follows up with access to education and other advantages, in part from a sponsorship arrangement.

Music for Life provides thousands of impoverished children throughout Africa with the education, discipleship and leadership skills needed to rise above their conditions so thay they can bring positive, lasting change to their families, communities, and countries, according to information distributed at the performance.

The concerts help raise money, as does the sale of the choir’s CDs and handmade goods at their appearances. The promotional pamphlet states that 86.6 percent of the money raised goes to African education, outreach and choir programs. The remainder supports operations and administration. The slogan throughout the night was that the children in the choir are Africa’s future leaders. Each child came forward during the concert to tell the audience what they hope to become as adults, careers that include an airplane mechanic to a surgeon.

The choir leaders, who identified themselves only by the names of Auntie Alice and Uncle Tim, explained that they were members of the choir in 2000. Now both have earned business degrees, but repay the choir by acting as chaperones and choir directors on the tours of the 48th choir. They said more than 154,000 children have been helped by the program that incubated from a trip 30 years ago.

Ray Barnett was on a humanitarian trip to war-torn Uganda when he gave a small boy a ride from his decimated home to the safety of another village. During the journey, the child did what he knew how to do best, he sang. That simple song of dignity and hope became the catalyst for a program that has changed the lives of thousands of children and reshaped the future of the African continent, Uncle Tim said.

When he went back to Canada, people were not very interested in Uganda, but Barnett remembered the small boy. He believed if people could see the wonderful children, they would be moved and want to help. The African Children’s Choir was born.

Rallying support from the West, Barnett coordinated the first tour of the choir, which successfully brought the voices of 31 children of war-torn Africa to the West. The choir inspired audiences with their stories and raised enough funds to open the first Children’s Home at Makerere. The home provided a stable environment and a quality education for the choir children and additional children who needed care. The success and instant popularity of the first tour encouraged Barnett to continue and a second choir was selected from the children’s home, and the African Children’s Choir began another tour.

The choir’s success meant that it was able to provide for many children beyond those in the choir. Over the next few years, six more children’s homes were established to care for vulnerable children, many of whom had been orphaned during the war. The African Children’s Choir also  established Literacy Schools in Uganda, where hundreds of children learned to read and write and gained confidence and skills that ensured a brighter future, Uncle Tim said.

As the children grew up, the program developed a sponsorship arm where all of the educational needs could continue through secondary school, and in most cases, the children went on to higher education.

Over the past 30-plus years, the children have appeared in thousands of concerts around the world, including at the Pentagon and the United Nations. They have been featured on popular television shows, including “The Tonight Show” and “American Idol.” The Choir performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of the BBC Proms series and performed for the Queen, other royalty and world leaders. They have performed alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry and even recorded music for Hollywood movie soundtracks.

The African Children’s Choir that performed Friday in Ruidoso was composed of children from age 8 to 10, who Auntie Alice said represented the potential of the thousands of children in Africa who are trapped in the cycle of poverty.

At several points during the performance, the audience delivered standing ovations in appreciation for the evening of music, dancing, enthusiasm and positive messages.

Two types of sponsorship are available through Music for Life, a child sponsorship program and choir members sponsorship, or people can submit direct donations or purchases concert CDs, all explained and available at www.africanchildrenschoir.com

Sponsorship is a long-term, monthly commitment that will have a direct impact on the life of a child, and on the lives of their families and communities, according to the information on the website. It is an opportunity to develop a one-on-one relationship; to get to know a particular child and share love, prayers and financial support to help him or her complete their education.