LIFE: observed: The African Children's choir

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The African Children's choir

Tonight I had the joyful honor of going to a performance of the African Children's Choir in a nearby town of New Harmony. The Choir is a made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana. Many of the children have lost one or both parents to AIDS and other poverty-related diseases, and all of them are victims of extreme poverty.

The Choir was founded in 1984 in Uganda as a Christian charity and has expanded since. For each new tour, new children are selected for the choir, with each tour lasting from a year to a year and a half. The choir serves as the main fund raising branch for its parent organization, Music For Life Institute, with proceeds from the choir's work used to fund education and relief efforts for African children affected by poverty and disease. Over 7,000 children in several African nations are currently being supported through the program.

CNN International made a wonderful documentary on the Choir for Inside Africa that aired in January. For those of you who missed it, you can watch the entire documentary right here.

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Caution:

My ramblings might not inspire you.

You might not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee. There are plenty of blogs out there written by very courageous souls who have poetically broken away from main stream society to achieve their goals.

I am a South African serving with Mercy Ships currently stationed in the United States. Mercy Ships, a global charity who has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is following the example of Jesus, by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard to race, gender or religion.

This blog is simply the ramblings of a middle aged man viewing life from the sidelines and might not always be about my work with Mercy Ships.

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.

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