Eye-opening tour for choir African Childrens Choir brings hope

By Bo Emerson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The pure, sweet sound of children's voices filled the sanctuary at the First United Methodist Church on Wednesday night in College Park, followed by the rolling thunder of a quartet of African drummers.

Two dozen children, dressed in purple and orange, leaped, swayed and pranced across the altar, knees and elbows flying, singing a call-and-response anthem in one of the many tribal languages of Uganda.

The follow-up, a contemporary praise song transformed with an island beat, was familiar to most Protestant churchgoers: "Lord I Lift Your Name on High."

Hearing that Christian radio staple in this setting was just one of the contrasts brought by an evening with the African Children's Choir.

Also in contrast: the poverty and violence of their worlds and the explosive joy of these children. Their North American tour will give visitors at several Atlanta-area churches a chance to see such performances until mid-May.

The choir was organized in 1984 by Anglican priest Ray Barnett to help care for the 150,000 children orphaned by the oppressive reign of Idi Amin. Barnett and a team of volunteers brought the first choir of 35 orphans to North America that year, and through their performances raised enough money to build the Makerere Children's Home in Uganda.

Since then, 35 choirs have been organized, touring continuously to fund schools in east and south Africa and help thousands of children get an education.

"A lot of these kids have seen things that we could never imagine seeing in the West," said Andrew Stanley, 22, one of the tour volunteers helping to stage the concerts and run the sound and lighting systems.

"The African Children's Choir has been home for me since I was 4 years old," said choir director Frank Luyinda, 26. "Today I have a degree in psychology and counseling as a result."

He also has an attentive corps of young musicians who follow his every gesture, performing the entire one-hour concert without notes, much of it a cappella.

He doesn't need to point out mistakes, said Nelson Ayikobua, a 12-year-old from Uganda with punctilious manners and great skills as a salesman. "Uncle Frank teaches us how to correct ourselves," he said.

His salesmanship comes into play near the end of the show when he announces: "There are three ways to take us home with you: CDs, DVDs and T-shirts!"

Nelson has been with the organization since he was 8 years old, but this is his first tour. Luyinda said sometimes the children miss foods from home, such as mandazi, a fried dough eaten at breakfast, but Nelson seemed very happy with the American menu. Especially with hamburgers.

"We had them tonight!" he said, praising the burgers that First Methodist members cooked for the children in the church kitchen.

The choir has performed in Atlanta before, notably at the Ferst Center on the Georgia Tech campus, and has had appearances with singer Josh Groban and on "American Idol."

This group of performances are all at churches and are staged free of charge, though donations are sought to support the organization.

For more information, go to www.africanchildrens choir.com.

Faith and values

Faith & Values