African Children's Choir to perform May 4

The members of the African Children's Choir sing and dance in costumes representing their homeland, but what people remember most is the spirit and passion of the children on stage, said choir manager Tina Sipp.

"They are joyful and energetic and they have these huge smiles," Sipp said. "They really are amazing. They are incredible people and they're great ambassadors for their country and their continent."

For 32 years the choir, a nonprofit organization, has traveled around the United States, and the world, in a humanitarian relief effort to help educate African children. On May 4 the group will be in North Idaho to perform at Harrison Community Baptist Church — free and open to the public.

The choir currently consists of 18 boys and girls, ages 7 through 10, all from Uganda. They sing a combination of contemporary Christian music and inspirational gospel, with "well-loved" children's songs such as "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands," and "This Little Light of Mine."

The goal of the organization is to help create new leadership for tomorrow's Africa by educating the children of today.

"In the countries where we work, if you can just get a high school education your chances of being able to be self-sustaining dramatically increase, so we are meeting a very tangible, very highly perceived need on the part of the people in the areas where we work," Sipp said.

The parent company of the African Children's Choir, Music for Life, works in seven African countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Throughout its history, Music for Life has educated more than 52,000 children.

"It's a small ripple in a big pond of need, but we just trust that it will be multiplied," Sipp said. "If we can help some then they can help others."

The choir children who go on tour are educated through the program, and the funds raised during the course of their tour helps educate 7,000 to 8,000 other children each year as well.

The founder of Music for Life was drawn to Africa in 1984 because war and famine left thousands of children orphaned. Over the years, several of the children who became members of the choir had lost one or both of their parents. Sipp said, while there is no war going on currently, there is still "intense" poverty and without education, that is not going to change.

While the children come from vulnerable backgrounds, Sipp said that is not the point of the choir.

"The point is they have dignity and beauty and potential," she said. "That is the picture that we want to paint."

The children perform four times a week, the bulk of which Sipp said is at churches in towns and communities. But they have also performed for presidents, heads of state, and Queen Elizabeth the II of England at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with artists such as Paul McCartney and Elton John.

Sipp said the group is the oldest traveling children's choir and now has about 1,000 former members. The three African chaperones with the choir are former members as well, and Sipp said it is a "beautiful" part of the story to see them go full circle.

"We are just hoping to kind of show off, I guess, what the return on the investment is in the children and unashamedly and unapologetically ask for support for these children," Sipp said. "They are bright and talented and have every reason to live a very full, independent life."

The concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. May 4. Harrison Community Baptist Church is located at 101 W. Pine St. in Harrison. Phone: 689-3506. Donations are welcome.

Information about the choir: www.africanchildrenschoir.com