• The choir accepts “Love Offerings” to fund education for thousands of impoverished African children.

Twenty African children, ages seven to twelve, are bringing their vibrant music, costumes, and smiles to the Emmanuel Bible Church at 53 Tyler Lane in Thayne to present a concert on Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m.

According to a press release issued by the choir, “The African Children’s Choir is more than just a choir. It’s part of a larger, international, Christian organization called Music for Life, which provides thousands of impoverished children throughout Africa with the education, discipleship, and leadership skills needed to rise above their conditions so they can bring positive, lasting change to their families, communities and countries.”

While spending time in Uganda during the civil war of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Music for Life founder, Ray Barnett, was so taken with the joy of soul that the orphaned children demonstrated that he determined to help them build upon that character, creating a program that provides relief and development programs in seven African countries, and lifting children from their orphaned and impoverished circumstances through their natural gifts of music.

“Ray was so taken by the resiliency and the beauty, dignity and potential of the [African children],” said Tina Sipp, who serves as Manager for the choir, in an interview with SVI News last week. “[The Music for Life program] started with trying to help orphans and get them into a living situation with education.  Nearly forty years later, we’ve helped educate over 58,000 children and we now have about 1500 former choir children.”

“The choir is our primary fundraising arm as an organization to support several education programs for orphaned children and for the choir children themselves,” explained Sipp. “Their participation in the choir guarantees their education through the university level, so they now will become the one educated person in their family. The hope of all this is to break families out of that cycle of poverty because without an education, it’s very difficult to do that. This is a really wonderful experience for them.”

Choir members are selected based on personal and family needs, and then trained thoroughly for six months in preparation for each tour.  With a primary focus to educate as many children as possible, “this is a chance to profoundly change the trajectory of real lives,” shared Sipp. “It doesn’t matter if you give $5 or $25 or $100 or $1,000. Any money that goes toward this program will profoundly change the course of a life. I just think that’s a wonderful opportunity, because we’re often asking ourselves, ‘What can I do?  I’m not there. I don’t have a lot of money.’  If we all do a little, we can do a lot.”

Four of the adult chaperones who accompany these children participated in the choir as youth.  As part of the concert program, these adults share the story of their experience with the choir and the ways their lives have been changed because they were able to be part of the program.  These adults have now each completed a university level education.  They are working on their own initiatives to improve living conditions in the slums and communities where they were raised.

“They are doing something with what they’ve been given, and to me, it’s one thing to give a child an education, but it’s another thing to give them a heart,” shared Sipp. “I think that’s why I love what we’re doing because we are investing in the heart of these children and giving them a love for God and for others – the heart to make their own impact, and it doesn’t matter how far reaching it is in God’s economy.  I think that’s part of the message of the children. We think we have so much, and we do materially, but when you see the children, you realize that they are so rich in soul and character. I think there’s this beautiful exchange. We are giving materially and they are giving to our souls, and I think that is what people really connect with when they see the children. We think, “Look at the joy they have in spite of their circumstance!’ It’s a beautiful thing.”

Admission to the concert is free, but “Love Offerings” of any amount are gratefully accepted.