It's 22 youthful voices strong.
Beautiful Africa: A New Generation featuring the Watoto Childrens' Choir will visit Prince George March 17 and 18 to offer inspiration and raise awareness for the plight of orphaned African children at three concerts.
During the performance the audience will see 11 girls and 11 boys perform who have benefited from Watoto, a holistic care program. The choir travels internationally as ambassadors for the millions of African children orphaned as a result of HIV/Aids, war and poverty.
"It's joyful music people will hear during the concert," said Sam Kimera, choral director. "You get to hear the children's stories. You get to hear about their past and the difficult situations they've had to go through but ultimately it's the story of the transformation they've had because with Jesus, everything has been possible for them. They have been taken from a place where they were forgotten and abandoned to a place where they have joy in their hearts and a smile on their faces."
The children can now give people a handshake or a hug, look them in the eye and people would never believe they have gone through so much, Kimera added.
"Watoto started as a church before we started helping children," said Sam Kimera, choral director. "Then we realized that there was such a great need in the community, especially in Uganda, East Africa. Many children were left abandoned as a result of war, disease and HIV/Aids itself and someone had to do something, right? So we started to care for about six children and now with partners all over the globe we've been able to raise that number to more than 2,400 children."
Watoto works to not only feed and clothe the children and keep them in school, but also to raise future African leaders, Kimera said.
"The kids aren't a problem, they have great potential and they need someone to help them see that," he added. "That's how the work started and we continue to do that today."
Watoto has another program called Living Hope that takes a preventive angle to orphaned children.
"What if we can keep the moms alive?" asked Kimera. "Then you wouldn't have so many children left without their parents. We provide them with antiretroviral care so they can live longer. There's nothing like a mother's love, so we take care of the ladies. We don't just give them a hand out. We help them with a hand up, teaching them how to make money, start businesses and how to make a living so they can take care of their own children. You cut the problem of the orphaned child at the roots."
During the concert, which is free to the public, there will be an opportunity to donate to help Watoto to continue their good works.
"We call it a love offering and it helps us to go a long way," Kimera said. "The choir is here to raise awareness about the situation in Africa. We know alone we can only do so much and it's only been with the help of individuals and partners around the world that we've been able to care for so many but the problem continues and we have to do more."
Concerts are held Saturday, March 17 at 6 p.m. at Gateway Christian Ministries, 2055 20th Avenue. Sunday, March 18 at 10:30 a.m. at Hart Pentecostal, 6912 Hart Highway as well as 7 p.m. at Westwood Mennonite Brethern Church, 2658 Ospika Boulevard.
For more information on the choir or how to become a sponsor visit www.watoto.com.
