Ugandan Children Perform to Raise Awareness for Orphans

December 20, 2012

The members of Uganda's Watoto Children's Choir have suffered more than any child should have to -- the loss of parents from war or disease, the horror of being taken as child soldiers in Uganda's devastating civil conflict, abject poverty and the ravages of HIV / AIDS. The group,on a world tour and performing now in the United States, brings a message of hope and resilence in the face of sadness and despair.

Their dances are joyful. Their voices raise awareness about the orphaned children in Uganda.

With vibrant African music, the Watoto Children’s Choir guides audiences through their life-transforming stories.

Gideon Kizito is the Choir’s team leader. "Most of them are orphans who have lost parents one or both parents to HIV / AIDS or war," Kizito explained. "You never get to realize how many more children are out there.

Maria Namukwaya's father abandon the family. She says the saddest day of her life was when her sister Agnes died. "She died because my mother didn’t have enough money to take her to the hospital when she got sick," she said.

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, says 65 percent of children in Uganda are considered orphaned or vulnerable. More than 14 million are orphans.

Majorine Nabulime performs in Washington but her thoughts are with children less fortunate. "Some of them do not have beds and they sleep on the streets and they don’t have food and they don’t have clothes," she stated.