MoVal Welcomes the Watoto Children

It was like traveling across the world into the heart of Uganda, Africa as the children of the Watoto Children’s Choir stepped onto two local stages: The Blessing Center and CrossWinds Church during two recent performances. The children, dressed in colorful traditional African clothing, began to twirl and sing a mixture of Swahili and English and were able to capture their audiences in no time. While the vibrant performances kept the audience members engaged, locals share that it was the message behind the mesmerizing performance that stood out amongst the rest. On stage, the children had nothing but smiles that lit up the room but it was the history of each of their lives that brought meaning into an otherwise amazing show. The Watoto Children’s Choir comes directly from the Watoto Program which was initiated in 1994 by Gary and Marilyn Skinner in Kampala, Uganda in the fight against the overwhelming number of Ugandan children becoming orphans and cases of war, AIDS, and the abandonment of young children. As a holistic care program, Watoto has been bringing orphans into the Children’s Village for years and has “given them a place to live with a new family, where the children are raised in a traditional house with a housemother and other house brothers and sisters” according to Watoto spokesperson, Stephanie Guthrie. Guthrie shares that in the Watoto Children’s Village, children are not only given the opportunity to live a life with a loving family but are also given the education, support, and guidance needed for each of them to grow into independent, productive citizens of Africa. When asked about the purpose of the world tours experienced by the Watoto Children’s Choir ever since they began performing in 1994, Guthrie states that the children “serve as ambassadors to share their stories and raise awareness and support for all of the orphans back home in Uganda as well as all across Africa” which, needless to say, has provided not only the children with hope but also the varying audiences that they have performed for throughout the world. The children have even performed for the White House and the queen of England amongst other political leaders and normal citizens which has proven to show that their message is thoroughly being presented. The children’s choir consists of children between the ages of 6-14 which allows the other children of the three Watoto Children’s Villages a fair opportunity to experience the life-changing adventure of touring and performing. And once a child reaches the age of fourteen the Watoto program supports him or her until he or she graduates from college. The choir has been touring for the past six months, beginning on December 14, 2013 in Queen Creek, Arizona and holding some of its most recent performances in Moreno Valley. The children are traveling all across the west coast of the United States performing free and open to the public shows in an effort to spread their message of faith and hope throughout their tour. The Watoto Children’s choir has had almost 64 tours world-wide and has visited countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, France and the U.S, among others. The group will continue to tour until April 4, 2014 where their efforts will draw to a close in Washington. For further information on the tour schedule or to enjoy videos of recent performances find the link by locating this article on Moreno Valley's front page at www.citynewsgroup.com.