Imagine growing up in an African orphanage or isolated village suffering the depths of poverty with little hope for the future. Then one day someone recognizes your singing and dancing ability and invites you to audition for the African Children’s Choir. Suddenly, the world opens up and you travel to distant lands, places you never dreamed existed.
This happened to Tilas Kyende 20 years ago. Today he is one of two chaperones overseeing 23 children on a year-long tour of the United States. The choir’s “Journey of Hope” charms each city it visits with an uplifting program that displays the dignity, beauty, talent, and promise of children who once were overlooked.
The choir was founded in 1984 by human rights activist Ray Barnett who selected children orphaned during the war in Uganda. Since then, subsequent choirs of needy children have performed in Great Britain, Canada, the United States and many other countries. They have been featured on major TV programs in this country, performed with Sir Paul McCartney in London, and bedazzled those attending Nelson Mandela’s AIDS awareness concert in South Africa. Funding for the tours comes from their performances and well-wishers throughout the world.
During our conversation prior to the ensemble’s recent performance at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Kyende described his own bleak childhood in an orphanage and how his life has been transformed because someone having contact with the choir happened to stop by one day and hear him sing.
“Acting as their chaperone is a wonderful experience for the children and for me,” Kyende said. “It’s nice to remember how it was when I was young, to teach them about other places in the world, and to help them prepare for life. “
During the vicarious journey to Africa, many in the audience discover for the first time that the music and dance throughout the continent is rich in variety. The children from Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa and other countries were raised in quite different cultures. Hence, their songs and dances are unique to their individual experiences. All join in singing the gospel music in English, but present their native songs in more than ten languages.
The children present one to two shows a week and spend three days a week in school where they are taught an advanced curriculum. Like Kyende and other members of past choirs, each child in this choir will return to Africa and be educated in whatever field he or she chooses. The roster of past members includes doctors, lawyers, engineers, business and political leaders, and professional singers. In 2008, Kyende graduated with a degree in business. At the close of the current tour, he will go back home to Kenya and launch his own business.
“We want our audiences to realize that Africa, despite its many problems, has great potential,” Kyende said. “These children from the poorest of circumstances are not only talented, but they are destined to grow up to become leaders and make a new world for others.”
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Tags: Consol Homes, orphan care