Sunday, October 01, 2006

Do You Know Watoto?

Last Sunday night (9/24/06), the Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda, Africa performed in concert at our church. The choir is made up of orphaned children, nine boys and nine girls, most of whose parents died of AIDS or as a result of civil war. These children have found new life and hope in Christ through the Watoto ministry.

We had the privilege of being a host home for three of the Watoto girls and their “Auntie Alice” from Sunday night through Tuesday morning. The girls we hosted—Ezarine, Anita, and Laziya—are pictured above with our children. There is a photo of the lovely Alice below.

Our experience with these precious Ugandans was delightful. The children were sweet, soft-spoken, and incredibly polite. My children adored them, and they played well together. “Auntie Alice” was a wonderful care-giver and role model for the children in her care. Her job on the tour is to manage the shop that sells handmade African gifts and jewelry, and she also manages logistics for the tour. Alice is a graduate of the University of Kampala with a degree in travel and tourism. She is beautiful and gracious, and I consider myself blessed to now have her as a friend.

I encourage you to check out the Watoto web site to learn more about this ministry. More than a thousand orphans are currently being cared for, and the leaders have a vision to minister to thousands more orphaned children throughout Africa as the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to impact the continent. I also encourage you to check the tour schedule and to attend a concert, if one comes to your area. You will be blessed.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I knew you would share this with us! It was a wonderful opportunity for your family and I was blessed to meet them as well. Our family hosted members of the African Children's Choir and it is a great memory for us.

Katy said...

They told us it took fifteen hours for each child. There is NO WAY.