During the brutal reign of Idi Amin in Uganda, hundreds of thousands of children were orphaned or left starving to death. After his demise — inspired by the singing of one small child — founder and human rights activist Ray Barnett and a team of volunteers recruited the first choir from among the orphans.

Bringing music and dance featuring more than 10 languages and unique cultural dancing from their homeland, the African Children’s Choir will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 16 at Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on the campus of Shawnee State University.

“This is one of the most exciting events of the year,” said Carl Daehler, executive director of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. “These children are incredible and will lift your spirits. You won’t

want to miss them.”

The choir will also perform for local school children from Ohio and Kentucky at noon on Tuesday, March 17 at SSU’s Vern Riffe Center.

The choir began in 1984 from orphaned children in the Kampala and Luwero areas of Uganda. Today, the choir performs throughout the world spreading joy and inspiration and calling attention to the plight of the children of Africa.

From their performances, the African Children’s Choir is caring for several thousand underprivileged children throughout Africa, focusing on education, among other things. The first choir built an orphanage in Kampala. More than 700 children have been in the choir since its inception with the funds they earned bringing education and hope to the orphans and at-risk children of Africa.

The event is sponsored by Student Affairs as part of Black History Month. The African Children’s Choir can be seen on its Web site at www.africanchildrenschoir.com and on You Tube.

Source: Shawnee State University

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