African Children’s Choir to visit Bloomington

In 1989 Victor Thiessen quit his job, moved out of his apartment and joined the African Children’s Choir, an organization he knew very little about at the time.

“I had friends at church that were traveling with the choir,” Thiessen said. “They strongly encouraged me to come on tour.”

He admitted it was risky, but has no regrets with his decision.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it since the first day,” Thiessen said.

The African Children’s Choir was created in 1984 after Ray Barnett traveled to Uganda and rescued about 30 children from poverty. Barnett soon created a choir and began touring.

The choir typically consists of children ages 7 to 11 from poor families.

Now the choir is touring the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, including a stop in Bloomington.

The group coming to Bloomington consists of 15 children from Uganda and will perform May 29 at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship and Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.

Thiessen is the tour leader and a chaperone for this group, along with fellow chaperone and head of the choir, Mary Kirabo.

Kirabo, originally from Uganda, joined the choir in 1995 as a student, and then decided she wanted to give back to the program and help the new children involved.
In addition to performing three to four concerts per week, or about 200 during the year, the children receive schooling.

“The best thing for the kids is that they will get a full education,” Thiessen said. “They love going to school.”

Thiessen said since the program was created, more than 1,000 children have gone on tour and received a complete education.

“There’s a marvelous success rate,” Thiessen said. “They are so eager and bright.”

Kirabo said receiving an education is one of the best parts of the program because of the opportunities it opens up for the children.

“If you don’t give up, there’s a lot there for you,” Kirabo said.

While on tour, the children also spend time with the host families they stay with.

“We share our culture with other believers,” Kirabo said. “We learn from each other.”

While the children love going to school and learning from the host families, Thiessen said performing is still the favorite part for many of them.

“The concerts are probably the highlight of their week,” he said. “The entire experience of the tour is just amazing for them.”

With 80 minutes filled with about 20 songs ranging from contemporary Christian to older hymns to African music, Thiessen said he is certain the concert will be enjoyable for audience members as well as the children.

“It’s a great performance,” he said. “Everyone from two to 102 will love the concert.”


SINGING ON SUNDAY
- 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. May 29 Cornerstone Christian Fellowship
- 6:30 p.m. May 29 Sherwood Oaks Christian Church
- Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
- T-shirts and CDs will also be sold.