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Seventeen children from Uganda recently flew into North Carolina's capital ahead of their musical performance in Mint Hill today. They’re part of the African Children’s Choir, which is now on a tour of about 100 cities. The program has been around for 41 years and has included choirs meeting royalty and a former U.S. president. Ahead of their performance, WFAE’s Elvis Menayese spoke with the choir manager, a choir member, and an adult chaperone who had been a choir singer. Here’s that conversation, starting with Tina Sipp, the manager who first saw them perform in the early '90s in Washington state.
Tina Sipp: A friend took me to this concert, and not being necessarily a person who had spent a lot of time with children, I was surprised that I was so magnetized to the children. I was very captivated by their spirit.
Menayese: You transitioned from a volunteer to a manager — a role you’ve held for 20 years. Can you tell just a bit about why the children travel to places like the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. to perform?
Sipp: It's just to build awareness. It’s not that people don’t know there's a need in Africa. I think the awareness we are trying to bring is the beauty, dignity, and potential of these children. Instead of camping on their challenges, needs or poverty.
Menayese: Minister Ray Barnett started the choir after a humanitarian trip to Uganda. He once gave a child a ride to a nearby village after his home was destroyed. The child sang for him during that journey. Barnett would go on to say that if a group of children could go to the West, people would be moved to help. Barnett passed away last year at the age of 87. Sipp, what do you think Barnett saw in the kids and people in the West that made him believe people would set up?
Sipp: He saw people as human first. It doesn't matter skin tone, it doesn't matter ethnicity, it doesn't matter background of any kind. They're people first, and if they're in need, he wanted to help. He was a man of great compassion. He was a man from the Western world, so he knew the heart of the Western world that they love to respond to need. We've had churches, sponsors, host families and a myriad of other people who have stood with us in helping over 59,000 children now.
Menayese: Eleven-year-old Mark Jingo is one of the children who will be performing in Mint Hill. Mark, how does it feel to be in America for the first time?
Mark Jingo: It feels good. I don’t want to go back. It’s better than Uganda.
Menayese: Haha! Mark, are there any big differences between America and Uganda?
Jingo: America, they don’t have a lot of trash.
Menayese: We do have some trash, you just haven’t seen it yet, haha. When we spoke after you landed, you mentioned that you noticed the roads are different. Can you tell us how?
Jingo: There are street lights on the road, and you don’t have potholes.
Menayese: We do have some potholes, haha, but you are just lucky enough to have not come across any yet, and hopefully it stays that way. I’m told one of your favorite songs to sing is "This Little Light of Mine." With your big voice, can you sing some of it for us?
Jingo: Yes! This light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
Menayese: Thank you, that was superb. I’m going to turn over to you, Daniel Tamale. You're one of four adult chaperones with the kids. You came here in 2007 when you were nine years old. Do you remember much from your time here?
Tamale: I remember much from my tour as a child, especially the hospitality of the people I came across. So, back at home in our culture, we are so expressive. We handshake, we hug, and being a child, I was expecting something a little new when I came to the U.S. But I was so happy to notice that on this side, it’s done even more. So, I felt welcomed and happy to be in the U.S.
Menayese: That’s great to know you felt that way. And during the course of the program, the children have met the likes of Nelson Mandela, actor Will Smith, and Queen Elizabeth for her Jubilee, which is a major celebration of a monarch's reign. They were also part of an official song by British singer Gary Barlow and other musicians that pays tribute to the occasion. Let’s listen to that song. It doesn’t stop there. They’ve also met former President George Bush. Daniel, you met him. Do you remember how you felt meeting a former president?
Tamale: Coming close to the White House was a dream come true, because I only saw it in movies, but being there and being there with the president was such a big highlight of my tour.
Menayese: Why was that? And did it look better in person than in the movies?
Tamale: Haha! It was good to attach a face to the name. I knew I was meeting one of the most important people in the country. He was open to meeting us. He showed us a lot of love. He gave us his time. And for me, that was special because a president putting time aside to meet us, and get to know us personally, their names, ask, ‘where are they coming from?’ That was special.
Menayese: Daniel, this is a stressful time in the U.S. for immigrants, refugees and international visitors. The politics are nasty. Does this year’s trip feel different from the time you came before?
Tamale: The ease of coming to the U.S., yeah, certain things have been made different. And that means the timings are A) longer to have papers processed. And that is really the main difference.
Menayese: Do you think that would put some people off coming to America? In terms of wanting to pursue a career here?
Tamale: I think in the long run, the opportunities that were there before have tended to shift a little bit.
Menayese: Daniel, many African Americans here have roots in Africa, but some may not know much about that part of their African culture. How do you think the choir can help those connect with those roots or simply learn more about the continent?
Tamale: What the choir does best is provide an environment of identity because we do have hymns in our concert programs. Through these hymns and helping people to identify themselves and love who they are will help many to quickly identify with their culture. Because we do want to preach a message of love, a message of brotherhood in the hymns, speeches and the testimonies that we have in the program.
The African Children’s Choir, which is on a tour of about 100 cities, will be performing Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Arlighton Baptist Church at 7 p.m. The event is free to attend.
