African Children’s Choir performs at local Marion church

Last Sunday, the African Children’s Choir performed at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church during their morning service times. 

Enid Namugenyi, former African Children’s Choir member and the tour’s head of school, said the choir helps people to see the potential and dignity of African children.

“They’re here to represent other African children and what they can do if they are given the love and support that they need to thrive in life,” Namugenyi said.

Namugenyi said a Canadian man, Ray Barnett, started the choir 41 years ago. Barnett had gone to Uganda to help with relief work when he met a little boy and transported him in his car.

“He met this little boy who sang, and he (Barnett) wanted to help African children and help them be able to get an education,” Namugenyi said. “Most of them had lost their families, so they didn’t have family, so he wanted to do something. When this boy sang in his car for the whole ride, I believe that’s when he got the idea of starting an African children’s choir, and that’s exactly what they named it.”

Namugenyi said the choir has traveled to several countries to raise money for children to attend school. 

“The choir changed my life, really. I was able to go through school, which would not have been the case,” Namugenyi said. “And I was able to study and graduate and be able to impact my community through the skills that I gained in education.”

Namugenyi said participating in the choir also helped her spiritually.

 “The choir also caters for the spiritual needs of children, not just the physical, the financial, or educational needs, but the spiritual as well,” Namugenyi said. “And I was able to grow closer to God, to know Him, and to have a relationship with Him.”

During their performance, the children introduced themselves and shared their dreams for the future. Some said they dreamed of becoming doctors, midwives and teachers. Other dreams included becoming a farmer, a pastor, a surgeon, a college professor and a singer. 

Able Schmitz, Indiana Wesleyan Freshman and Brookhaven attendee, said his favorite part of the performance occurred when the children introduce themselves. 

“It was really adorable, and it gave me a lot of hope,” Schmitz said.

Tony Bye, lead pastor at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church, said bringing the choir to Brookhaven fit well within the church’s values. 

“We believe that God is on the move around the world, just not in our community,” Bye said. “Missions and the global church are very important to us, part of our DNA.”

Bye said that bringing the choir to Brookhaven reinforced what the church believes about God and his global work. 

“It really stretches people and it helps people to see what God is doing, to hear the stories,” Bye said. 

John Walton, executive pastor of Brookhaven Wesleyan Church, said bringing the choir to Brookhaven helped highlight the fact that people live in a world that God loves. 

“When we put him (God) first, and we sing about him, and we live for him, then we come together, and there is a united ingredient in knowing Jesus and who we are in him, that we don’t feel like strangers, even though they’re from a different country,” Walton said. “We feel like brothers and sisters.”