The African Children's Choir will visit Missouri for three performances Sunday, two of which are in Jefferson City.
The choir will be preforming at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Solid Rock Family Church, then later in Waynesville at the United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. These concerts are free and open to all, but donations will be collected on behalf of the programs the choir supports.
"They sing a mixture African songs and dances and they also sing English songs with just a little bit if a twist," said Carrie Lyman, tour leader with choir 42. "The children only tour for one tour at time and then they go back to Africa and continue their education. Being a part of the choir helps ensure that they can go to school at a university."
There are two choirs at a time and the other, choir 43, will be touring the East Coast. There have been 41 prior choirs, Lyman said.
The choir has performed with Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey and many others, according to a press release from the choir. They have also preformed for Queen Elizabeth II, and their music will be featured in upcoming film "Pan" with Hugh Jackman.
The choir started after Ray Barnett, a humanitarian, took a trip to war-torn Uganda in 1984, during a bloody civil war, to help orphaned children. Barnett gave a ride home to a child who sang to him and from that came the inspiration for the choir.
"When I went back to Canada and people were not very interested in Uganda, I remembered this small boy," Barnett said. "I knew that if only a group of these beautiful children could go to the West, people would be deeply moved and would certainly want to help."
The first choir was started in 1984 with orphaned children from the Kampala and Luwero areas of Uganda. The proceeds from their first tour funded an orphanage in Kampala. Later the choir helped establish multiple literacy schools and six more children's homes that helped house more orphans from the civil war, according to the choir's website.
The parent organization for the choir is Music for Life (MFL). This organization works in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa to provide support for education, development and relief programs. MFL has helped educate more than 52,000 children and help many others, including those affected by the AIDS pandemic.
"We encourage people to come out and enjoy the concert and give what they can to help support the ministry," Lyman said.