By Elisabeth Strillacci

SALISBURY — For the first time since the pandemic, the Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda is coming back to North Carolina and they will be performing at the Reach Church in Salisbury on March 7 along with two other concerts in Rowan County.

Watoto started as a church in Uganda in 1984, founded by Canadians Gary and Marilyn Skinner. But as the couple began to see the needs, particularly of children, they expanded the church into Watoto villages.

The choirs, which are part of the overall education program, has performed at the Reach Church twice before, once in March of 2015 and again in December of 2018.

“We are so excited to have them coming back,” said Linda Hunt at the Reach Church. “This is the first time they’ve been able to come back since the pandemic and we love having them here.”

Watoto is a family, essentially, for the lost children of Uganda. Children who are orphaned through abandonment or through death, with the once very high death rate from HIV/AIDS, are taken into the villages and raised by a Watoto mother, according to Emma Waller, a U.S. coordinator for the organization.

“We have children who have lost their parents through death, but we also have children who have been left on buses or in fields,” she said. Mothers are hired from the community through an interview and application process, and they move into the village to care for eight children full time. Mothers can bring their own families with them, and their own children can benefit from the Watoto schools and programs as well.

“This is not a six-month job, though,” said Waller, “because you are raising these children. The mothers become the only family they know. The mothers and the other children.”

Ten years ago, Watoto also started a program from vulnerable women. The two-year program offers education on basic life skills as well as job training and business skills.

The children who come into Watoto remain with the organization, which becomes their legal guardian, until they graduate from high school, a trade school or university, said Waller.

The choir is part of the Worship Academy, which focuses on the arts, and students must try out for the choir. It is more than a year-long process, and there is more than one choir touring during the year. A group of 16 children and 10 chaperones train together for five months before leaving on tour, and the current tour is nine months long.

One of the chaperones is a teacher, and students have classes during the week to ensure they do not fall behind in their studies. Chaperones also receive training once they reach the U.S. because there is a live band accompanying the choir, and the chaperones are trained on the equipment.

The tours are fundraisers for the organization, but Weller says the benefits go far beyond raising funds for the villages and for the tours,

“The children gain confidence, and Watoto works to raise leaders,” she said. “You cannot raise leaders without both education and exposure to the world in general. Our children are of course protected, and we make sure they get to have fun in their travels, but they are exposed to life in many different places as well.”

Through the years, Watoto has helped 6,500 children to graduate and go on to live “normal, happy, productive lives,” said Weller.

Watoto has global support offices around the world, including the one where Weller works. She was introduced to Watoto when she was young.

“Growing up our church hosted the choir, and they stay with host families,” she said. “Our family was a host family, and we sponsored a child, and then in college I went on a mission trip to Uganda and got to see life first hand.” At 25, Weller is committed to doing her share to help these children have the best opportunities they can.

The theme of this year’s choir tour is “Better Days,” said Weller, and “it’s based on the message that better days are ahead of us with Jesus. During the performances, a lot of the children share their personal stories of what life was like before, how they came to Watoto and what it has been like since.”

The 16 children, ages 9-13, in the choir represent, currently, 3,500 children in total in the Watoto organization. Anyone wishing to help support the organization financially can purchase merchandise at a concert or get information sponsoring a child, and they can email choir@watoto.us with any questions.

The choir will perform this Sunday, Feb. 23, at the Promise City Church at Salisbury High School at 11 a.m. during the church service, at the Reach Church, 722 W. Horah Street on March 7 at 7 p.m., and at the Refuge Church-Kannapolis on 230 Refuge Way at 6:45 p.m. March 12.