ELSAH, ILL. -- The Uganda Thunder Children's Choir from Africa spent the afternoon at Principia College in the Crafton Center on Thursday- their day off for the week. The kids, ages ranging from 8-16, spend most of their days on the road, touring and singing for different groups and churches. Over 90% of the children singing in the choir are full orphans that live in several different orphanages in Uganda. Thursday they came to Principia to have a day to "just be kids"...playing basketball, running around the track and just relaxing. Before the kids started playing, they did an impromptu song for a few people who were helping to host the group. Their voices were pure, beautiful and soul inspiring, even in the noisy atmosphere of Crafton Center.
The Uganda Thunder Children's Choir was established in correlation with the Royal School and Orphanage that was established by Jalia, a woman with a big heart who couldn't bear to see the needy children on the sides of the road. Without much money, she set up an orphanage that was later supported by the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, and then others who funded the orphanage and made it a more comfortable place to live. The ministry for the Royal School and Orphanage now is fully run by Pennies for Posho. Pennies for Posho is an organization started by Dr. Ted Moody, who is a evangelical preacher from Georgia. Dr. Moody was hit hard when he went to Uganda in February of 2006 for his first mission trip. He couldn't keep the children and villagers out of his mind, they needed so much. In 2007, he asked his fellow pastors to help by donating their vacation bible school money to Uganda, and this is when Pennies for Posho was born. Since posho was the main staple in the Ugandan diet, the name symbolized their ability to raise money for food for these starving people.
The children's choir tours the United States for almost a year, raising money for their orphanages and villages. Different kids tour with each group, but they all have amazing stories to tell. The concerts that the children perform include Uganda drum songs, track songs in the Lugandan language as well as songs in English that are familiar to Americans. The children sing and dance and worship, its truly an amazing experience.
To learn more about the Uganda Thunder Children's choir and Pennies for Posho, click
here. To see the full calendar of the concerts that the Uganda Children's Choir are performing, click
here.
