African Choir of AIDS Orphans Entertains Churches in the Holy Land  
Sponsoring church hopes to care for 10,000 aids orphans, raise future African leaders

The Watoto Children's Choir, made up of Ugandan children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa, entertained at in the Holy Land at Christian churches, at the Christian celebrations of the Feast of the Tabernacles and at other venues during their two-and-a-half week concert tour in October.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Joan Lipis, the coordinator of the tour, exclaimed that "It was amazing how there was no difference in reaction among the secular and religious communities. In fact, the Watoto choir got more of a response from secular audiences when they talked about God."

The choir celebrates the love and hope they have found in God while raising awareness of the scourge of AIDS and other problems plaguing Africa. Despite their tragic backgrounds, the children are electrifying and their joy infectious when they are on stage.

"At one local school, the place was just going wild and a pastor from Abu Ghosh said it was a major breakthrough, because many of the local school children had developed hard hearts towards God," Lipis told the Jerusalem Post.

At performance at Ein Gedi, a national park and historical oasis that serves as a sanctuary for many types of plant, bird and animal species, over 6,000 Christians gathered for the event and the opening of the annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration.

As reported by the Jerusalem Post,, "the Ugandan church that sponsors the Watoto choir is ultimately hoping to care for over 10,000 AIDS orphans and raise them as future leaders in Africa. Edward, a manager of the Watoto choir, explained that there are over two million AIDS orphans in Uganda alone.  'We need to rescue so many children, and this motivates us to travel the world singing, spreading hope and finding sponsors willing to help with this worthy cause. At the end of the day, we are helping children to get their life back,' he said. "