On Centre: Bald Eagle Area

Concert spotlights poverty

Chris Rosenblum

Several Bald Eagle Valley churches have joined the fight against poverty in Africa — through music.

The United Methodist congregations are sponsoring a concert by an African Children’s Choir group at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Bald Eagle Area High School auditorium. Admission is free, but donations for humanitarian aid will be accepted. African Children’s Choir, a ministry started in 1984 during a civil war in Uganda, sends choirs on tours through the United States and Europe, raising money for education, food, clean water and other necessities. According to the

organization, choir members consist of “some of the neediest and most vulnerable children in their countries.”

Singers ages 7 to 11 start in “Music for Life” camps full of crafts, games and music. Ones chosen for tours first spend about five months learning songs and dances and attending school at the Choir Training Academy in Kampala, Uganda.

After returning home, they resume their education at the Music for Life Primary School in Kampala or at similar schools in their respective countries. In small classes, a luxury where crowded, understaffed schools are the norm, they take a wide range of subjects, including computers. Scholarships fund secondary studies and professional training.

Programs benefit communities in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, Sudan and Nigeria. More information can be found at www.africanchildrenschoir.com. Inspiration for the concert came from the Central Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Conference’s traditional support for charity in Sierra Leone, said Pastor Doug Mellott, of the Runville United Methodist Church. Mellott said the children coming hail from near the nation.

“We’re really excited to let people see this,” Mellott said. “It’s a different culture coming to the Bald Eagle area.”

The Rev. Carl Hill, of the Milesburg United Methodist Church, led the effort to book the program of African and gospel songs. Also backing the performance are the Howard, Faith Chapel, Curtin, Yarnell, Pleasant Valley and Bald Eagle Valley churches.

Mellott offered special thanks to school officials for making the auditorium available. “They went out of their way,” he said.

He hopes to see many of the more than 500 seats filled — the larger the audience, the better the gift to impoverished children.

“We don’t dip into any of that,” Mellott said. “It’s totally 100 percent for them.”

Chris Rosenblum writes a weekly column about happenings in the Bald Eagle area. Send him news atcrosenbl@centredaily.com or call 231-4620.