The Watoto Children’s Choir returns to Williams Lake this Thursday for their We Will Go album tour.
Since 1994 Watoto Children’s Choirs have travelled the globe bringing a message of hope for Africa’s most vulnerable children and women. Both the album and tour called We Will Go will present this story of empowerment in the face of the adversity while introducing the future leaders of Africa to the world.
The children have the distinct privilege of telling people, “It’s possible to have joy, to laugh and to have hope, no matter what you’re going through.”
The Choir Leader for the Canadian We Will Go Tour coming to Williams Lake is Aggrey Mugisha, who said this is the 99th children’s choir his church has organized. Williams Lake is when of their first stops on a six-month tour across Canada that started in Vancouver and will end on the east coast.
The Watoto Church Mugisha belongs to has, for years now, taken children from Uganda and East Africa and taught them the two central tenants of their church: Celebrating Christ and caring for their community. Mugisha said they do this by taking in vulnerable youth and children, who have often lost one or more parents or been abandoned by them, and raising them into “the people God wants them to be.”
Read More: Watoto Children’s Choir performs at Cariboo Bethel June 29
Overs the year Watoto has helped close to 5,000 children in vulnerable situations. One of the ways they do this is through the choir, which gives them a chance to leave Uganda and see what’s going on in the rest of the world. Mugisha believes by seeing good things they will reflect them back as they become future leaders of Uganda.
Thus far, Mugisha said the children have been loving visiting Canada and are getting acclimated to the weather. For himself, this is his sixth choir tour, though it is his first time in Canada.
The purpose of this tour is the promotion of their new album, We Will Go, which Mugisha said is all about challenging people to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their communities.
“Whoever comes to the concerts should be able to go out (after) and turn their community around and do something good in their community,” Mugisha said. “Do something good for their neighbour, go something good and we tell that story through singing and dancing.”
Mugisha’s choir is made up of 17 children and 11 adults to chaperone and care for the children, as well as sing. The entire choir will perform at the Cariboo Bethel Church in Williams Lake at 6:30 p.m. this Thursday with the whole community welcome to attend for free.
“(People) should come because they will get inspired, motivated by knowing what God has done in some of these children’s lives. We encourage them that, no matter what has happened in the past, God can still use you for something great and that you can actually realize your dreams,” Mugisha said. “It’s going to be a great performance, great dances, great music it is going to be awesome.”
We Will Go is available for download on iTunes along with the rest of choir’s extensive library.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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