AIDS orphans sing for peace

BERWICK is set to open its arms to a group of abandoned African orphans who find peace in the sounds of their traditional music.
The Watoto Children’s Choir will perform several concerts throughout the City of Casey with a message that change is possible even in the face of suffering.
Local audiences have the opportunity to hear first-hand how these children, who are AIDS orphans, have found solace in Watoto Child Care Ministries.
The choir performed several concerts in the area last year and left the audiences enthralled at the music, costume colour and bright smiles on show.
Director Mark Bradshaw said each member of the choir, which consists of 18 children, had lost either one or both parents to the AIDS pandemic.
“One Watoto girl, Irene, was abducted a few years ago and escaped. She was a sex slave at age 13 and had a baby to one of her captors, though the baby died,” Mr Bradshaw said.
“We’re talking about children who couldn’t be more removed from the normal rites of passage most Australian teenagers experience.”
The choir will perform four free concerts over a week, two at the Berwick Church of Christ and two at Westfield Fountain Gate.
“The Watoto children have had their innocence ripped out from underneath them and been forced to grow up after finding themselves isolated without a primary care giver who could adequately meet their needs,” Mr Bradshaw said.
The church has organised the performances to help raise money to build a classroom for the Watoto Child Care Ministries in Uganda.
The choir will perform at the Berwick Church of Christ on Friday, 3 August, at 7.30pm and Sunday, 5 August, at 10am. Westfield performance will take place on Saturday, 4 August, at 12.30pm and 2.30pm. For more information contact 9702 1011.