Fresh off the bus from a performance the night before in St. Paul, Paul Musaali is busy preparing for the next show at the Innisfail Alliance Church.
The equipment has been hauled in. The tables, filled with CDs and tour souvenirs, are set up, and the Innisfail show, held in the early evening of April 23, is almost ready to start.
The 26-year-old Ugandan man has been touring with the 28-member Watoto Children's Choir for the past two and a half years. He is one of four adults who perform with 18 children. Their message is always one of hope, and everywhere they go on their six-month Canadian tour it has resonated with audiences from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Alberta.
“We go church to church doing concerts and spreading the story of what God is doing in our villages in Uganda,” said Musaali, whose choir has also been spreading its message of hope for more than 20 years in Asia, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The choir's visit to Innisfail on April 23 was its third.
“They have a good message; a good message of hope and striving to help children in Africa and this is one way they do it,” said Pastor Andrew Rilling, whose Alliance church partnered with the Parkland Community Church to have the choir perform in Innisfail. “They are looking for sponsors, but also to have a good experience over here to encourage us and to get people to help them in their ministry as well.”
The choir is run by the Watoto Child Care Ministries, which was founded in 1994 by Gary and Marilyn Skinner to respond to the housing, social, health and community needs of the millions of children in Africa orphaned as a result of the HIV-AIDS epidemic, or by war. The vision of the Christian-based ministry is to raise and mentor the children to become future leaders of Uganda and other parts of Africa.
“What we aim to do is get those kids, put them in a home. We rescue them off the streets. We raise them to become leaders so they can build our country,” said Musaali, whose tour in Canada began in January and will wrap up in July. “On this tour we are raising awareness on that story, about what is happening in Uganda, and we tell the story of Jesus, and how Jesus can change the life of anyone.”
And the choir's efforts to bring that awareness to Canada comes through its colourful and high-energy performances, a blend of native African rhythms, contemporary gospel music and ethnic dance. Over the years, the choir has released many CDs, including Mambo Sawa, Beautiful Africa, and last year's Oh, What Love.
“It is one where we ventured into writing our own music. A good number of songs were written by people in Uganda. There are a few Christian songs and ones by other artists. But they are mostly homegrown written stuff,” said Musaali, adding the extensive current Canadian tour has also brought its own special message to the members of the choir.
“Canada is way too cold, but the people are really warm,” he said with a wide smile and chuckle. “We have met some really nice people who have been so welcoming and so friendly to us. It has balanced out.”
For more on the mission of the choir and the Watoto Child Care Ministries, visit the website at www.watoto.com
Paul Musaali
"What we aim to do is get those kids, put them in a home. We rescue them off the streets. We raise them to become leaders so they can build our country."
