Looking into the eyes of 12-year old Camela, one would never know that she was an “AIDS orphan” from Uganda. Her eyes and her stories mirror not the tragedies of the past, but the promise and hope of the future, and the happiness and sense of community provided by the Matsiko Children’s Choir, currently touring California. On Dec. 19, the choir performed at a sold-out show at the West Sacramento-based Center for Spiritual Awareness. Matsiko, which means “hope” in Swahili, provides just that to the 29 at-risk children in the choir.

The children, dressed in bold yellows, oranges and reds, delivered a performance full of infectious energy, continually engaging their audience with hugs, handshakes, personal testimonials, and stories. Their songs alternated between English and Swahili, familiar hits like “Joyful, Joyful” and somber tributes to the power of education and the beauty of Uganda. Hands and ankles kept the beat on huge wooden drums and small percussion instruments. The children in Matsiko are energetic, motivated and very bright. The choir has been touring the United States for seven months and, in that time, many of the children have learned English. Before the performance, Camela explained that, with the support of her sponsors at International Children's Network, she intends to attend a university. The seventh-grader said she considers her choirmates brothers and sisters, "except we don't fight!" She cited the highlights of the tour: swimming in pools in Idaho, seeing the mountains in Montana and eating french fries. Camela said she's looking forward to visiting Oregon next week, a state roughly the size of Uganda.

Camela and the other children speak with confidence and ease about their experiences with Matsiko. Don Windham, who founded ICN in 2001, attributes this to the pride the children take in representing a “glimmering future” or inspiration for “what can be” to orphans and at-risk children all over the world. The numbers of these children is estimated at 600 million, and they gain a face through the Matsiko Children's Choir. Windham called the choir “something like the Mouseketeers of Uganda,” bringing in sponsorships so at-risk youngsters can enroll in school, all the way through university. Windham assures that 98 cents of every dollar contributed to ICN sponsorship goes to its intended purpose -- futures for the children. “We see that they can become doctors or lawyers, and go back to their villages and make a difference …and this is possible because it's beyond politics, its just working together,” Windham said.

The choir's message of hope was warmly received by the audience at the Center for Spiritual Awareness. The Rev. Georgia Prescott, with the center, organized the event and said she hoped it would be “the first of many multicultural events, because they reflect the diversity of our church.” The center invites the public to its observation of Kwanzaa on Dec. 27.
For more information on the Center for Spiritual Awareness, go to www.csasacramento.org.
For more information about International Children’s Network, go to www.icnchildren.net.
For more information about Matsiko Children’s Choir, visit www.myspace.com/icnchoir.

Photos curtesy of Julie Jenkins Sathe