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You are here: Home / Announcements / Choir sings for the voiceless

Choir sings for the voiceless

May 25, 2012 by Richard Allen Roe Leave a Comment

By Rhiannon Horrell
 
AUKLAND, NZ — A softly spoken Ugandan boy who is in the country as part of a travelling children’s choir is matter-of-fact about his upbringing in the east African nation.

Geoffrey Oyaka, 12, says he lost his parents as a child.  “I lost my mother to HIV/Aids. My father was abducted by rebels. He never returned. No-one knows if he’s alive or not. I left with my grandmother. Life was very hard.”  He says a social worker came to support him.

“We didn’t even have a bed to sleep in. Watoto came and rescued me.”  Watoto Ministries is based in Kampala, Uganda, and takes care of more than 2500 orphaned and vulnerable children.  Geoffrey is part of the globally acclaimed Watoto Children’s Choir which is in New Zealand until June 10, performing free concerts, including one in the city this Sunday.  The group of 21 children aged from eight to 14, and 10 adults, is being hosted by Mt Roskill-based aid agency Tear Fund.

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