Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 2-10-17

Local
African Orphans, The Watoto Dancers To Perform On March 7th
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
A musical act that soon is coming to Tampa Bay may not attract a record crowd at Amalie Arena, but is likely to make a great impact nonethe- less.
The Watoto Children’s Choir will bring its newest show, “Oh, What Love,” tour to the Tampa Bay area with a special performance Tuesday, March 7 at MorningStar Church in Tampa. The concert is FREE, however donations are welcomed.
The Tampa Chapter of the Links, Inc., will host a dinner for the choir during its visit. The dinner is part of the orga- nization’s International Trends programming, said Ruby Brown, chair of the chapter’s International Trends and Services committee.
Over the years, the Tampa Chapter has regularly engaged in international humanitarian projects in countries like Haiti, Jamaica, and South Africa.
This is the first time it will serve as host for the Watoto Dancers, whose performance
is guaranteed to be “amazing,” said Brown, who has seen the choir in concert.
“They are fantastic,” she said.
Link members are excited to welcome the choir to Tampa, said Sylvia An- drews, co-chair of the chap- ter’s International Trends and Services committee.
THE WATOTO DANCERS
When Brown suggested the idea of hosting the dinner, committee members immedi- ately signed on, Andrews said.
“We wanted to do some- thing for them,” she said. “We just happened to get lucky.”
Founded in 1994 in Kam- pala, Uganda by Marilyn and Gary Skinner, the Watoto
Children's Choir is part of Wa- toto Child Care Ministries, which houses its U. S. offices in Lutz. The organization op- erates projects in Uganda and South Sudan where it provides medical care, shelter, and ed- ucation to women and chil- dren displaced by civil unrest in those countries.
More than 3,000 orphans
are currently in the care of the ministry. The choir is com- prised of the orphans, who tour the world sharing a mes- sage of hope and persever- ance.
Hearing songs of love and peace from children whose lives have been devastated by war is an experience that’s in- describable, said Aubrey Hudson, Watoto communi- cations director.
“These kids are so joyful and they have a mindset to spread this mission,” she said. “They use the challenges they have, with the help of Christ, to...share that hope.”
Before its Tampa concert, the choir will perform exten- sively at venues in the Bay Area including Sarasota, Bran- don, and St. Petersburg.
If You Go
The Watoto Children’s Choir will perform its newest show, “Oh, What Love,” at 7 p. m. at MorningStar Church, 5102 W. Linebaugh Ave., in Tampa.
For more information about the choir, visit www.wa- toto.com.
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