Cathedral of St Mary and St Helen Brentwood

Watoto Childrens' Concert

31 January 2012

On a cold late January evening some of the sun of Uganda came to Brentwood in the form of the Watoto Children’s Choir. The event, jointly organised by the Commission for Justice and Social Responsibility and Brentwood Music, was attended by over 500 people. The Choir was brought together under the leadership of Pastor Peter Jordan of Sawyers Hall Church, Brentwood.

This concert was part of a much wider tour for the choir who had a full programme in the area including events at South Weald and the following day at a school in Dagenham.

The evening proved to be a great success. It was particularly moving to hear the children and the older members of the choir relate their experiences both before and after joining the choir. There was a wonderful sense of happiness, contentment and peace through their performance. It was an inspiration for all who attended that this energy emerged from a life of hardship.

The Watoto African Children’s Choir is made up of children from Uganda all of whom have been orphaned through aids, poverty and war. They have visited the Brentwood area in the past and performed concerts and worked in some of the local schools. The concerts help increase awareness of some of the challenges in African countries and raise money for the Watoto Project. The concerts have always attracted great local interest with hundreds of people attending and the choir have previously performed in Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, The Commonwealth Games and The Whitehouse. This  choir will be in the UK for six months and will be performing at several events leading up to the Olympics as the Olympic Torch travels through the country.

For more about the Watoto Project click www.watoto.com.

For more information on Social Justice issues, contact cjsr@dioceseofbrentwood.org.

For more on Music at the Cathedral click here

(Andrew Wright)

Photos supplied by Watoto