The Forsaken

The African Children's choir

Over break, I had the privilege of attending a performance by the African Children's choir. (forgive the poor pic quality, my beau was learning to manipulate a new camera) The children in the choir ranged in age from 5-12 years of age, and had lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, famine, or war. These beautiful children are part of the Music for Life program, a Christian Humanitarian program that raises funds for these children to give them a better chance at life. The children were precious, energetic, articulate, hopeful. They sang at a church on campus, and brightened a bleak, cold and rainy day. I, however, always critical, felt very torn by their performance. Here we have African children, touring the world putting on their own benefit concert. They solicited for monies and support, and encouraged us to buy their cd's, DVD's, tapes, etc. These beautiful African youth, so innocent, have come into a world where the plight of African peoples is so bleak, that at such a young age, they have become professional beggars. These kids have mastered English, and sang English church music, as well as US popular music, such as "Lean on Me." To me, this smacked of the colonialism that has raped and exploited the rich continent of Africa, and subsumed many of its traditions.

Africa, as a continent of nations, has a bleak future. Generations are being wiped out by AIDS, which will result in the loss of traditions, history, love. Children are raising themselves, and their siblings, causing them to get less education, and likely relegating them to jobs that will never pay well. This is a cycle that must be broken, and yet, a small choir of ambitious youth will not achieve this. The small amounts of money that will be dedicated to this choir will have such a small effect in comparison to the monumental effort that is needed to save and restore Africa. Perhaps by learning at a young age, that Africans must beg for their own right to survive and exist, they will figure out how to later do this on a political level, and bring substantive change to their countries, their continent. In the meantime though, my heart is sad, and I will go back to watching Hotel Rwanda and the Lost Boys of the Sudan, and cry for mother Africa.