2 DAYS UNTIL THE MWANGAZA CHOIR RETURNS TO UGANDA!

The Mwangaza Children's Choir has left the US and is en route to their home in Uganda! Mwangaza is an outreach program of Africa Renewal Ministries. The name Mwangaza is a Kiswahili word meaning "Shining Light".   This children’s choir has toured the USA, Netherlands and Germany since 2004. Through song and dance, they share message of hope and the love of Jesus Christ to millions of people they meet . These children are also enrolled in our child development program and are able to share their experiences about being ARM sponsored children. They represent orphans, the poverty stricken, and former street children.

They are such a blessing to other children in our programs and are proof that they believe in the messages they share. Nothing will stop them from reaching out and touching and positively transforming other people’s lives the way theirs have been transformed. The bright colors of their costumes show the gladness and brightness of their hearts. You have only to listen to someone talk about them and you will fall in love with who they are and what they do. When you have heard them sing, their lovely and warm voices will forever bless your heart.

What makes them very fascinating is the love they have for other needy and disadvantaged children as well as their never- ending desire to show the world that they are grateful for what God has done and can do for millions of other people round the world. One of the ways they do this is by sharing their individual testimonies. Because of this, many have been inspired to have faith and hope in God and many who have heard their testimonies devote their lives to Christ.

The choir tour has made it possible for these children to meet new friends and has brought them closer to each other. The current choir has been on tour since January 2011 and returns 6 months later on June 26. It was led by Kathryn Wilson from USA, and representatives from ARM- Henry Muguluma, Grace Nakate and Edith Nakavuma. In preparing to welcome them back from the tour we asked children and staff from our projects to write down what they wanted to say to them. The response showed excitement and many expressed their love and appreciation for these dear friends from the Mwanganza Choir. This is what they had to say:

“Looking forward to having you back”- Joselyn, ARM.

"We are glad to have you back- feel at home" - Mela.

“I can’t wait to see you back!!!”- Jackie.

“Welcome back Ram”- Bethany Nalukenge.

“Welcome back carol”-Bethany.

“Can’t wait to see you!!!”- Liz, ARM.

“Welcome back Unity”

“Welcome back Vatican.”- Kizza.

“Welcome back Ajib Esther with a smile”- Agnes.

“Welcome back Sarah with a peck”- Jackie.

“Welcome back Akol Donnah”- Winnie.

“Welcome back Ajibo and Rebecca”- Esther.

“Mukulikeyo”- Friend.

“Well be back from the USA nicety.”

“Home is smiling for your return.”

“Welcome back home Angella and Ajibo”- Gloria

“We can’t wait- looking forward to seeing you.”

“Well b back all of you from USA.”

“Welcome back Donnah”- Winnie.

“Welcome back all of you”- Patience.

“Welcome back to your homeland” Shibah.

“We awaits for de big smile 4 yr return”

“Hello, welcome back from the USA we are missing you

 and love you a lot.”

“Welcome back from the tour but we miss you!! But you’ve grown.”

“Home is smiling for your return.”

Upon their return, the choir will perform at The American Embassy in the morning and will have a welcome home concert at 2pm at ARM's headquarters on June 27th. Pray with us for the team's safe travels!

Compiled by Liz Baluka, Intern, Communications Office, Gaba, Uganda

Mwangaza Child Hides in Anthill from Rebels

My name is Esther Ajibo.  I am a Mukso.  One day my grandmother was with me at night.  She heard people saying that the rebels are coming.  I think I was six (but now I am 13).  My grandmother started thinking, then she went in the bush; the bush was near our house.  Then she saw an anthill.  She decided to put me that anthill.  So when the rebels came they sat on that anthill.  They started talking, talking, and talking.  I started saying in my heart, that when are these people going?  But they sat on it and one of them said, "Let us check on this anthill, maybe there is a child."  My heart started pumping, and then one of them said, "No, we have to check over there".  But one came and check in there but I was on the left and he checked on the right.

I thank God because he didn't see me so I encourage you that God has a good plan for you.  God had a good plan for me.  Now I am in America telling people how good He is.  GOD HAS A GOOD PLAN FOR YOU!

What an amazing young lady Esther is!  We look forward to seeing her future unfold!  Africa Renewal Ministries has developed an intentional follow-up program for these children that have traveled in order to provide a smooth re-entry into Ugandan life.  We have made them unique. We have opened their eyes, unleashed their potential and given them a stronger passion for a different life and to impact the world. 

Friends, we need your help to keep our long-term follow-up strategy a success, in addition to what is already being done to help and support these children (by their sponsors). There are additional costs that will go into their over-all well-being, education, leadership training, counseling, and the continual development of their music.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 by June 20. We have received almost 20% to date. Time is of the essence.  While this amount may seem overwhelming, we have faith that if each family could raise or make a gift of $100, it would be a huge step toward achieving this goal.   We wait with excited anticipation to see how the Lord will provide!

Thank you SO MUCH for investing in the lives of children like Esther!! 

Online gift-giving is secure and easy

  Simply Click HERE and give to the Mwangaza Fund

Why Mwangaza Speaks For Children Affected By Poverty (Part 2)

This particular blog has been hard to write. I have sat up for over two hours wondering what to exactly write. My heart is torn between a lot of things. One of these is the reality of where Mwangaza Children’s Choir comes from, the people who sent us here and the children we speak for – not just in Uganda but in Africa as a whole.


And so, even though I am sure I wrote so much about children in poverty in my last post, I really feel I need to write some more on this issue. (Yet, I ask myself, haven’t people heard enough about Africa? Maybe, maybe not! )

Anyway, the awful truth is that in many places, children are the faces of poverty in Africa.

Although people of all ages suffer from extreme poverty and hunger, children suffer the most in Africa especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Uganda. In other words, poverty carries the faces of innocent little children in these parts of the world.

The problem gets even worse as you move from the big cities and towns to the poor villages where many of the children registered or sponsored by Africa Renewal Ministries come from. The majority of this poor population is made up of poor subsistence farm just to feed themselves and their families. However, about one in every five of these people live in a country affected by warfare. War destroys families and farms leaving most people with nothing at all but extreme poverty and starvation. Famine follows wars in most cases in Africa.  poverty in Africa facts.

In conflict-torn countries, the capacity of rural people to make a livelihood has been dramatically curtailed by warfare, and per capita food production has plummeted.  facts: war and famine in Africa

Because of war, diseases, extreme poverty and famine, most children are left alone in this cruel world with no parents, no grandparents, no siblings, and no blood relatives at all to take care of them. Most children have lost their parents to the deadly HIV/AIDS. Others have lost their parents to war and their grandparents, to extreme poverty. facts: poverty and hunger in Africa

In Africa, there are the rural poor and the urban poor most of which stay in slums. I grew up in slums. But I am not alone.

About 50% of the African population lives in slums. From the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa to the interior of Kibera (Africa’s largest and worst slum) in Kenya, life is a living hell for most African slum residents. Uganda has Kisenyi, Makerere Kivulu, Kawempe and Katoogo as some of dreadful slums.

Some of the children advocated for by Mwangaza Children’s Choir or those that are currently sponsored by Africa Renewal Ministries come from such slums. Actually some of the children travelling with the Mwangaza children’s choir live in these very slums.

Slum houses in Africa are mostly self-built mud houses roofed with rusty corrugated sheets and wooden boards. Slum houses have little or no planning at all. Poor basic sanitation and poor basic services. There are open dumps and open sewage. 

Most slums have no electricity and no pipe borne water. Fires are very common in African slums. There no good hospitals and no good schools.  Most children in many African slums do not go to school and most get no medical attention when needed.

In some slums, there are just few chemist shops around most of which sell cheap and expired drugs. Majority of the children in several African slums have lost either one or both parents. Because of the high illiteracy rate, HIV/AIDS kills in record numbers in African slums mostly women and children.

African slums are mostly lawless areas with low security or no protection at all and violence is very common very common in most African slums.


-Henry