Tuneful thanks to St Thomas’s

AN African children’s choir is set to say thank-you to Saddleworth church members whose aid helped rescue them from desperate circumstances in their homeland.

Last year, St Thomas’s Church, Delph, raised nearly £30,000 to build a kindergarten in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and two years before that they raised money for a new home for children in the area.

Now the Destiny Africa Children’s Choir is on its first tour of the UK — and on its schedule is a visit to St Thomas’s on Thursday, at 6.30pm.

The children will be performing a mix of contemporary and traditional African songs.

Arnold Muwonge, of the Kampala Children’s Centre where the choir is based, said: “Our vision is to give a safe and loving environment to children from war-torn areas, slums and Aids-affected families..”

Michael Harvey, of St Thomas’s Church, said the children, aged between eight and 15, had been rescued from desperate situations and are now living at the children’s centre.

He said: “The collection of beautiful songs is their first creative project. The concert also features a programme of music from Delph School, which has also raised money for the children from the children’s centre.”