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At St. Mary’s Academy, the school-wide celebration of the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other heroes of the Civil Rights Movement came to an end on February 13, 2007 with an energetic presentation from the Watoto Children’s Choir. These inspirational children tour the country for six months every year bringing their songs and message to hundreds of churches and schools. The thirty or so children, all ambassadors of Watoto Child Care Ministries are orphans due to civil war and/or the AIDS epidemic. They filled the St. Mary’s auditorium with lively songs and dancing brimming with traditional African rhythm and spirituality. The smiles in the audience mirrored those on the stage and stretched for miles as the St. Mary’s girls saw the inspiration and joy in the eyes of the children. The children’s colorful costumes and the great beats of the songs brought the stage to life.
“The voices of the children speaking so simply of the loss of parents, and family in their lives and to experience the joy of these children in the face of such crushing sorrows truly leaves me speechless, “says Sister Linda Patrick, SNJM, Assistant Principal of Student Life, “In the face of such immense need in our world, it was a great gift to us to know that in some small way through our donations we could help provide food, clothing, shelter, education in a loving family situation. They gave us so much more than we gave them; we were blessed by their presence.”
Watoto Childcare Ministries, located in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, has a mission to raise the next generation of Ugandan leaders. They strive to equip the children with essential moral values and life skills in order for them to make a lasting impact on their country. At present time, 1,400 children are in their care; their overall goal is 10,000 children. Gary Skinner and his wife, Marilyn, are the directors of Watoto Child Care Ministries and have been missionaries in Uganda since 1983. They are working with their congregation, Kampala Pentecostal Church, to address Uganda’s orphan crisis by reaching out to impoverished children who have lost their parents to war or disease.
For more information, please contact:
Watoto (USA)
P.O. Box 1320
Lutz, FL 33548-1320
(813)948-4343
Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of downtown Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.
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