On Saturday the 8th of June, the Bulembu Children’s Choir had their first performance outside of Bulembu. The event called ‘The Day of the African Child’ was to celebrate the children of Africa and many of the residential childcare facilitators in and around Swaziland were there. It was a wonderful chance to fellowship and spend time together.

Excitedly we set off early, to get to the event on time and in convoy we made our way into Mbabane. The chatter increased as we approached our host venue, SOS Village and entered into a happy welcoming atmosphere.

There was an audience of 800 people and it was an incredible day, focused entirely on the children. Children were honoured and had a chance to showcase their gifts and talents. The Bulembu Children’s Choir stepped onto the stage and performed with confidence and huge smiles.

They sang a set of 3 songs with the audience cheering and clapping encouragement, boosting their confidence. We were also blessed by other children performing in choirs, drama, African dance, Marimba drums, Swazi dance and monologues.

The Bulembu Children’s choir is being invited to sing at various churches and we are excited to see them using music to testify about what God is doing in their lives. Their performances are also a way to express themselves and bless others. We can see the vision come to life as leaders emerge and we are looking forward to seeing the children have more opportunities to sing both in Swaziland and abroad.

Watching the children’s performance was an honour and it was an extremely special day for each child. Each child received a t-shirt and had a lovely lunch, after which they had time to play soccer and spend time with other children. It was a glorious day and as we drove home the children continued their chatter and singing.

We are hoping this will become an annual event where the children can participate and celebrate who they are and receive the honour they deserve.

By Ruth Boys