AFRICAN orphans will be filling Exeter cathedral with music, drums and dance in a fundraising concert for their schools in Uganda.

The Pearl of Africa Children's Choir is made up of orphans who each year tour cathedrals, churches, schools and town halls across the UK to raise money for the eight foundation schools in Uganda which house and educate them.

Set up up by the Molly and Paul Childcare Foundation for Orphaned and Destitute Children, the schools are run by volunteers and rely entirely on donations.

The choir will be performing at Exeter Cathedral's Nightchurch on Friday, October 31. Doors open at 7.30pm and the concert will begin at 8pm.

Colin Hyne, a retired Exeter resident, is organising the event. He said: "The only qualification to go to one of these non-government-funded foundation schools is to be an orphan or a destitute child.

"Most of the children are there because parents have died of HIV or malaria. They get sent to the schools and are cared for until the age of 18. They are given full-time education, food, clothing, shelter and affection. They also go to a farm school to learn occupational skills to make them fit for purpose in the Ugandan economy.

"The choir is made up of children from the schools, aged six to 15, and they have all been through the abyss of looking after parents and dealing with the deaths of their parents.

"They have all had a very dismal life early on and these foundation schools are almost salvation for them.

"I was brought up in a children's home so I know what it means to be hungry, alone, frightened and an orphan.

"The children are very good singers and perform a mix of vibrant, exotic Ugandan, African and Christian music. The concert really blows your mind with the excitement and dance.

"Spectators can get up and dance, too, and clap their hands and get involved with the riotous noise that the choir generates."

Admission to the concert is free but there will be a collection and all funds will be sent to Uganda.

"The money from the night goes through the cathedral accounts and gets gift-aided to increase it by something like 17.5 per cent," said Colin.

"I would hope to get 50 bursaries out of the event this year. Each bursary is £15 per month for one year, which will look after one orphan for one year."

Colin, who has visited Uganda, said due to widespread HIV and AIDS in the country, the number of orphaned children would increase significantly in years to come.

He said: "HIV is endemic in Uganda so there will be a continuing rise in young orphans who need to be cared for, and the foundation schools will do that.

"This is a critical charity for the children. When they go to the school their sadness disappears because, although they may be without parents, they now have friends.

"These orphans would be all alone if nobody cared for them. But with this school they have a a future."

The choir, which performed at Princesshay, Exeter, last year, is on an eight-week tour of the UK.

For more information, email prayers80@ hotmail. com or steve@mychurch. org.uk