The African Children’s Choir will perform on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. at the La Grande High School auditorium.

LA GRANDE — The international nonprofit Music for Life is touring the United States, and the African Children’s Choir will give a performance in La Grande on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the La Grande High School auditorium, 708 K Ave. Admission is free, although donations of a “love offering” will help support the program, said Tina Sipp, choir manager.

The choir’s tradition dates to 1984 when Ray Barnett was on a humanitarian trip in Uganda. While there, he met a boy who had lost his parents in the civil war and gave him a ride to the safety of another village.

“During that ride, the boy sang praise songs,” Sipp said. “The resiliency of this boy touched Ray’s heart.”

Barnett founded the African Children’s Choir as a way to help impoverished children receive an education.

“They are in a cycle of poverty that is very hard to break out of without education,” Sipp said. “We raise money to get as many children educated as we can. Any money raised goes to educating hundreds of children a year.”

Choir auditions are based on need. Once accepted, the children attend a training center, which is a full-time school.

After the choir tour, the children return to school to prepare for the grade 7 exam, then move on to the secondary level, which is equivalent to grades 8 to 12 in the United States.

“These children are bright, talented and gifted,” Sipp said.

The current tour is on the West Coast and ends Jan. 9.

Each year, the African Children’s Choir visits a different part of the United States and has also performed around the world by special invitation, Sipp said.

“The African Children’s Choir proves just how powerful music can be,” she said. “These concerts provide hope and encouragement, not just to our audiences, but to the children whose lives are forever changed by their experiences with the Choir.”