United in song: Ugandan choir tours U.S., visits Blair County

Members of the Imani Milele Choir perform at a concert during their six-month tour of the East Coast. Courtesy photo
They may be more than 7,200 miles away from Kampala — capital of their native Uganda — but the children in the Imani Milele Choir feel right at home in Blair County.
The children are in the U.S. for a six-month tour of the East Coast, performing music from their homeland in order to raise awareness of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization’s work in providing education, sanitation and medical care to underprivileged Ugandan youth.
Growing a ministry
The Imani Milele organization traces its roots back to one man — Moses Ssemanda Mbuga, the oldest son of a Ugandan minister who felt the call to faith after a profound experience in the mid-1980s.
According to Sam Kiberu, Mbuga’s son and current director of operations for Imani Milele, his father took over the ministry founded by his grandfather after his death in 1984, gradually expanding its operations to include a school for orphaned children built in 1989.
At the time, Uganda was recovering from a period of intense violence caused in part by Idi Amin, a military officer that ruled the country as a dictator from 1971-79, that left many orphaned and displaced children, Kiberu said.
Around this time, Mbuga was given a copy of the autobiography of George Muller, a 19th-
century English evangelist who opened an orphanage in Bristol, England, Kiberu said, which catalyzed Mbuga’s faith and gave him his purpose in life.
“(Muller) was a very poor man, but a man of faith … he didn’t wait for things to be structured, he just went and provision came along the way,” Kiberu said. “God was able to open up his heart to that.”
From the first three children taken in by Mbuga in 1989, Imani Milele has grown exponentially into a network of residential schools in Uganda that now supports over 5,000 kids, he said.
“More than 20,000 children have directly benefited from this program, and these children are truly, truly being transformed,” Kiberu said.
Coming to America
Since 2013, Imani Milele has sent choir groups composed of its most musically gifted students to tour the U.S. in hopes of raising awareness of the organization’s charitable efforts back home in Uganda.
“They come as ambassadors for the other children who may not have the talents that they have,” Kiberu said, “raising awareness of the other children’s plight … and inviting people to join our mission.”
The tours have expanded in both duration and scope since 2013, now spanning more than 100 performances over a six-month period.
This year, the 19 choir members are accompanied by a 16-person team of adult leaders from Imani Milele who serve as musician director, tutor, tour bus driver and a number of other support roles.
Choir leaders try to bring a completely fresh group of children for each tour, Kiberu said, to ensure that every member can experience a slice of life in the U.S.
Julie Anthony first got involved with Imani Milele in 2018 following the unexpected death of her infant granddaughter, Aspen Jayne, earlier that year.
In memory of her granddaughter, Anthony founded Aspen’s Impact, a charity effort that has since raised over $580,000 for Imani Milele.
Anthony went to Uganda on a mission trip and met Mbuga, where he led her and her husband Chad on a tour of the Imani Milele facilities.
“It was supposed to be a one-and-done trip for me, but when I got there and met (Kiberu’s) dad, Rev. Moses … and I saw a man of integrity, he was humble,” Anthony said. “He was leading by example, not asking anyone to do more than what he was doing himself.”
Getting to see Mbuga’s work firsthand inspired Anthony to become involved with Imani Milele on a full-time basis.
Anthony now serves as director of development for the nonprofit and has opened her Hollidaysburg home to the tour group during their multi-week stay in Blair County.
If the tour bus parked out front wasn’t a big enough clue, the sound of laughing children interspersed with brief snippets of song drifting from the property is unmistakable.
Inside, the happy faces of Ugandan kids peer out from around every corner, often chasing each other around the house.
Between their concerts at local churches, the choir has downtime at the Anthony house, where they catch up with their studies and decompress.
According to Kiberu, Blair County is a “fascinating place … homely” without the hustle and bustle of Kampala.
The people the choir have met have been very gracious and made the group feel welcome, he said.
Choir leaders make sure to schedule plenty of fun side-trips for the children on days without a performance, Kiberu said.
This year, the choir visited New York City, toured the White House and have plans to visit DelGrosso’s Park during their time in the area,
Later on in the tour, the group will visit the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Ky., according to Kiberu.
According to some of the choir children, lasagna, mashed potatoes and hamburgers are some of the best American food they’ve sampled.
The cultural difference between busy Kampala and quiet Hollidaysburg is obvious, according to a young choir member named Poline Akanyesiga.
“Unlike at home, you don’t usually see people walking on the road,” she said.
Another girl, Lyssa Babweyonera, said that Kampala seems like “a mess” compared to a city like New York.
Robin Muganga, one of the older boys on the trip who also came to the U.S. on the 2024 tour, said that visiting the White House in Washington was one of the highlights.
“It was amazing,” he said.
Performing at various churches is another highlight of the trip, especially the enthusiastic welcome they receive from the congregations, Babweyonera said.
“It makes us feel like we’re right at home,” she added.
Transformational impact
The choir has performed more than 10 concerts so far during the Blair County leg of its 2025 tour, leaving an indelible effect on church audiences.
According to Tipton Baptist Church Senior Pastor Jason Mauk, the choir’s visit on June 20 was wonderful.
Their performance drew the audience into a spirit of worship focused on Jesus Christ, singing a mixture of vernacular Christian music and unfamiliar yet inviting songs in their native
Lugandan, Mauk said.
Despite the cultural differences between Tipton and Kampala, the choir is able to build a bridge of shared understanding by basing their performance on the shared language of Christian ministry, he said.
“It was a packed house, and the response was direct — on your feet, hands raised, praising God with the choir,” Mauk said. “Where the choir led, the people eagerly followed.”
The following day, several church children asked if their Ugandan counterparts didn’t have to leave, as they had already formed a budding friendship during the concert.
“That was the response, ‘we have new friends with common faith in Jesus Christ, I hope they don’t have to go so soon,'” Mauk said.
Imani Milele visited Tipton Baptist for the first time during their 2024 tour, and the overwhelmingly positive response from his congregation convinced Mauk to invite them back for a second show this year.
Mauk’s congregation is one of the few religious groups in the region that have experienced consistent growth in attendees in recent years, with over 100 more regular visitors for Sunday service than when he began his pastorship about six years ago.
He attributes that increase to a community centered on an active, engaging faith built on a relationship with Jesus Christ that Imani Milele helped inspire.
“(Their concerts) have helped our church be shaken awake,” Mauk said. “It’s something I’ve been praying for for two to three years … and they’ve been a catalyst for that growth.”
Now, Mauk is hoping to repay the favor.
Alongside a handful of other local churches who hosted the choir, Mauk is planning a combined mission trip to Uganda sometime during the summer of 2026 to meet the leadership of Imani Milele and build a new school building for the organization.
“They have forever changed the people at
Tipton Baptist, and I thank God for inspiring them to do this work,” he said.