Kenya Jirani children's choir to perform in St. Charles

The Jirani Children's choir of Nairobi, Kenya, whose members come from one of the world's worst slums, will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Pheasant Run Mega Center, 4051 E. Main St. in St. Charles.

The choir is touring the U.S. for the first time and is performing in the New York and Chicago areas. The tour is sponsored by United Methodist churches, and the St. Charles appearance is sponsored by the Batavia United Methodist Church.

"They are bringing hope to a lot of people," said the Rev. Rolla Swanson of the Batavia church.

Tickets for the concert are $20 for adults, $10 for those 6 to 18 and free for children 5 and younger. Tickets are available at local United Methodist churches and at the door.

The choir was founded by Tae Jong Rim, a Korean pastor serving in Nairobi after he saw an abandoned child looking for food in a garbage dump in December 2005. Rim chose to use music to instill hope and confidence in children growing up in Kenya's Korogocho-Dandora slum, the area in which he saw the child. Jirani means "good neighbor" in Swahili.

Rim asked Jae Chang Kim to serve as conductor and artistic director. Children were recruited from 40 primary and secondary schools throughout the slum area. Most of the children come from homes with no electricity or running water.

The choir has about 100 members and has performed extensively in Kenya and in more than 10 cities in South Korea.

According to Swanson, Rim is a friend of the Rev. Hee-Soo Jung, bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Methodist Church. Jung is also from Korea.

"There are three cultures involved with this tour, Kenyan, Korean and American," Swanson said. "It's a fascinating dynamic."

Families from Batavia United Methodist Church will host members of the choir for three nights.

For information, call the NIC's Elgin office at (847) 931-0710, ext. 17.