‘Hear the joy, see the hope, feel the love’

Matsiko World Orphan Choir comes to Syracuse

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By Dc. Tom Cuskey, editor

Above: Members of the Matsiko World Orphan Choir bring an abundance of color and energy to their performances.

“Music, dance and story that inspires educational sponsorships for our world’s most vulnerable children.”

That is the summary statement that graces a flier distributed in the many U.S. cities where the Matsiko World Orphan Choir performs. This group is the product of a ministry that gives life to a talented troupe of young performers and brings hope to a world of other children and teens in need around the world.

“The troupe itself is about 40 to 50 young people, and they travel with chaperones,” Mary Anne Ciccarelli said. The bulletin editor and parish secretary at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Syracuse is also the troupe’s unofficial local public relations contact. “They’re either orphans or they come from families of poverty that cannot afford to feed them and clothe them,” she shared.

According to their press kit, the term “Matsiko” is Ugandan for “hope.” The group historically features young performers from around the world: India, Peru, Uganda, Nepal and the Philippines, as well as Liberia. Because of Covid restrictions placed on travel, the current group is comprised mostly of Liberian students.

A quick look at the current tour schedule gives testimony to the effort the group makes. Starting last March and running through November, shows in more than 60 cities all along the East Coast and stretching as far west as Colorado have or will take place.

Syracuse, though, was not on the advance list. Father Severine Yagaza, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul and Blessed Sacrament parishes, changed all that.

“Father Yagaza opened up our convent [at St. Vincent De Paul] to them so that they could have a place to stay in between their travel,” Ciccarelli explained. The youngsters refer to the convent now as “Matsiko House, their American home” according to Ciccarelli. She shared that Fr. Severine saw this as an opportunity to provide the performers, their chaperones and teachers, with a place of respite. It also allows for regular school classes to take place amidst the busy travel schedule. “And candidly, they’re grateful to us for housing them,” she said.

That gratitude has blossomed into a command performance, of sorts, coming up at 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 29 at the Eastside [342 Vine Street] parish.

The troupe will perform “Lost Boys,” a Grammy-nominated song about the plight of the Sudanese children uprooted during Sudan’s long civil war, many of whom were able to make it to American cities, including Syracuse.

“I’ve reached out to [Syracuse Common Councilor] Chol Majok. Yes, he’s a Lost Boy. I’ve asked him to contact other Lost Boys. He’s also contacting the Liberian community,” she said. The Central New York/Upstate area is home to a number of ethnic groups who have left countries as the Republic of the Congo, Myanmar (Burmese), Afghanistan and others to escape violence and warfare. Ciccarelli has contacted a number of groups in the area to attend.

The Matsiko ministry is all about providing opportunities for children in need around the globe. There is no charge for the upcoming concert at St. Vincent de Paul, but attendees will have the opportunity to consider becoming sponsors of young orphans and abandoned children. Sponsorship provides clothing, daily meals, school supplies and tuition to learning centers where academic support is available.

“Now, the person that I’m sponsoring, her father abandoned the family, and the mother does not have a job,” Ciccarelli said. “She makes some things and sells it on the streets, but it’s not enough to care for the family.

“So the goal, really, of Matsiko,” she added, “is to try and give opportunities to these young people so that they can hopefully help to reverse the cycle of poverty.”

For more information and for anyone who cannot attend the concert, visit matsiko.org.