The world might seem smaller and its music more resonant Sunday when 23 young vocalists perform at the North Main Street Church of God.

The singers are part of the African Children's Choir, touring to generate aid for orphaned and poor children in Africa.

The performers will be dressed in traditional garb and will sing a variety of tribal, Christian and Western songs. They will be accompanied by drums and other native instruments.

"The first time I heard them live was at a Church of God Convention in Anderson, Indiana," said Tim Falling, music minister at North Main who is coordinating the event.

"They performed for about 7,000 at that convention, and they were just so impressive - their musical quality, their energy and their spirit. So I just always felt if we had the opportunity to host them sometime, I would like to do that."

Formed in 1984, the choir was originally made up of children from Uganda whose parents were killed in the civil war.

"It was meant to bring awareness to the situation," Falling said of the more than 150,000 children whose parents had been killed. "It was meant as a one-time tour, but it became so popular they have done it every year since."

Although the civil war is over, AIDS has taken over as the culprit that leaves children in Africa parentless, he said, adding despite the Christian nature of some of the music, the cause is more humanitarian than religious.

Choir participants are selected through auditions in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Sudan.

"Most of the members are orphaned," said Darlana Steunenberg, a public relations spokeswoman for Music for Life, which maintains the choir. "Some have lost one parent to AIDS or to extreme poverty. Some have lost both, and some have come from extremely poor families who can't afford to send their children to school or who can't afford to care for them properly,"

Steunenberg said raising money is important partly because consumers must pay for public education in that part of the world.

Once selected to be in one of three choirs that travel to raise money for their cause, the children commit for a one-year tour.

Tours consist of two concerts on Sundays and one each on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The children, who range from 6 to 11 years old, travel by bus through the United States, Canada and Europe. They are housed in private homes, usually affiliated with church groups.Once their yearlong commitment ends, the children are housed and educated in private schools until seventh grade. From that point, the children continue to receive an education in public schools, even at the university or trade school level, but are housed with family members.Although the choir participants receive the chance for a better future, some advocates point out that many others are still in need of assistance."Children here are growing up in an environment that is not the easiest," said Colleen Stevenson, who serves as a missionary to Uganda, Rwanda and Congo along with her husband, Tim. The Stevensons are affiliated with the Missionary Board of the Church of God, based in Anderson, Indiana, and have done the missionary work in that region for 20 years."The average median age in Uganda is 14.8 years. There have been so many deaths due to war and due to HIV/AIDS and various other diseases."There are around 2 million AIDS orphans in Uganda, and many of them are struggling to survive due to lack of direction, motivation or hope," Stevenson said."We have seen that child sponsorship plays a big role here. It gives a child hope for the future and shows them that someone cares. It gives a value to their life. They are able to go to school and make a life for themselves."Many groups have come in to try to make a difference in these kids' lives. We are seeing a difference, but there is still a lot to do."For more information about the African Children's Choir, log on to www.africanchildrenschoir.com.For more information on child sponsorship, log on to www.compassion.com or www.wwdhome.org.