A choir of 11 children from the King’s Kid Home School in Uganda recently visited Farnham and much to their delight, received a warm, traditional welcome from the Mayor of Farnham. 

‘Karibuni’ (welcome) and ‘oli otya?’ (how are you?) is how the Mayor of Farnham greeted the 11 to 18-year olds who are on an exchange visit to the UK hosted by Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke. 

Deputy headteacher David Watkins of Brighton Hill is a Farnham resident and thought it would be good for the children to visit a town similar in size to their hometown of Mityana.

To begin their visit to Farnham, the young people gathered in the Council Chamber at Farnham Town Council where the Mayor gave a short talk about Farnham and gave each young person a bag of Farnham souvenirs. 

Councillor Pat Evans, Mayor of Farnham said: “The young people were delightful and were so open, happy and engaging. 

“The choir is made up of orphans who have been neglected or abandoned. I was fascinated to hear more about the King’s Kid ministry from its co-founder and lead pastor Robert Mponye. I hope the children enjoy their visit to the UK.”

While in Farnham, the party visited the Keep at Farnham Castle, walked the Farnham Heritage trail, explored St Andrew’s Church and visited the Museum of Farnham before finally stopping off for an hour of singing at St Andrew’s Church.

Other highlights of the children’s trip have included singing at The Methodist Hall Westminster in front of 2,000+ teachers, working with celebrity chef Mark Lloyd to prepare and cook a 3-course meal at Brighton Hill Community School for members of the community, a trip to Winchester and a variety of community and church music events. 

After their stay in Basingstoke, the children travelled to the west Midlands. More information can be found about the children’s ministry at www.kingskidhome.com.