[Times photos: Toni L. Sandys]
Edward, 11, performs with the Watoto Children's Choir, a group of youth ages 5 to 14 from Uganda, at Idlewild Baptist Church Central Campus in Tampa on Wednesday.

TAMPA -- Twelve-year-old Stella Nikuze never got to know her father. He died when Stella was a baby, leaving her mother to raise six children alone in Uganda in east Africa.

When Stella's mother died a year ago, most likely from AIDS, all that was left were the children.

No food. No other family.

For more than a month, Stella, along with her three brothers and two sisters, struggled to stay alive.

On Wednesday night, Stella was in a church near downtown Tampa, where her smile told the story of a young girl who had once again learned to enjoy life.

She and 17 other Ugandan children -- all of whom have lost one or both parents to AIDS or to war in Africa -- sang and danced as part of the Watoto Children's Choir, which represents more than 1,200 orphans in Uganda.

The concert at Idlewild Baptist Church Central Campus was the first local stop on a tour that began three weeks ago in Australia. Friday night, the group will sing at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in South Tampa.

The Watoto Child Care Ministries was founded in Uganda nine years ago in response to the thousands of children left abandoned there by the AIDS epidemic.

"We really want to treat these kids like they're our own natural kids," said Gary Skinner, 50, who founded the ministry and organized the choir. "I don't want them going through life with the stigma of being an orphan."

Gary Skinner, who founded the ministry, sings with the Watoto Children's Choir on Wednesday night at Idlewild Baptist Church Central Campus in Tampa.

Skinner, a native of South Africa, said it costs about $100 a month to provide each child with food, clothing, shelter and an education in Uganda. In its early years, the ministry survived through the generosity of churches in North America and Great Britain.

Now the choir, made up of children between the ages of 5 and 14, is doing its part.

In addition to attracting donations, organizers sell CDs of the music after every performance. It is mostly religious in nature, and set to African rhythms.

"It's not about the money," Skinner said. "It's about the kids being encouraged. It really boosts them to hear people give them praise. It has an impact on their lives."

Many of the orphans the ministry finds have been abused, some sexually. Many have gone days without eating or having anything decent to wear.

When an "aunt" from the ministry rescued Stella and her siblings, Stella said she knew it meant, "we get food."

Skinner's program first tries to place orphans with members of their extended families. If grandparents, uncles or aunts don't have money to support them, Skinner finds them a guardian.

The ministry will place eight orphans in a home with an in-house mother. Skinner said about 450 children are in such homes, which cost $10,000 to build and furnish. Another 750 children live with family members.

The Watoto Children's Choir, which represents more than 1,200 orphans in Uganda, raises donations by touring and selling CDs of its music.

While some of the kids talked during the concert about the deaths of their parents and the poverty in their lives, tour coordinator Kim Caruso said the overall message is intended to be a happy one.

"When you're looking at a 7-year-old, it's not like it happened decades ago," Caruso said. "(But) they don't tell it as a sob story. They don't go through any intense counseling. The whole concept is to love the child."

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