Con Fullam leads the Pihcintu Chorus during the Saturday night concert at our church.

Spirited rejoicing

With songs and a poem about their home countries, freedom, and the spirit of living together, Portland’s Pihcintu Multicultural Children’s Chorus performed a Saturday night concert at our church, revealing a vibrant spirit of how far they have come in their young lives.

Led by founder and song-writer Con Fullam, these young women have come to Portland from around the world, survivors from war-torn villages, refugee camps, famine and political turmoil.

They have accomplished so much and yet they are still reaching out to help others through their spirit and music. Saturday’s concert was one in a series of year-long benefits to raise funds to build the Malala School for Girls in South Sudan.

The school is being named for Malala Youfsazai, an advocate for girls’ education in Pakistan. As a result of her advocacy, the Taliban issued a death threat against Malala and on Oct. 9, 2012, at the age of 15, she was shot while returning from school. She survived and has continued to speak out on the importance of education for girls.

The Pihcintu Chorus has a goal of raising $57,000 for the school. If you were not able to attend Saturday night’s concert but would still like to donate to this special fund-raising effort, go to the Pihcintu web site and click on the photo of Malala. Click here for access to the web site: Pihcintu

The young women of the Pihcintu Chorus represent 17 countries, including Congo, Sudan, China, Somalia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Lebanon, China, El Salvador, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia.

Following Saturday’s concert, members of our congregation and their friends had the opportunity to meet with the Pihcintu Chorus and express appreciation for what they have done — and are doing.

The chorus next month will be performing at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on World Refugee Day and later will perform at the White House.