Drumbeats will echo out across the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs on Saturday evening, and anyone drawn by them towards the open-air Tabernacle will see flashes of color in constant motion and hear the voices of the Watoto Children’s Choir, a singing group from Uganda.

Uganda is currently home to more than a million orphans who have lost their parents to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. About 20 of them will be performing on the Vineyard at the end of the choir’s six-month tour of the United States.

The eight to twelve-year-olds in the choir are part of Watoto Child Care Ministries, which was founded as an outreach of Kampala Pentecostal Church in 1994 in response to the orphan crisis in Uganda.

After training for five months at home in Uganda, five separate Watoto choral groups launch on tours all over the world, spreading their message as well as the mission of their organization globally.

Sam Kimera, who leads this choir on its American tour, spoke proudly of the organization in a phone call from East Windsor, where the choir was performing earlier this week.

“This is a concert for hope,” he said. “If God can change the lives of children in serious despair, he can change your life, no matter what your situation is.”

During their concerts, the children often speak of their pasts, sharing memories both of their difficult experiences, and the hope and security instilled in them by the Watoto Ministries.

According to Jeff Winter, the pastor of Faith MV, who is responsible for bringing the choir here, “The joy they have on their faces and their smiles are just so contagious.”

Mr. Kimera affirmed their positivity. “From looking at them, you’d never know what had happened,” he said. “God has really been good and it’s really amazing.”

The orphanage currently takes care of 2,000 Ugandan orphans, but has the capacity to tend to 10,000. “We’re always trying to get more children, and to get more people involved to help us in our situation,” said Mr. Kimera.

Through the work they do at home, as well as the opportunities for involvement they bring to the world, they’re trying to spread their efforts across Africa.

“We hope to care for children all over Africa, and we hope to replicate the Watoto model all over. In our travels, we are trying to rally support for the African child,” said Mr. Kimera.

And although the tour certainly has the purpose of raising awareness and support of the choir, the mission and the children it helps, it also provides opportunities for the children to enjoy themselves.

“It’s quite the experience to watch them experience America,” Mr. Kimera said. “They have quite the shock when they come here.”

While it may be a shock to come to America, it’s also a lot of fun. Earlier this week, they travelled to Six Flags New England, where they performed two concerts and went on a few rides as well.

“If you asked the kids, they would say that Six Flags is their favorite place,” Mr. Kimera said, before adding that the trip offered more poignant moments as well:

“We also had the privilege of going to see the Statue of Liberty.”

The proof of the good work that they do, he said, is in the success of the orphans who have gone through the program, and are now returning to the ministry to help others in similar circumstances.

“We started in 1992 and now we’re beginning to see some of the children coming back and choosing to work with the children. Joseph, who is doing media with us now, was one of the very first Watoto children,” said Mr. Kimera.

But the group is not an insular one, and welcomes the participation and support of all, in any corner of the world, who are interested in helping the children, and the organization that raises them.

The Watoto Children’s Choir will perform Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. Admission is free.