From 5 to 10 April, the German choir, Gospel Choir Kiel-Holtenau visited Parys/ Tumahole for the third time.
Hauke Petersen founded the choir in the town of Kiel (100 km north of Hamburg) in 1995.

Paul Simon and his album Graceland, specifically the recordings of the South African men’s choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo, inspired a love of South African music in the German teacher of music and religion in 1987.

In 1989, he met choir members from the Martin Luther Church from Lebowakgomo/ Limpopo at a big church celebration in Berlin. Since then, Hauke studied this music further and founded his gospel choir.

In 2009, the German choir visited South Africa for the first time to meet the Martin Luther Church choir in Limpopo.

At the invitation of Almud Pollmeier, the choir also came to Parys/Tumahole to meet the choir from St. John the Baptist at the Roman Catholic Church in Tumahole, and the St Paul Church Choir from Rammulotsi/ Viljoenskroon.
At the end of the visit, all choirs held a joint concert in the Partuma Hotel.

Back in Germany, with everything they learned from the different South African choirs, the choir grew and focused its repertoire on South African music even more.

In 2013, the German choir undertook their second visit to South Africa and met all three choirs again with intensive choir sessions and a concert in the town hall in Parys.

Besides its intense relationships with the different choirs, the German choir also continuously supports the Lehlohonolo Day Care Centre for orphans and vulnerable children in Tumahole. The South African Samaritan organisation operates the centre in cooperation with the Lewis Balink Foundation.
The Day Care Centre receives part of its monthly food supply for the children through benefit concerts and regular donations by choir members.

The choir has also donated a fridge, freezer and material to upgrade the store room at the newly established light steel construction building the Lewis Balink Foundation erected.

The German choir’s latest visit should have happened in 2020 already but it had to be postponed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Finally, after three years, it could return. The trip took them to different destinations, starting in Parys/Tumahole, where they met their two partner choirs in Rammulotsi/ Viljoenskroon and Tumahole/ Parys again.

In Tumahole, they sang with the children at the Lehlohonolo Day Care Center and ce- lebrated the Easter night and Easter Sunday service with St John the Baptist
congregation.

Lewis Balink Foundation, the children and members of Lehlohonolo Day Care Center, the church and choir members from the two churches and everyone who enjoyed their music are looking forward to welcoming them again.