THE Singing Children of Africa Tour kicks off with a special concert at St Mary's Church in Berrow.

The tour has been masterminded by 19-year-old Bridgwater resident Jake Pike and his father to help raise funds for Educate the Kids, a charity dedicated to giving underprivileged children in Africa better education.

The choir feature 28 children from the Mombasa region of East Africa and will feature lots of singing and dancing with the tour culminating in a grand finale at the McMillan Theatre in Bridgwater on October 22.

This is the fifth time the Tour has visited the UK. The original 12 week tour in 2006 touched the hearts of the British public who fell in love with the children’s amazing singing and dance moves to such an extent, that enough money was raised to fund the building of an orphanage.

Concerts in the Burnham and Highbridge area include St Mary's Church, Berrow on Tuesday, October 4 at 1.30pm, on Wednesday, October 5 they will perform in St Andrews Beach in Burnham at 7pm before heading to the Beachcomber on Warren Road, Brean for a 7.45pm concert on Friday, October 7.

On Saturday, October 8 the tour reaches St John's Church in Highbridge for a 7pm concert, and on Tuesday, October 11 there will be a 7pm concert at Burnham's Princess Theatre.

Jake Pike, who lives in Bridgwater and is employed at local nursery accessory business Hippychick Ltd, was first introduced to the kids on the singing tour of 2006, aged nine.

Meeting them inspired Jake to persuade his family to choose Kenya as their next holiday destination.

Once there, Jake immediately caught up with the children he met in the UK, and his relationship with the Educate the Kids Charity was formed.

Since then he and his family have been totally committed to the charity, campaigning tirelessly to raise awareness as well as funds and regularly making trips to Kenya to provide on the ground support.

As well as organising a tour which incorporates ten venues across the County, Jake has also managed to persuade his boss, Hippychick Founder Julia Minchin, to appoint Educate the Kids its charity of the year.

Since its inception in 1999, Hippychick has always been committed to supporting causes involving children and has raised an estimated £60,000 for charity over the past 17 years.

Jake said: "It’s been a challenge to create a balance where we can really make a difference in terms of fund raising whilst enabling the children to benefit from the educational, cultural and musical experience of being in the UK as well as have fun."