MUNFORD — The barrier of an ocean did not stop 13 Ugandan children from traveling to the Southeast to raise money for the orphanage where they were raised.

Seven boys and six girls from the Royal School and Orphanage in Mityana, Uganda, formed “Ugandan Thunder,” a performance group touring the Southeastern United States, as a way to raise money for the non-profit organization Pennies for Posho based out of Griffin, Ga. Posho is the most commonly eaten food in poor regions of Africa, usually made from maize or cassava.

The students are able to use their skills as singers, dancers and drummers to inspire their audiences to donate money toward feeding the 4,000 children at seven orphanages Pennies for Posho sponsors in Uganda. Churches, schools and business associations have been welcome to schedule a performance of the Ugandan Thunder Choir during their five-month stay in the United States. They performed Monday at Munford Elementary School.

The children arrived in Georgia the last day of January, and will be touring throughout Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina until the end of June.

While several of their songs are performed in their native tongue, the children have learned some songs in English to help spread the message of Christianity as they travel.

The drumming and the dances they performed Monday afternoon got the children in the audience clapping, laughing and enjoying the new culture they were being exposed to.

The Ugandans got so involved in their performance that the boys began tossing their hats into the audience and many of them accidentally kicked off their shoes while dancing.

When Ugandan Thunder took a break from performing to introduce themselves, the children in the audience couldn’t believe some of the things the performers said they enjoyed most about America. Most of their favorite things were food items, such as Krispy Kreme doughnuts, cereal, apple pie, French fries, spaghetti, ice cream and chicken. The children were told that in Uganda, chicken is usually only eaten twice a year around Christmas because it is so expensive.

Other favorite experiences about America included going to the circus and touring places.

The performers, who range in age from about 9 to 16, said when they grow up they would like to be everything from pilots to lawyers and nurses.

It is difficult to determine the actual ages of these orphans of AIDS and malaria, however, because they are not born in hospitals and do not have birth certificates.

After the performance, the Ugandan children took a few minutes to visit some of the classrooms at Munford Elementary so students could ask them questions.

The performers said they prepared for their tour with about three months of practice by singing along to tapes that had been chosen for them to perform.

They said they enjoyed English, math and reading in school. The boys enjoyed playing soccer while the girls said they didn’t really have a favorite sport.

Also, in their spare time, some of the children said they like to draw things like houses and people. Since a television is not a household item in Uganda, however, many children dance, sing and play drums like they did during their performance Monday.

The children interested in joining Ugandan Thunder must try out first. If they have a good singing voice, they must then prove they can keep up with their studies and obtain a visa for traveling.

Monday morning, Ugandan Thunder had already performed at Graham Elementary School in Talladega. One performer got sick after that performance and had to stay there to rest while the others continued to Munford. They are also performing at Southside Baptist Church in Talladega tonight at 6:30.