SONNIE BADU AND GUVNA B TO DETERMINE UK’S TOP YOUTH CHOIR

Renowned award-winning gospel artists Sonnie Badu and Guvna B have been announced as judges for the GUBA Foundation’s ‘SING OUT!: SINGSPIRATION’ - a brand new youth choir/gospel singing group competition held in aid of raising funds for the charity’s campaign to reduce infant mortality. Other confirmed judges for the competition include gospel artists Rebecca Amissah and Reverend Emmanuel Osei-Kofi.

This premier event will see youth singing groups under the age of 35 competing for the crown of the UK’s best youth choir.

Taking place on Saturday 19th December at the Greenwich Town Hall in Woolwich London, this televised event will see young choirs from across the UK battle it out in front of the judges and a capacity crowd to win the inaugural SINGSPIRATION Winner's Trophy and the opportunity to perform at the next iteration of the GUBA family's flagship event - the GUBA Awards!  

The competition promises to be emotive and enlightening, as efforts will be made throughout the evening to highlight the issue of infant mortality and the importance of raising funds to provide lifesaving equipment to healthcare facilities in Ghana.

Guvna B said “I am thrilled to be part of an incredible judging team at what will be a phenomenal event, supporting the GUBA Foundation’s ground-breaking mission towards giving Ghana’s babies a better fighting chance at survival.”

The GUBA Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that has been active since 2012. Birthed from the success of the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards, the charity was created to address the needs of the black and minority ethnic community in areas such as health, disability, education and poverty. 

In March 2015, the foundation embarked on a new mission, launching a project themed 'Closing the Gap' to help reduce the infant mortality rate in Africa. Ghana was chosen as the beneficiary country for this project as it has some of the most alarming infant mortality rates in the world. In 2014, there were a shocking 38.5 deaths of babies under the age of 1 per 1000 live births (Source: CIA World Factbook).

Another horrifying depiction of the infant mortality rate of Ghana notes that close to 90 babies under the age of one month dies in Ghana each day, with one child under the age of one dying every 15 minutes. The majority of these deaths are preventable. As well as the contribution of disease, many deaths are due to inadequate availability of lifesaving equipment such as incubators in healthcare facilities.

Founder of the GUBA Foundation Dentaa Amoateng stressed the importance of the project stating “It is an unspeakable tragedy that the majority of infant deaths are preventable, and are a result of system failures and inadequacies. No child should die because institutions in society, and its citizens, are not doing more to grant these babies their ultimate right of life. Therefore we must endeavour to fight to help save our babies.” 

All proceeds from the competition will help the Foundation purchase incubator systems, delivering them to various maternity facilities in Ghana and helping to assist in saving the lives of at-risk infants. 

To take part in ‘SING OUT!: SINGSPIRATION’ choirs with members under the age of 35 must send a short clip performing their favourite chorus to barbara@gubafoundation.org by Friday 30 October 2015.  

If you would like to donate to the ‘Closing the Gap’ campaign and help raise money for infant mortality in Ghana, please contact amma@gubafoundation.org or visit www.gubafoundation.org.