A gig for a good cause

An event will merge comedy and music to raise funds so that lesser-privileged children can follow their extra-curricular interests

Conventional wisdom tells us that if you educate lesser-privileged children, they stand a better shot at life. Admit them into school, and they can rise above their poverty. But as it is with urban, more fortunate kids, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. While education is of course a key component in any child’s upbringing, it’s important to focus on their extra-curricular interests at the same time, to ensure holistic growth. That’s the thought with which an event this weekend, called Qause #Funraiser, is being organised.

Qause, a city-based NGO aggregator that provides free web services, initiated it and Nikita Noronha, the firm’s brand strategist, tells us that the event will feature singer-songwriters Raghav Meattle and Nisa Shetty, and comedian Shankar Chugani, while storyteller Ishpreet Chandok will act as the host. Noronha adds that people don’t necessarily have to contribute money. “Many people have spare phones or laptops lying around, and they can gift those to children who really need them,” she says.

Nikita Noronha

The gadgets and money will go towards funding the passions that the children under Qause’s wing have. Noronha says that when they were asked about missing school during the lockdown last year, there was a ho-hum response. But their faces lit up when they were asked what they are excited about. Some said cricket. Others said poetry. A few said art, and so on. “Academics is not the be all and end all of everything. It’s important for the kids to have a hobby outside of their classrooms. There was one child who became really good at robotics. Similarly, we want to identify more children who have an interest that is more than just a hobby,” Noronha says, clarifying that they aren’t selling stories of misery here. “We are selling affirmative communication.”

On January 21, 9.30 pm  
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Cost Rs 499

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