head:
Goa set to get its 'Rhythm and Blues' just for a cause
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WHERE: The two-day Goa Rhythm and Blues Festival will be held at the Bay View Lawns of Taj Vivanta, Fort Aguada, Goa on October 30 and 31
WHO: The Festival will feature Divine Raaga, Ministry of Blues, The Door Perception, Shilpa Rao, DJ Parekhit, MoonArra and Soulmate, as well as Goa's blues man Herman Abreu and The Aviv Pereira Project
WHY: To aid a Foundation that works with children across the country, supporting their treatment and rehabilitating them
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THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
For two days at the end of October, hundreds of people from all over the country and within Goa too, will come together for a great cause, to aid a Foundation that works with children across the country, supporting their treatment and rehabilitating them.
The event is the Goa Rhythm and Blues Festival, in aid of the Genesis Foundation. Giving should be participative and fun, believes Genesis Foundation. And fun will be had, but all for an extremely good cause.
The two-day event will be held at the Bay View Lawns of Taj Vivanta, Fort Aguada, Goa on October 30 and 31 and will feature an impressive music line up of the likes of Divine Raaga, Ministry of Blues, The Door Perception, Shilpa Rao, DJ Parekhit, MoonArra and Soulmate, as well as Goa's blues man Herman Abreu and The Aviv Pereira Project, made up of great musicians from Goa.
“A lot of people talk about providing education for the underprivileged but not many talk about providing health services,” says Prema Sagar who together with her husband Jyoti Sagar, set up the Gurgaon based foundation in 2001 to provide financial support for underprivileged children primarily in the fields of cancer, thalassemia, cardiac disorders and extreme deformities. They also provide medical intervention and recuperation support for those who require organ transplant. Since their inception they have managed to give a second chance at life for over 700 kids.
“The parents of these children earn only about Rs 2500 to 4500 a month and are thus unable to get treatment for their children. But these children are equally deserving of medical health and support,” Prema Sagar. “Thus through the Foundation, the parents also feel that they have done their best for their kids.”
Having previously organised fun fundraisers like the popular Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festival, CEOS Cook for GF Kids and Music for Life, the Foundation was motivated to bring a festival to Goa following repeated requests from participants at the Kasauli Festival. In fact, another positive that emerged from the Festival this year was that they managed to raise more funds than expected giving them the chance to save the lives of 16 children instead of the expected 12.
At the upcoming festival they hope to save the lives of 15 little kids from states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Maharasthra.“We will also be visiting different hospitals in Goa to get a better perspective on the children here that require most attention and look into how we can provide help,” says Prema, who adds that previously the Foundation had managed to reach out to one Goan child who was brought to Mumbai.“ We have also noticed that after surgery a lot of kids are unable to go back to school as they simply don't have the energy. Thus as part of our agenda for the coming year we hope to tie up with nutrition specialists and will also hope to monitor the progress of the children,” says Prema.
