Mohalenyane Phakela
AME Hall in Maseru will on Saturday host a variety show meant to raise funds to assist needy and vulnerable children.
Dubbed “Highest Gospel Praise Show”, the event is being organised by events outfit, Power Flame, gospel singer-cum-radio presenter Lintle “Blessed J” Ramatla.
According to Blessed J, the show will consist of gospel, comedy and poetry performances. Apart from the TK FM presenter, the show’s line-up will also include Vodacom Superstar winner Palesa Motlomelo, Makoanyane Ntlama and Mandosi from South Africa, poets Thabo Marebole, Oxy OJ and Lerato Majara as well as comedian Dumisane.
She said the aim of the event was to raise funds for a project to assist children in need and also to inculcate a culture for artists to use their talents to the needy.
“On my radio programme, I often get calls from vulnerable people asking for such basic needs as clothing and food, and I was really touched by their sad stories,” said Blessed J.
“I then realised that as artists, we can use the talent we have to help people who don’t have the means to even afford a loaf of bread. We can do this by sacrificing a certain percentage of what we make to help them.”
She said the artists lined up were fully cognisant that the show was mainly to assist the needy.
“The artists who will perform are already involved in charitable activities and therefore understand the essence of helping others. “This does not mean we are not going to pay them as it may appear as if we are exploiting them. Each artist is performing at a discount of their normal booking fee as a way of supporting the initiative”
Blessed J also said they would hold as many shows as possible around the country as part of the initiative.
“We will have a number of shows in Maseru and two in each district of the country so we can reach out to every child,” she said.
“We plan on buying sewing machines from the proceeds of the first show that we will use to sew school uniforms that will be donated to needy children. We intend to start sewing in August, meaning that by January we will be giving them away.
“We decided to start with uniforms to encourage children to go to school because some are teased for wearing torn uniforms and give up schooling.”
Blessed J added that they intended to involve the parents and guardians of the needy children in the project to ensure it remained sustainable.
“A lot of people have stopped searching for jobs and have a dependency mentality of relying on donations and second-hand clothes from well-wishers,” she said.
“We have a number of projects lined up which we believe will create jobs. We intend to hire parents of needy children so they can work to provide for their families rather than going around asking for donations.”