A Ball for the Abused and Abandoned
On a daily basis, stories abound of one form of abuse or the other, especially of women and children who are mostly on the receiving end of such abuses and abandonments. While a few of such victims get justice and succor, many are left to suffer emotional and physical pains without getting help, and most often such people have nowhere to go and their lives end up in disarray. The society at times, inadvertently, treats such victims as outcasts. It takes people with a charitable spirit and empathy to understand the gravity of such psychological abuse and also to provide succor for them.
Having been touched by such plights, the cast of Tinsel, one of the most successful and longest running soap opera on AfricaMagic, Africa's premier entertainment platform, is providing succor to the abused and abandoned in the society.
Tinsel has aired its 1,615th episode and to commemorate this, the cast decided to touch the lives of abused women and children, as well as children with congenital diseases who have nowhere to go and no one to cater for them. Consequently, cast visited the Heart of Gold Hospice and the Shelter for Abused Women and Children, both in Lagos State. As fallout of the visits, which was both emotional and eye-opening, AfricaMagic decided to host an inaugural Tinsel Charity Ball, where the brand will use its popular platform to raise funds for the two charity homes.
The fundraising event held recently in Lagos, was reminiscent of a Cinderella ball with masks and couture gowns but instead of riding pumpkins, guests where chauffeured in automobiles as they turned out in the colour theme of the night: Black and White with a touch of Green.
Speaking at the event, hosted by the versatile compère extraordinaire, Ik Osakioduwa, the Regional Director, MNET West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said the initiative is a well thought event of the entertainment power-house to sensitise the public to the plight of the needy in the society, and for people to begin to care for them, with particular emphasis on children with congenital diseases and abused women and children. The Tinsel Ball, which is the first of many to come, saw celebrities in the movie industry decked in the theme colour for the night. Led by several stars from the set, many of the invited guests came with the intention of contributing their quota in touching the lives of people at the target charity homes and bring succour, in their own little way, to the less fortunate.
West African Idol winner and talented vocalist, Timi Dakolo, was on hand to set the tone for the evening with his popular unity song 'Great Nation'. Also present on stage was talented female vocalist Waje, who serenaded guests with a Ballard beginning with the sweet twang of the Spanish guitar, after which she held guests spell-bound with her soronous voice. Highpoint of the performance was when multi-talented music maestro, Cobhams Asuquo, took to the stage. He began with one of his newest compositions before switching to one of his very popular works, 'Ordinary People', which got guests singing along and nodding their heads. The trios' rendition of Michael Jackson’s 'Heal the World' got guests on their feet swaying to the song made popular by the late King of Pop. It was so well delivered that one would think Michael himself was on the stage.
Onto the business of the day, the Tinsel cast made the first move by donating N1, 615,000 to each of the Charities to commemorate the 1,615th episode of Tinsel. This was followed by contributions from guests.
The night came to a close with an after-party. Music was by DJ Sose, the tatoo-faced DJ, who dished out songs to the delight of guest. It was a celebration after a successful night of fundraising for the needy. With the success of the inaugural ball, Mnet executives believe that the organization will be able to touch even more people with funds raised by their partners for the good of the needy and less fortunate in the society.