“Christmas is the season for giving” is a phrase that we have heard time and again. Every festive season, it’s a custom to give gifts to friends and family. But what about the underprivileged people? What would be the right gift to give them? The Radiant School of Learning has been giving them the gift of free education. For the past two years, the school in association with Dr. Ken Henson and his team have been organising a concert to support their act of giving to the underprivileged. The purpose of the event is to raise funds for the year 2020 primarily, and to bring in the season of Christmas with the best of musical talent from the city. This year, the concert - Light Up a Life is set to happen on December 8 at Baldwins High School.
Currently, in their third year, this concert has grown over the past two years. John Tristram who is the host and one organisers for the concert shares, “This is the first time, we are doing professionally. For the past two years, the numbers have only grown. We had people like Bobby Cash - a country singer be a part of the concert.
When we started, we did not know much. Last year, the concert was held over two days with over 500 to 600 people. This year, we are hoping it goes higher.” This year, they have been very selective with the songs, the lighting and sound to make the whole experience enjoyable and creative. Talking about the cause behind the concert, “At the school, we have a wide range of people studying. Kids as young as 12 to older people among the age groups of 29 and 30. A majority of them are underprivileged and cannot afford a decent education or they are dropouts who want to continue with the education. We try to help them free education and also give them a mid-day meal,” John shares and believes that education is the only means through which the vicious cycle of poverty can be broken.
The concert itself is going to unique and themed around Christmas. Dr. Ken Henson will be a part of this along with a team of over 85 people. Dr. Ken who will also be doing a duet with Juanita Mathews shares his association with the event. “We had a few friends who were the school and we had heard about the kind of things that they were doing to support these children. And this concert is a great way to ensure that these kids can get educated. There will be a 40 piece choir along with a bells ensemble where the bells with tuned at different pitches. For me, this concert is the highlight of the year and educating these children is pure joy.” Juanita Mathews who is one of lead singers and will be doing the duet along with Dr. Ken talking about the cause shares, “It’s beautiful to be a part of something that will be a blessing for these students. There are so many out there who don’t receive a proper education and that’s the worst-case scenario. I met some of these students at the Adonai church and to see them grow is great.” Not wanting to give up the suspense around her duet, Juanita shares that since she is a vocalist, she is constantly preparing for something or the other. Therefore, preparation for this concert was not much.
