Lavish events will help raise money for school in Nepal
Some children hate going to school. But Nepali tour guide Santosh Koirala never wanted to skip a day of classes.
Koirala (below, left) inspired Hong Kong-based modelling couple Anthony Sandstrom (right) and Jocelyn Luko to set up the charity Moonlight Foundation last year to help provide education to children in remote villages in Nepal. When the newlywed couple met Koirala on their honeymoon trip in Nepal, he told them of his dream to open a school. With the money raised from a charity auction in Hong Kong this year, the Moonlight School was opened on July 1.
The charity has now joined hands with Swire Properties to hold a series of charity fashion events under the title 'Pretty in Pink. In Here. At Festival Walk'. The series, which runs until October 5, opened on Thursday night, with posters of the models, chocolates and Barbie items for sale. Also on show are two life-sized Barbie mannequins dressed in stunning crystal-studded outfits designed by Swarovski and Vivienne Tam. They will be auctioned later to raise funds for the charity.
Koirala, 25, flew in to support the event. He said the school now had 20 students and three teaching staff. 'We found these kids from the slums. In Nepal, about 50 per cent of the children don't get to go to school.
'We provide our students with one meal a day and teach them some simple English and maths, and also some basic knowledge on personal hygiene ... we are not trying to turn these kids into doctors or pilots, all we want is to give them the basic education they need so they can think for their own future.'
To support the event, people are encouraged to bring their unwanted toys to the shopping mall before October 5. 'The toy I had when I was little was a sock stuffed with paper,' Koirala said.
'We made it into a round shape and played with it like a football. But it was a football that wouldn't bounce.'
