By IANS,
London : An Indian-origin socialite has raised more than 100,000 pounds for street children in India and other countries after holding a gala charity ball in London in the midst of a financial crisis.
“We are happy… I think we’ve done very well given the credit crunch,” said Sunila Nirula, who named her ball Graffiti in a salute to the growing importance of street culture on the international art scene.
“People are more willing to part with their money when you have a business plan – after all, people are still going out for dinner.”
The ball, attended by 500 London glitterati, projected a positive view of street children – often ignored or seen as drug addicts and criminals – and featured a graffiti-inspired fashion show from designers including Antonio Lucci, Rina Dhaka, Ritu Beri and Sonu Nilibar.
Nirula, co-chair of the charity Consortium for Street Children (CSC) and wife of construction magnate H.S. Nirula, said she wanted to see increased coordination and coherence among the large number of charities and individuals working with street children in India.
“There is very little coordination. All industrialists have their own little projects and they are doing it in-house,” said Nirula, whose organization works for the estimated 150 million children who are forced to live and work on the world’s streets.