Bangalore's 'Twitters' to help less privileged kids

Bangalore: They mainly express themselves in the virtual world, but in order to help Bangalore's underprivileged children, the Twitter community of India's IT hub will come out in the open to tweet for a cause on Saturday.

The event christened "Twestival" or Twitter festival will see Twitter users of the city come together to raise money for needy children.

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The money raised in the event will be donated to Bangalore-based NGO "Dream A Dream", working for needy children. The festival has also come up with a cheeky slogan: Tweet, meet and give.

"The idea behind the festival is to help underprivileged children who are struggling to get their daily food and education. We want an equal society and an end to poverty," Hrish Thota, event coordinator, told IANS.

"We have tied up with Dream A Dream, and the money raised during the festival will be donated to the NGO," said Thota.

Bangalore is among 200 places across the world to host the festival on the day. Other Indian cities to be part of the event are Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune.

The Kyra theatre in Indira Nagar will host the event.

The entry fee is 250. Highlights of the evening will be a performance by rock band Swarathma, mesmerizing acts by Nakul Shenoy, an internationally-acclaimed psychic entertainer and a stand up comedy show by Papa CJ and Aron Kedar.

The organisers have already sold 80 tickets.

Twestival was first started in London, when a group of Twitter users met at Trafalgar Square in September last year.

Now, the festival is held twice a year worldwide, during February and September. While the February event is dedicated to a global cause, the September event takes up a local cause.

"Bangalore was part of the February event this year, but in a small manner," said Thota.

Dream A Dream was established in 1999. The voluntary organisation works with Bangalore's underprivileged children. In order to empower society's disadvantaged children, the NGO helps them develop various skills. Currently the NGO is working with about 1,500 children.

According to experts working in the field of child rights, the number of children, especially street children, in Bangalore has increased significantly.

"The exact figure or percentage of street children in Bangalore is hard to provide as the number fluctuates. But due to the increase in the gap between the rich and poor in the city, we can easily say that the numbers have increased hugely in recent times," said Vishal Talreja, a founder of Dream A Dream.
Source: IANS