12-Year-Old Rapper Hosts Fundraiser in Amsterdam for BlinkNow & NCO Bal Mandir
Thursday, March 09, 2023
A 12-year-old Dutch/Nepali rapper and his younger sister have launched a fundraising campaign and benefit concert in Amsterdam to help two children’s homes in Nepal. The final concert will take place on Easter Monday, April 10, 2023, in collaboration with theater City of Wesopa in Weesp. Smaller events will be held leading up to this.
On February 1, 2023, Dharan and Avana Rimal began this fundraising campaign and will continue with hosting pop-up shows at various places in Weesp and Amsterdam between February 1 and April 10. At the pop-up shows, attendees can also donate to the cause, buy T-shirts, make a reservation for the April 10 theatre show, and hear the stories and the needs of children in Nepal.
All proceeds from concert ticket sales, lottery, and auction will go to two children’s homes in Nepal, NCO Bal Mandir and Kopila Valley Children’s Home, a program of BlinkNow. The Rimal family will travel to Nepal to personally donate the proceeds. At NCO Bal Mandir, Dharan will also perform live for the children in residence.
Dharan and Avana chose to help children in Nepal because of a direct connection – their father lived in NCO Bal Mandir as a child, so they consider themselves Dutch/Nepali and take this cause very personally. The second beneficiary is BlinkNow and its Kopila Valley Children’s Home, an organization known for Maggie Doyne, who was the CNN Hero of the Year, has been featured in the New York Times, and has been featured on Floortje Dessing’s travel program.
There are many needs for the homes as they care for children. NCO Bal Mandir is short of clothes, school supplies, toys, and more. BlinkNow has similar day-to-day needs, as well as some larger projects planned to improve the lives of children in rural Kopila Valley. Dharan and Avana hope to share the stories of these homes and inspire others to help in their fundraising campaign.
Dharan says, “In Nepal, children’s homes depend on donations, and because the country is too poor to bear all the costs, we want to do something.”
We are inspired to see these young people leading the way in generosity for their community and beyond. Thank you Dharan, Avana, and family!