Gala for BanglaKids: Love takes many forms
Love takes many forms. On October 26, 2019, it showed up through celebrities and it wore saree to help poor Bangladeshi children. This happened during the BanglaKids Gala. This program has helped 7,200 Bangladeshi children go to school in its 20 years of existence. The evening was kindly hosted by Barbora Černošková, a sports commentator of Czech TV. The patron of the event was Adam Zábranský, a member of the city council of Prague.
The atmosphere of the Gala for BanglaKids was absolutely unique, inspiring and the participants won a profound experience. All parts of the program fitted together like a puzzle and created a beautiful image which everyone was happy about. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the BanglaKids program thus took part in the spirit of kindness, solidarity and love.The Gala was opened by Radomír Špinka, the director of the humanitarian agency ADRA. He thanked all the donors. Without them, no support for Bangladeshi children would be possible and welcomed the smiling presenter Barbora Černošková, who was dressed in a festive blue saree and who kindly hosted the evening.
Adam Zábranský, a member of the city council of Prague, highlighted in his speech the importance and positive impact of education in developing countries and the need to support the non-profit sector for the preservation of democracy in our country. He himself is a living example of generosity, since he donates 15% of his income to charity projects that are meaningful to him. By the way, after the Gala – he became one of the donors of BanglaKids like some other participants..
An impressive video made for the 20th anniversary of the program opened a panel discussion about the needs of Bangladeshi children and the lives of people in poor Bangladesh. Alena Rusová, the founder of the program dressed in the traditional Bengali attire; Kristýna Ptáková, a donor who was given a Bangladeshi child aid by her parents as a present for her 18th birthday; Robert Winkler, a longtime donor and construction company owner and Kamil Kreutziger, the current head of the BanglaKids program, were answering the questions. All of them had already visited Bangladesh and agreed that helping was a joy and help was still needed. More than twelve million children still don't go to school in Bangladesh. Worldwide it’s about 264 million – one in five children. That's also why ADRA recently reached out to the global public with the challenge called Every Child – Everywhere – In school since education is one of the best ways to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. 
The "Saree That Helps" fashion show became a magnet of the Gala. It was opened by children in traditional Bengali school uniforms, followed by a number of well-known personalities, some of whom were mothers of these children. Saree, draped in various ways, was presented e.g. by the singer Leona Machálková, the director Jana Počtová, the actresses Ivana Vaňková and Barbora Šporclová Kodetová, the soprano Jana Šrejma Kačírková and others. 
The proceeds of the benefit of CZK 40,000 go to Bangladeshi children. Another CZK 15,600 were donated by people as a voluntary contribution or for a book or a souvenir. We thank all the willing donors on behalf of Bangladeshi children and as an encouragement to further benefaction we quote the words of the teacher of nations, John Amos Comenius: "To serve and to do good, these are the characteristics of a noble person".
© Photo: Jiří Štěpánek and Aleš Povondra
