Date:21/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/21/stories/2008072152411800.htm

Sport - Cricket

Watson’s wonderful gesture

Melbourne: Moved by the plight of Jaipur’s street children, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has associated himself with a Sydney-based charity ‘I-India’ to raise funds for their rehabilitation.

The 27-year-old, whose all-round performance helped Rajasthan Royals win the inaugural Indian Premier League title, came up with the initiative after he was shocked to learn that the city has 500,000 street children.

To initiate the process, Watson and his girlfriend Lee Furlong, a sports-reader for Fox, have decided to host a fund-raising dinner — A Night In Rajasthan — on August 2 at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel, where he will share his experiences of his stay in Jaipur.

“I realised the kids over there don’t have much of an opportunity. When some bombs went off in Jaipur, it brought a lot of things close to home. I wanted to help the kids as much as I could, and I realised one way to do that was to support I-India,” Watson was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. — PTI