Watson to help Jaipur's street children

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, who with his all-round performance helped Rajasthan Royals to 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, has 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.

'I-India' has already started its initiative in Jaipur and helps 3000 destitute children of the city every day.

Watson said though he would love to see immediate changes, he is aware of the hardships the charity is facing.

"It won't happen immediately. I-India is doing a lot of good work. They might allow kids to shower twice a week, and while that might not seem much to some people I think it's better they get that chance rather than none at all.

"The children are also doing things such as jewelery courses, so they are at least getting skills to help them break out of the poverty cycle," he said.

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