“babyPHAT” HEADLINES HEMIHELP CHARITY CONCERT

Costa del Sol teenager raises awareness

A charity concert is to be held at The Moonlight Lounge in Benalmadena on Friday 16th November at 8pm to raise awareness and funds for children and young people with Hemiplegia. 

Hemiplegia is a neurological condition that weakens one side of the body, and affects one child in a thousand. It is sometimes described as a form of cerebral palsy, and the effects are similar to those of a stroke. It is caused by damage to the brain, which may happen before, during or soon after birth.

Generally, injury to the left side of the brain will cause problems on the right side of the body and injury to the right side cause problems on the left. In one child this may be very obvious (he or she may have little use of one hand, may limp or have poor balance), in another child it will be so slight that it only shows when attempting specific physical activities. Over half of the children affected will have additional problems such as epilepsy, perceptual problems or behavioral/emotional difficulties

The headline act is the popular group 'babyPHAT' and includes Laura Krier, Lexy Badger-Ward and Jake Waby.  Jake actually has hemiplegia and has received help from the Hemihelp organisation, to which all proceeds will be donated.

Hemihelp is a valuable resource for information and news on all the latest treatments, along with putting families in touch with one another. It helps children no matter which country they are living in. Jake and his family have received a lot of support from Hemihelp both when living in the UK and in the last 8 years here in Spain and now they want to give something back.

To especially mark the charity event, ‘babyPHAT’ will be releasing a special album on the night.

“The songs included on the album deal with many of the issues I’ve had to face because of having a disability. The message is that you can manage many of the effects of hemiplegia, but you have to work hard, be positive and have a good sense of humour about falling over a lot.” laughs Jake. 

Jake has been a recording artist in development with Mere Music International since the age of 8 years old. He is 13 now and has worked hard to manage his disability to the extent that when performing, it is hardly noticeable.  However, he feels very deeply about raising awareness of the condition in order to help the general public understand a little more about it’s effects.  

Also performing on the night will be classic rock guitarist and singer Graham Keeling, as well as a hip-hop group led by Nicola Jones from ITS  (The International Theatre School).

The Moonlight Lounge is part of the Sunset Beach complex and have kindly donated their venue for free.
Tickets are priced at €15 per adult, children (under 16) €10, family ticket 2 adults 2 children €40 and are available at the box office at Sunset Beach Hotel or by phoning Debbie Waby on  656861108.

For more information on any of the above then please visit www.jakewaby.com or
www.hemihelp.org.uk