Charity ball assists orphanage

FORGET Me Not Children's Home founder Lars Olsen was still in awe yesterday at what his latest charity ball had raised for the orphanage project in Nepal.

“We realised that things were tight in the business community, but to have raised $171,000 was an overwhelming response,” Lars said.

“Our goal was to hopefully make $100,000 so we could start stage one of the eco village we are creating at Rani Rauwa on the outskirts of Nepal. Now we have enough to finish that stage and also to move forward on stage two.”

The Forget Me Not orphanage looks after 60 young children and recently expanded by purchasing five acres of land.

The land which is now cleared will see a visitors quarters for 10 volunteers built in the next few months and a two-storey administration centre with medical centre and training rooms started shortly after.

The Bollywood-themed charity ball lived right up to its reputation as the top social event of the year on the Fraser Coast.

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