More information on GOA SUDHAROP award winner Akshada Bandekar who is just 12 years old and is a musical genius -
She began singing when she was only two and a half years of age and by the time she was four years old, she was already singing on stage. She sings in English, Konkani, Marathi and Hindi. She is a meritorious student, studying in Std. VII at Sharada Mandir High School, Goa. But what is more remarkable is that she has been using her musical talent to help the needy and the disadvantaged. In 2005 when she was just 6 years old, she had a solo musical concert at Kala Academy, raising an amount of Rs 50,000. She donated this entire amount to the Prime Minister’s Relief fund to help the Tsunami victims. In 2007 she had another performance at Kala Academy where she donated the proceeds of the show amounting to Rs 75,000/- for the welfare of the special children at Sanjay School. In 2008 she had yet another concert in honour of the girl child and from the proceeds, she distributed scholarships amounting to Rs 1,00,000/- to meritorious and needy girls students from rural schools all across Goa. She has recently been working for the ‘Save the Girl Child’ campaign and has even written and composed a song to create awareness for the cause. Her selfless efforts at this young age to use her talents to help generating funds for needy causes is surely an inspiration to us all which earned her a GOA SUDHAROP 'YEAR OF THE GOAN VOLUNTEER SPIRIT' award. GOA SUDHAROP www.goasudharop.org
