A Ray of Hope

By Han Wei Chou • UrbanWire
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The theme of Hope shone throughout the second part of the National Kidney Foundation s (NKF)Children s Medical Fund Charity Show 2004. While the first part saw lots of fanfare and performance from teenybopper acts like 5566 and Cyndi Wang , this show was a more subdued but no less entertaining affair.

Despite the differences in programme lineup, the message remained the same: Call in to make a difference in the lives of children with chronic illnesses. According to Channel NewsAsia, more than 1 million viewers tuned in to catch the second installment of the show. Viewers made slightly over 1 million donation calls that night, raising $5.4 million for the charity. This brought the total amount donated after the 2 parts to $10.7 million.

If you missed the show, let UrbanWire recap the highlights.

Powerful Performances

Fun and Games

Masochists Anonymous

Finale

Powerful Performances

The show s opening act was a song segment by veteran Taiwanese singer Sky Wu, who sang a medley of classics like Te Bie De Ai Gei Te Bie De Ni (translated as A Special Love For A Special You ) and some of his newer songs. Sky sang with deep emotion and moved the audience with his rich, textured voice. Later in the show, he also sang a duet with The Prince of Ballads , Jeff Chang.

For Sky, a father of 2, this show held special meaning. Speaking in Mandarin at a press conference last week, he said, As a parent myself, I can identify with the pain these parents (of children with chronic illness) must be going through. He added, I put my heart and soul in my singing. I believe the audience can see my sincerity and make more calls.

Sharing similar sentiments was acclaimed Chinese singer Huang Wan Qiu, who added in Mandarin, Children are the hope of every family. Let us give them the chance to grow up healthy by donating to this charity.

In a show of support, Wan Qiu s husband and daughter travelled here from China to perform with her at the show. They gave a rousing performance with their rendition of popular Chinese folk songs such as Zhi You Shan Ge Jing Qin Ren (A Mountain Song To Respect Your Loved Ones).

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Fun and Games

Besides the requisite song items, the show also featured wacky segments like the trampoline antics of Terence Cao and Mark Lee. They climbed, swung and crawled all over a double-decker bed , fitted with trampolines in place of mattresses. This performance saw both men getting into funny positions and doing various stunts on the bed .

Though the routine managed to elicit a lot of laughter from the audience, preparing for it was no laughing matter. Said Terence at the press conference, We (Terence and Mark) only trained for this segment after we had trained for the other stunts and fulfilled our obligations in other projects. It s very tiring but we kept thinking of the children as we trained. This helped us make it through.

The comedy continued with the Bouncing Chef segment. The weighty Moses Lim and a slimmed down Chen Liping were hoisted into the air with wires. Each attempted to catch cooking ingredients suspended from the MediaCorp studio ceiling.

It was hilarious watching them struggle to get the right ingredients. And as Mark commented in Mandarin, Never before has a mountain (i.e. Moses Lim) been lifted into the air.

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Masochists Anonymous

Judging from the stunts they performed, that should be the organization that the night s hottest acts Jack Neo and Huang Hui should have signed up with.

Singapore s most versatile performer Jack Neo had a fiery feast, swallowing the flames of not 1, not 2, but 12 burning torches! The audience s amazement turned into worry when he faltered with one of them. But an unfazed Jack continued to wow them by chewing on red-hot charcoal. Ouch!

In a stunt that was just as painful to watch, the usually feminine and timid Huang Hui repeatedly stabbed her hands into a pot of red-hot iron filings. In a bid to get more calls, she then lifted a pot of boiling water with her bare hands. It was then that she achieved a new personal best, holding the pot for 20 seconds. Pain was etched all over her face throughout the stunt.

To prove that there were no tricks involved, they put a prawn into the water, which cooked within seconds!

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Finale

What better way to wrap up the evening than with a super stunt? In the aptly titled United We Climb , 15 MediaCorp artistes formed a beautiful formation by stacking themselves up on a framework of 3 ladders.

The artistes ascended the ladder one at a time till none were left to support the adders. It was difficult enough to balance on top of the 3 ladders, but it became even harder when nobody supported the ladders.

The audience gave thunderous applause when the formation was finally completed. This applause must surely be a big payoff for Mark Lee, who managed to overcome his fear of heights for this act. Ah Jie (Mandarin for big sister ) Zoë Tay, who had to pull out of the performance at the last minute due to an old injury, said in Mandarin at the press conference, During the rehearsals, Mark was always telling the others at the base, Don t move, don t move. I m scared.

In place of Zoe was host Sharon Au, who, despite being called upon at the last minute, managed to pull off the stunt beautifully.

The words of NKF chairman Dr Gerard Chua best described in Mandarin the driving force behind the display of courage and all the effort that went into the fundraiser: We want to give these children hope for the future.

Find out how else you can help these kids in need by visiting the NKF Children s Medical Fund website.

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