There’s going to be a great charity gig on campus this week

This week, two local bands are going to pack Room 76 in aid of Dig Deep, and the night is set to be massive. If you’re looking for a cheap night out or have so many deadlines that you can’t bring yourself to go ‘out-out’ into town until the small hours, there will be no better place to be this Wednesday night (20 April) than in our very own coffee shop turned gig venue, Room 76.  We chatted to the lovely Rosie O’Connor, who is the main organiser behind the gig.

 What exactly is Dig Deep?

Dig Deep is a UK charity that aims to break the cycle of poverty in rural Kenya by providing communities with clean water and sanitation. Most of their fundraising comes from groups doing sponsored climbs of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. I’ll be climbing Kilimanjaro this September with other fundraisers from Sussex and Brighton Uni. This year, we are a society, like RAG or Sussex Marrow.

 Why is this your cause of choice?

New latrines thanks to Dig Deep, next to the old latrines

Over 16 million people in Kenya still don’t have access to clean water, and almost twice that number  don’t have access to adequate sanitation. One of the things that makes Dig Deep different from a lot of other clean water charities is that they have a focus on what’s called ‘community led development’. This basically means that they work with each community they’re helping and make sure they’re involved at every stage of a project, which ensures it is tailored to that community’s specific needs.

What can we expect at the gig?

The band enjoying some down-time

Two wonderful bands will be playing on the night, Frank & Beans and Murderhouse. Frank & Beans are a two-piece art-punk band originally from Northern Ireland and Murderhouse are a local Brighton folk-punk band.  Check out their music on Facebook and Soundcloud. I think the night is going to be very different from anything we’ve had on campus in a while. I don’t think we get as much variety as a lot other universities sometimes, which is why I really wanted to organise something a bit more alternative.

What have you done to fundraise in the past?

The previous Frank & Beans gig

Previously, I’ve done everything from handmade Christmas cards to bake sales to gigs. We also did a street collection as a group and on the 19th we’ve organized a Silent Disco at Shoosh along with three other fundraising groups at Sussex. We’ve got a great line up for it, including DJ’s from UFR playing.

 What are the plans for fundraising in the future?

There will be loads going on over the next few months and over the summer to fundraise between myself and the rest of my group (there’s about 11 of us). If Wednesday night goes well I’d love to organise something similar in May or early June, so watch this space.

How can students get involved?

Other than coming to the gig? Keep an eye out for any Dig Deep fundraising activities on campus. We’re planning a coin map of Kenya in Library square next month. There’s a lot of stuff on the horizon at the moment. If you’ve got a friend, or someone close to you doing the climb, or another big fundraiser, your time might be more valuable than your money. Being there to help out at a bake sale or a street collection as an extra pair of hands is really useful.

You can find the gig event on Facebook here.