Hope through music .... Benefit concert for children with bone disorder

... Benefit concert for children with bone disorder

Upcoming gospel artiste Nicky J is urging the public to support the third staging of "Shekinah: A Worship Event", which is a benefit concert for her son, Andre Johnson, as well as others born with Tibial Hemimelia.

Tibial Hemimelia is a rare disorder in which the person is born without the tibia (the large bone) in the lower part of the leg.

To date, there is no cure for the condition, other than amputation.

Nicky J's son, 12-year-old Andre Johnson, had both his legs amputated at the tender age of two years old. Since then, he has been wearing prosthetic legs, which have to be changed annually to adjust to his growth.

The cost for prosthetic legs can easily run into millions of dollars, but thankfully for Andre, the Shriners Hospital in Florida provides them for free.

However, caring for her son is still a costly venture.

"From September until now he went through 12 khaki pants because the legs keep ripping them, and he's now on his second pair of Timberland shoes as the bottoms ride out because the prosthetics are heavy," Nicky J explained.

foundation

She added that the annual visit to the clinic in Tampa, Florida, also comes at an expense.

"We still need to get food, transportation, airfare, and boarding," Nicky J explained.

His next visit is scheduled for July 18.

It is with this in mind, that Nicky J teamed up with Minister Maria Azan to start the Shekinah Foundation, for Andre and others like him.

"There are other children like Andre in Jamaica so I put the foundation together not just to benefit Andre but others as well. I'm hoping to get in contact with the other children and help with something, if it's even back to school," Nicky J explained.

She said so far she has made a contribution to a child in Mandeville, and hopes to increase the number of persons she can assist through the foundation.

Nicky J is encouraging patrons to turn out on June 25, at the Trench Town Multi-purpose Centre on 5th Street, Kingston 10, at 7 p.m. to support a worthy cause.

Admission is $600 for adults, $300 for children, and $1,000 for reserved seats. One lucky ticket holder will win a gate prize of an all-inclusive spa day at Jencare Skin Farm. Tickets are available at 4 Third Street, Kingston 12.