Tuesday 31 May 2016 15:47, UK
On Wednesday, a host of household names from the worlds of F1 and music will be coming together in London for a special initiative focused on changing the lives of children growing up in institutional care.
Sky F1's Natalie Pinkham, who will be hosting the star-studded event, reveals the inspiration behind End The Silence…
We all made a fuss about the reduction in noise of the engines in 2014. 'It's not authentic,' we cried, 'it's just not F1'. Now imagine if you can, a room full of children who don't make a noise. Not a whimper. No tears, no laughter, just an eerie silence. It's surreal; but that's exactly what you will find in state-run institutions around the world, and that's because children learn very quickly not to cry if no one ever comes when they do.
My passion outside of Formula 1 is child protection and welfare; and my commitment is to be play a small part in ending the institutionalisation of children within our lifetime. Untold damage is done to kids if they're not loved, or part of some semblance of a family unit.
The neglect and abuse is so profound in some of these orphanages that their brains actually shrink, and their life skills regress - so no walking, talking let alone ever reading, writing, playing, or feeding themselves. These are children who are born healthy, full of hope and expectation, but who are often subjected to inhumane treatment, including being tied to radiators as a 'control' mechanism. They therefore stand little or no chance of developing into fully-functioning adults.
There are eight million children worldwide currently subjected to this fate; and a staggering 80% of these aren't in fact orphans at all.
Some of you may remember that I worked on two documentaries with a gorgeous little girl called Mirela who spent most of her wretched life in state institutions. I found it very difficult to bounce between her world of abject poverty and neglect and the wealth and glamour of F1.
My mum pointed out though that actually I could leverage my position in the latter to help the former. Mums are always right! - well, that's what I have already started telling Wilf. And sure enough my friends in the F1 family were incredible; helping me raise £200k to home Mirela, two of her siblings and nine of her friends.
Wednesday evening is another step on that journey as we pull together friends from F1 and music for a special event in London. It's called End The Silence, and we intend on banishing the stigma, sadness and silence of these forgotten children through two of the loudest forms of entertainment - F1 and music.
Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa, Carmen Jorda, Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert, Damon Hill and David Coulthard are amongst those coming and they are in for a treat with a number of great music acts playing songs from their childhood. Mark Ronson is kindly DJ-ing and curating the night - so hopefully we are in for a memorable evening.
Keep an eye out for coverage of the night on Sky Sports News HQ, Sky F1 and Facebook Live.
My only slight concern is that I go into labour during the event as I am due any day now - although that would certainly fit well into the theme of Ending The Silence!
If you want to see more about the work we are doing please visit www.hopeandhomes.org
NP
