By Community Correspondent, Philippa Hennessy Local couple Sean and Alex Robson-Hanafin have been working hard over the past recent months to raise funds for their charity, The Friends of the Children of Tanzania (FoCT). The charity was first set up two years ago and was granted charitable status 18 months ago. It's only recently that the charity has started to actively hold fund raising events and involve local schools and businesses. The charity came about following a visit to Tanzania when Alex and Sean witnessed first hand how little the children have and how they struggle to achieve the standards of health and education that we in the Western world take for granted for our own children. The charity's aim is to support and educate disadvantaged children, mostly disabled, homeless or orphans (many) due to HIV/AIDS. It has a bursary fund to sponsor those who are gifted, hardworking and focused into secondary education - the state funds all primary education, but only 20% of secondary. Fees are normally paid by parents, but if they are deceased, sick, or very poor then FoCT can step in. For the children of Tanzania, education is the key to a better life.
 More information about the charity can be found at www.friendsofthechildrenoftanzania.org.

When Alex isn't dedicating any spare time that she has during the day to the charity, by night she sings in a band; 
Any Swing Goes (www.anyswinggoes.org.uk). An 18 piece big band, Any Swing Goes first burst onto the scene in 1999 and Alex has been singing with it pretty much since its formation back then. The band entertains countless audiences at a wide variety of venues all over, such as Clivedon, Claridges, Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of London. Describing itself as exuberant, charismatic and sassy with a confident and swinging beat, the band promises a night to remember with its classic big band vocals and instrumentals. Its music includes classics from the 1930s and 40s by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Glenn Miller, through to the later styles of jazz swing made famous by Duke Ellington, Count Basie. It also features big band vocal arrangements originally made great by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra which have been so successfully revived in the last few years. Alex and her band mates pride themselves as being a semi-professional outfit - most of them play for the sheer love of it - which means that booking the band is very affordable.

 Alex has always been a performer - her parents were opera singers, so the lucky woman has obviously inherited the gene to sing. She tells me that she used to act and loves to combine the two, but now just concentrates on singing. The best gig she has ever sung at was The 100 Club and she has even backed Barry Manilow at Wembley Arena. Closer to home, Alex performs regularly at The Bull's Head in Barnes and hopes to be back there at the end of September. The band's next big gig is a Charity one for Centrepoint at The 100 Club and following that, on a Jazz Festival boat in central London.