By a Tamaraneh Member.
Last Saturday, February 18, we had our annual Benefit Dinner at the Alberta Avenue Community Hall.
First our guests got the chance to know each other better with some fun mixer activities. Information facts about Sierra Leone were also displayed on the walls and several video clips about the 2012 projects were shown during the evening – teacher salaries, digging a second water well and completing reconstructive surgery for Nasratu, the mother of one of our students in Romano Village.
The evening was colorful and full of musical performances: after Yaya and Isatu Kadi sang the Sierra Leone and Canadian national anthems, we enjoyed traditional Temne songs by the group “Women of Sierra Leone”. Sudanese songwriter Elizabeth Bol sang a recent composition thanking Canada for providing opportunities to immigrants.
Weyone Catering, owned by Matilda Kamara, provided the delicious Sierra Leone food. Throughout the dinner, Ishokan Afrika accompanied us with drumming and Yussefu Kamara rounded out the evening with a DJ mix of African music.
A big thank you to our volunteers from Interact and Bellerose School. And thank you so much to all of those in attendance without whom this fundraiser would not have been possible.
Graeme’s Award
One highlight of the evening was the award by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) to Graeme Matichuk. Our faithful volunteer Graeme, student at Bellerose Composite School, was selected as one of Alberta’s Top 30 under 30 youth who are making a positive difference in the world. With only 17 years old, Graeme is already a role model by being actively involved in many international and local development projects.
Appeal for donations
A total amount of $6,000 was collected on Saturday from our supporters. We are still collecting donations until we meet our $20,000 goal for 2012. Donations can be made by:
a. Mail a check to the Tamaraneh Society for Community Development and Support at the following address:
P.O. Box 78170
RPO Callingwood
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5T 6A1
b. Donate online: www.tamaraneh.org/contact
All donations go directly towards: teachers salaries, digging a second water well and completing reconstructive surgery for Nasratu.
Thank you to everyone who helped make our evening such a success!
Photo courtesy of Heidi Bernhardi - freeplaydesign.com
Tamaraneh founder Memunatu Kamara (first from left) and other Sierra Leonean women at the fundraising dinner. Here is a video of this year’s fundraiser:
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