Tuesday 17 November 2015

What We're Up To

Greetings Friends and Supporters,

We thought you might want a little update on what we've been up to lately. We also have some exciting news for you!

As for what we've been up to, we were fortunate enough to have our good friend and long-time supporter Diana throw us a spectacular fundraiser.

Diana and her beautiful belly dance troupe Tribe MayaFire hosted their annual Spooky Souk fundraiser at the gorgeous Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, Ont. The party was vibrant, fun and a great success -- Diana and her team sold every seat in the house.

The proceeds from the event will be used to purchase sewing machines for our women's groups. In Nepal, literacy must be augmented by opportunity. Once the women achieve literacy, they want to continue building profitable skills. The women of the village of Madjhuwa will receive five sewing machines and training in their use. WELNepal will supply enough thread and material during the training.

After their training, the 30 or 40 women involved will have access to the sewing machines for personal use, and they should be able to earn some money tailoring for others. The women, as a group, are responsible for creating the rules of use and deciding how to share in the profits earned.

As for the Souk, Diana had this to say about the party:



"This past Saturday's "Spooky Souk" was an amazing night full of dance and music, and we'd like to thank the many people that made it such a success: 

 To our performers that graced the stage and brought the house down! Thank you Ishra, Invoketress, PeggyEshe Yildiz, Ala Nar, the dancers from Wah' loo, Shades of Araby, and Elizabeth Gomez. We so appreciate you sharing your time and talents with us.

Thanks to the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton for being so wonderful and accommodating from start to finish. We love everything about your theatre - the location and vibe, Colette and Eric, those velvet seats, and can't forget the brownies! We feel like we've found the perfect fit for our little event that could, and we couldn't be happier.

Thanks to David Walton (founder of WELNepal) and the other WELNepalians -AshleyKim, Barry, and Wendy for taking photos, sharing your experience of Nepal, promoting our event, and bringing attention to such a worthy cause.

Thank you to Elysium Tribal and BellyUp for your generous silent auction donations. You will have some very happy ladies shimmying into your studios very soon for classes.

To our sound & tech crew Roger, Kirk, & Rene - thanks for keeping the cues tight, the music going, and the lights just right!

Thanks to Shelina who informed and entertained our audience as MC, and to my troupe mates in Tribe MayaFire - CarolKellieSherry, and Jessica who did the million little invisible "behind-the-scenes" jobs that make a night like this possible.

Thanks to our volunteers James and Malclom for always helping out wherever and whenever you were needed, and for doing it with big smiles on your faces!

And don't think we forgot YOU, our gorgeous audience! Your generosity, support, heartfelt cheers, and "Thriller" dance moves made the Souk! You have no idea how wonderful it feels as a performer to have such an appreciative audience - it makes you shimmy harder, spin faster, and give it all you've got! So thank you to our beautiful guests for being that secret ingredient that makes a good event a GREAT one!

Lastly, to our sisters in Nepal we say thank you for continuing to be such an inspiration by proving that it is never too late to change, to learn, to grow, and to claim the rights that are yours.

Until next year friends 
As for our big news, we will, for the first time ever, be hosting an eBay auction! We will have hockey tickets and art available. Please stay tuned to our blog, website and Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.  

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