Dinner & Fundraiser with Dr. Janice Stein a Huge Success!

On Thursday, January 27, Nu-Vision's Zambia Workteam 2011 hosted a Dinner & Fundraiser at the Travelodge Hotel Airlane, with special guest speaker, Dr. Janice Stein.

Over 250 people attended the event, which was a major fundraiser for our team's projects. Our goal is to raise $15,000 for the work we will be doing at Lifesong School in Kitwe, Zambia in July 2011. We have already raised several thousand dollars through our TBSO Balcony Fundraiser earlier in January, and other initiatives such as a "dress-down day" at the Lakehead Public School Board Office, and private donations.

The evening began with guests arriving to be seated at their assigned table with a table host and sponsor, who paid $200 for the meals for the 10 people at their table. The idea was to invite people who might consider donating to our projects at the end of the evening. Almost every space at the 27 tables were filled, making the total in attendance over 250 people! We were so pleased to see our event so well attended.

Rev. Nancy, our team leader, led the evening with a welcome, grace, and introduction of our special guest speaker, Dr. Janice Stein, University of Toronto professor and Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, and frequent guest on TVOntario's program, "The Agenda". Dr. Stein spoke for about 20 minutes on the topic of "Africa on the Brink". She told of promising signs in Africa of economic development, saying that, in 2011 and beyond, Zambia will likely be one of world's top 10 growing economies. Rather than focusing on the troubles of Africa, such as the alarming rate of HIV/AIDS infection, corrupt government and poverty, we can take hope that working alongside Africans to help improve the education and health care systems will enable Africa to become self-sufficient. Dr. Stein's talk was informative and engaging, and we greatly appreciated her generosity in taking time out in her busy weekend schedule in Thunder Bay to address our group and guests at our fundraiser.

A buffet dinner was served next, with salad, pasta with meatballs, bread, veggies and dip, and squares and cakes for dessert. During dinner, people were encouraged to come up with a question at their table to ask Dr. Stein, and she very graciously answered them after dinner. Len Anderson, Chair of Nu-Vision Ministry Canada, then thanked the group for coming, and gave a brief history of Nu-Vision Ministry Canada. He also presented Dr. Stein with a thank-you gift and honorarium.

The Zambia Workteam 2011 then did a presentation with a PowerPoint slideshow, introducing the team, outlining what the 2010 team did at Lifesong School, and then told of what we hoped to accomplish at the School in July. Rev. Nancy, Doug and Daphne did a fantastic job, and people came up to them afterward and said how much they enjoyed it.

People then had an opportunity to make a donation to the Zambia Projects 2011. The next day, after a preliminary count, we are thrilled to say that our Fundraiser greatly exceeded our expectations, raising over $10,000 for Zambia! The team is over the moon, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of our friends, family and colleagues for making this event such a resounding success!