A community celebration for Western Heads East
By Karmen Dowling
Thursday, April 1, 2010
More than 300 individuals experienced the energy and authentic food of an East African Market at a special fundraising event for Western Heads East, on March 25.
"Nearly $10,000 was raised to support more women's groups making the probiotic yoghurt and the student interns who work with them," says Western Heads East Steering Committee member, Bob Gough. "There was a celebratory feeling in the room and everyone left knowing more about what Western was doing in these African communities."
The event was called In The Market For Western Heads East, where The Great Hall at Western was transformed into a lively East African market. Displays, food and wine, busker entertainment, multi-media presentations and a silent auction featuring Tanzanian and Kenyan hand-carved crafts, were all be a part of the fundraising event where proceeds will go to Western Heads East, Western’s community response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.
Gough notes everyone seemed to get swept away with the music and enjoyed the atmosphere, and the bartering. He says they have already started talking about wanting to do another such event next year.
High Commissioners/Ambassadors from Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Zambia were in attendance. Gough notes the presentations by the dignitaries were powerful and held promise of further collaboration between Western, the Western Heads East Project and their respective countries.
Western Heads East, first established in East Africa in 2004, is a unique collaboration between Western, governmental and non-governmental organizations in Tanzania, Kenya, and more recently, Rwanda. Documented evidence shows that the probiotic yoghurt has health benefits, especially for people with compromised immune systems and suffering from under-nutrition. This simple, life saving technology has formed the core of women-led social businesses in Africa, with a goal to make this probiotic yoghurt accessible and affordable to all community members. So far, 34 Western students and 10 staff members have visited and spent time with the women's groups, government agencies, and institutions of higher learning in these three countries, and these have become our firm partners in the transfer of technology, research and service learning.
