IWC Black & White Dinner-Dance

The International Women's Club, after weeks of preparation of ever-increasing intensitey, hosted its main annual fundraising event on Saturday. The Virunga Hall of the Memling Hotel saw us carrying supplies, bringing in roses, climbing ladders, hanging drapes, arranging centerpieces, counting masks, threading sequins, making lamps, applying lace, planning seating, discussing costs, folding programs, rolling up napkins, numbering tables, arguing with hotel management, counting settings, sorting raffle prizes, admiring, discussing, sharing, laughing, worrying, giving up, plodding on, communicating and miscommunicating.

It was a great success.

Proceeds go to feed very hungry children in Kinshasa. Part to a Franciscan Missionaries of Mary nutrition center, where moderately and severely malnourished children are given a new lease on life, and part to Padre Guido's O.S.E.P.E.R, where hundreds of street children find safety, food, medical care, and something sorely lacking in their lives: affection and hope.

Ticket sales, wine sales, a raffle... all brought in much-needed cash in $10's, $20's and $100's. And corporate and private sponsors donated by $1000's, we didn't thank them enough. What's amazing is how far each one of those dollars goes here. A child can eat decently for under $1 a day. School fees at $30 a year don't seem like much but it's more than most parents make in month here.

It is sometimes argued that aid to poor countries is counterproductive: "enabling" corruption and apathy. Perhaps, but in the meantime, tomorrow's citizens aren't getting enough nutrition for brain development. You won't be able to fix that later.

Solar potatoes!

Sophie gave me a Solar Cooker for my birthday. It consists of a dark metal pot and lid, a folding cardboard contraption lined with foil on one side, and a few other items - a plastic baking bag, two clothespins. Here it is on our front lawn on Saturday, NOT cooking potatoes, because Saturday's kind of partly cloudy was just too cloudy. Those potatoes had to finish cooking on the stove even after 6 hours of partly sunny. We placed it on a large plastic bag because the grass was wet. That may be a clue: if your grass is wet, it just ain't sunny enough for Solar cooking. Picture 3 gives you a vague idea of the glare you get if you stand in the wrong place. It is completely blinding. And picture 4 shows the potatoes we cooked on Sunday, a very Sunny day indeed. In less than three hours, the potatoes were done to perfection!

Recipe: Partly peel 1 lb potatoes as desired. Cut into thick slices. Place in pot. Toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover. Place the pot into the bag, loosely twist the top of the bag and tuck it under the pot, and place the pot in the reflective thingy. Leave alone for 3 hours but check regularly to make sure some palm tree's shade hasn't intruded on your energy source. Open carefully, steam comes out! Mm, mm, mm!