This is the back of the invitation to our fundraiser to rehabilitate the well at Menkao. We printed out 100, to sell for $20 each. The event is called a “Gouter-Partage” (name brazenly stolen from Denise, pardon! it’s like “Medecins Sans Frontieres, such a perfect name it spawns imitations). We’ll have cucumber, hummus&olive, pineapple&cream cheese and salmon sandwiches, mini-pizzas, mini-quiches, Tortilla española, Samosas, sushi, cakes and pastries, and to drink, fresh watermelon juice, pineapple juice, tea, coffee and the usual bottled stuff. Oh, and of course, Breadfruit Chips! Which reminds me, I want to work on a little self-published booklet of Breadfruits facts & recipes to give away at the Gouter-P.
Sam will provide the musical ambience. The children from the orphanage will give a concert (of simple songs 6 to 10-year-olds can learn), and then they’ll have their own gouter and watch a DVD provided by the Centre Culturel Français at the request of the French Ambassador’s wife, Genevieve. The sisters will project photos of the village and other missions and make an appeal for donations. In another room, vending tables will offer cloth bags, booboos, embroidered tablecloths, tie-dyed fabric, some donated flea market items, and wood sculptures. Two artists, one who works with watercolor and the other with sand painting, will display their paintings.
Our "Guest of Honor" is a very cute and adorable parrot named Tchako. He actually belongs to the sisters, but he's been our guest for almost a week now. The sisters thought he might not talk much unless he got used to the new surroundings at our house. Actually, he seemed very excited about the move and the new location of his cage in our beautiful garden by the pool. He's an "African Grey," one of the smartest birds and smartest animals in the world.
He looks exactly like his cousin in the Wikipedia photo here:
We've sold all the tickets! And quite a few people who couldn't come made donations anyway, so I think the village might get its water back pretty soon. At least by the next dry season, I hope. Right now water pours out of the sky on a regular basis, in tremendous quantities!
In the meantime, a good time will be had by all.
