Sunday, November 25, 2007

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A night to remember in Vancouver

We couldn’t wait to update you on the recent journey of ‘A Grandmother’s Tribe’ to Vancouver, Canada where we held a Gala Screening and Fundraiser on 31st October 2007!!

PHOTOS FROM THE GALA FUNDRAISER AND SCREENING IN VANCOUVER, CANADA:
As you’ll see, we had an excellent turnout at the Vancity Theatre on the evening of 31st October 2007. Special guests included…
• Victor Chan, Founder of the Dalai Lama Center who gave a very warm introduction to the film
• Christine Magill, Special Advisor from the Stephen Lewis Foundation
• Martyn Element, Gala event sponsor and President, Element and Associates, Vancouver
• Felix Masi (Kenya) and Susie Banfield (US) from Voiceless Children.

We were supported by many generous event sponsors such as the Nu & C restaurant team, the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Mat Wilcox and her team from TheWilcox Group, M-13 Ventures Ltd, Pam Wright, The West Vancouver Anglican Church Choir, Whitefish Group, A&B Party Event Rentals, Lilacs and Lavenders, Simply Safari and a number of wonderful volunteers.

ELEVEN NEW GRANDMOTHER HOMES AND ONE NEW 'FELLOW':
The highlight of the Gala Event came towards the end of the evening. Following a question from an audience member about the cost of Freda’s new home, there was a spontaneous ‘bidding’ to contribute eleven new grandmother homes, at $3,000 US each, for the village grandmothers profiled in the film. These two-bedroom homes with a separate bathroom will bring renewed pride and motivation to the lives of these older women and the community they live in. Voiceless Children will now focus its efforts on building these homes in Funyula over the next 12 months. Their vision in doing so is to build long-term sustainability of the community. Village youth will also be mentored in trade skills to build these homes which will provide them with employable skills as well as earning fees to continue with their schooling. It is a remarkable model of providing sustainable ‘hand up’ assistance that benefits multi-generations at one time.
A heartfelt “thank you” to those individuals who have so graciously stepped forward to make this happen!

Our second exciting announcement is the appointment of Felix Masi, as the first Borderless Foundation “Fellow”. Felix is the founder of Voiceless Children who works in Kenya to support these grandmother-headed homes. BORDERLESS FOUNDATION TRUST is a Charitable Purpose organization set up in New Zealand to support projects created by Borderless Productions Limited. This fellowship will allow Felix the freedom to focus his energies in the coming year to make a world of difference in the lives of Kenyan grandmotherfamilies.


THANK YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLE SUPPORT!!!
We thought that finishing the film would be one of our greatest accomplishments. I can assure you that the real journey begins now. We are more passionate than ever about the positive change that can be initiated through the film and people who genuinely care. We hope you’ll join us on this journey of compassion and positive change!!