Child Haven Dinner 2011

This past Saturday, I attended the Annual Child Haven Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction in Alexandria, Ontario - one of many such events in various cities across Canada. Child Haven is a wonderful charity and I am really pleased to support them in the terrific work they do assisting women and children in India, Nepal, Tibet and Bangladesh. A lot of people donate funds and time to Child Haven, including these beautiful young women dressed in saris, who prepared and served food at the dinner. 

While waiting for dinner, people looked at the items for auction on two long tables down the centre of the room. 

Each item has a yellow bid card beside it. You write your name and phone number and the amount you bid. Someone might come after you and bid more, so you have to keep checking and decide if you want to outbid that person. There were a lot of beautiful Buddhas like this one. 

I really liked this funky wooden painted truck. Also, the carved walking stick in front was quite beautiful. 

A lovely brass Buddha. I bid on several items - some earrings and a painted tray.

If you didn't feel like bidding on things, there was another table with items for sale - things like saris, scarves, jewellery, pillow cases, cloth bags and so on. Looking at the tables with all the goods on them made me feel like I was at a bazaar. I bought a beautiful pair of earrings and a necklace.

Then it was dinner time and we went back to our tables. Here I am, wearing my new necklace, sitting with two of my table-mates - the artist John Sims on my right and my friend Mac on my left. John's wife Margaret took the picture. 

Dinner was fabulous - butter chicken, naan bread, mango chutney, some wickedly spicy curry vegetables, rice. Yum!

There were lots of lovely ladies in saris walking around. Here is one of the organizers, Susan Joiner, looking particularly beautiful in her sari. 

Child Haven International was founded by Fred and Bonnie Cappuccino, who are truly remarkable people with a remarkable story. They have raised 21 children, including 19 from many countries around the world. One of the highlights of the evening was when they made a presentation about the work Child Haven is doing in India, Nepal, Tibet and Bangladesh. At one point in the evening I asked Fred if I could take his picture and he stuck a pose for me - then he admired my new necklace.

At the end of the evening, the silent auction was declared closed. I was outbid on a couple of earrings, but no-one went higher on this pretty little tray I bid on, so it is now mine. I love the colours in it.