Event: Auckland: “Out of the Darkness” (film)

OUT OF THE DARKNESS
Rose Charities NZ
Hopetoun Alpha, 19 Beresford Square, Auckland City, Auckland
 

Sunday, 14 August 2011, 5:30PM Tickets at door or contact@rose-charities.org
A documentary screening to raise funds for an outpost eye clinic in Nepal. 

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is an inspiring documentary by Stefano Levi about a Nepali eye surgeon, Dr Sanduk Ruit, who treks for days to the remote village in the mountains of Nepal where he was born to set up a portable hospital and offer eye surgery to the villagers. Blindness, which is a common affliction in developing countries like Nepal, is not only a personal tragedy but a devastation to the economy of whole families and the community.

The fundraiser on AUGUST 14 will help equip a rural outpost eye clinic at Kapilavastu in the south of Nepal which will serve a catchment of 20 million poor people.

It will also be the launch for a new hand cream, coriander and rose, made especially for Rose Charities by Nellie Tier New Zealand. !!

Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Sri Lanka Women’s Events

Sports Day, Debates and Bus Rides

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us at the Rose Charities Sri Lanka office. The Women’s Sports Meet was a great success as women’s groups from Kalmunai, Pandarippu, Natpaddiumunai and Karaitivu came to participate in a fun day of team building games, skill competitions and social activities. Prizes were handed out to winners while everyone enjoyed a fun-spirited afternoon at the Rose Sri Lanka Head Office.

In the traditional English class, staff are learning how to construct an argument, an important skill in all languages. To display what they have learned, we conducted a class debate between women staff and men staff. The topic was “Women need to have a profession, participate in the work force and the duties at home should be shared between husband and wife.” The girls’ team supported the statement while men were against. It turned out to be a heated debate, demonstrating strong debating skills on both sides. The men of the office stated safety is an issue for young girls and women, especially after dark, limiting a woman’s working hours and freedom to leave the house. On the other hand, the women argued that the more women become professionals the more likely women’s safety will become a priority in society. It was clear that this debate is an important issue among young people in Sri Lanka. Many of the women staff members voiced strong opinions on this issue, attitudes that were certainly formed well before the debate assignment.

Sonia and I spent the weekend at Arugam Bay surfing, swimming and enjoying the beautiful Sri Lankan beach. On our way home, we opted to take the public transit to Kalmunai. About a half hour outside of Kalmunai, a woman boarded the bus with bags of flour and many supplies. She had gone to a neighboring town to purchase ingredients and supplies. As she turned around and saw Sonia and I on the bus her face lit up as she recognized us from the Rose’s Women’s Meet last week. She then exclaimed to the entire overcrowded bus that we were from Canada working in Kalmunai for Rose Charities, an organization that had lent her money to start her small business. As soon as she said the word “Rose” we could see that many people recognized the name and looked at us with gratitude and excitement.

As a token of her appreciation she handed us two small bags of kurakan flour, a type of flour used to make string hoppers and puttu (my favorite Sri Lankan meal). She then quickly jumped off of the moving bus with her luggage and gracefully placed the heavy bags of flour on the crest of her head. As the bus pulled away we watched her balance the bags, weaving in and out of street traffic and into a side street.

The last week has demonstrated the strength, generosity and intelligence of the Sri Lankan people, especially the women. Whether at the Women’s Sport Meet, in the office among the staff or on the bus, we can’t help but appreciate the independent spirit of all of the women we meet.

Sustainable and Local. No frills no admin costs…