ABANA UK Launch and Fundraiser - Saturday July 12th 2008

On Saturday July 12th we had our ABANA UK launch and fundraising event The wonderful committee of ABANA UK put on a variety night of entertainment ranging from traditional Rwandan dancers, choir (made up of teenagers who have come from disadvantaged backgrounds), solo singers, drummers, and singing from a woman that volunteered in Rwanda. (She sang in the local language and just brought the house down!) We also had raffles, quiz, traditional Rwandan food and speeches from the Rwandan Community Association of the UK and the 1st Consular of Rwandan Embassy.
We also had craft stalls selling traditional African crafts and clothes. So, as you can tell there was a hell of a lot of work involved in putting this project together. This was a project that took months of work in planning.

We staged it at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush, in a venue that I just fell in love with when I walked through the door. (If I get married in London then I will get married there!)

I took a slight risk as everyone said I should have something low key as a launch but as my friends would say I wanted something huge that will ensure people will never forget about ABANA UK. (I had to folk out a little bit of money up front) One of the girls afterwards said I was fearless, I said Im just stupid!
It was also the first night that I've ever compared an event, which at the start was a little daunting but by the end I think I was on stage more than the performers.

Anyway, the night couldnt have gone any better. It was such a spectacle that totally captured the imagination of the audience. The entertainment was first-class and thankfully someone has video-taped most of it (Ive missed the last hour cause the battery died- mental note bring two batteries)
It was one of the best nights of my life, hands down.. The 1st Consular made a beautiful speech thanking the committee for their wonderful work with tonight and wishing us all the best of luck in the future. Everyone in the room who I spoke to was totally blown away by the night and Ive received countless msgs since then and so have the rest of the committee. The dream/vision that I had for this group when I was working in Rwanda had became reality.. but not without countless hours of work!! This I should add is only part of the dream, so the future is very exciting for everyone concerned.

In terms of numbers we had 172 paying people through the door plus the entertainment/media and special guests so we had 200+ people in attendance which is a great achievement on a Saturday night. We raised after all our costs approx. £1300-1400 towards our project, which is a great start and will pay for the tools and sewing machines. We also want to get resources for the school as well. (Which I will organise when I go back)
But the night was more than just raising money it was raising awareness of not just ABANA UK but more importantly Rwanda and we definitely achieved that many times over.
The biggest thankyou for the night was reserved the amazing individuals that make up the ABANA UK committee, there work and support over the last few months has been something very special that has touched my heart. It proves that anything in life is possible as long as you have the passion and heart in what you are trying to achieve. This I should add is only just the beginning of what promises to be a new beginning for ABANA UK.
God bless everyone involved and everyone that came along.
'The future starts with the present'
Troy

ABANA UK

ABANA UK
It has been a busy couple of weeks for me here in London as things are starting to settle down.
Firstly, tomorrow is a big day as it’s the 2 year anniversary since I left Melbourne to embark on my overseas adventure. It has been a whirlwind 2 years as I’ve travelled throughout Africa, Europe and the States. Part of me left 2 years ago, to not only see the world but to find exactly what I was capable of achieving in this world.
The highlight of my 2 years away was of course the adventure I experienced in Rwanda. It has given me a direction with my life and made me realise how much I want to live and work in Africa.
London, well what can I say it is the city that has absolutely everything and anything. If you can bear the first couple of months and the dreary winters, it can really grow on you and over time it will become your new home. The advantages of London as we all know is the proximity to Europe and the array of cultures that call London home. I remember thinking that I thought Melbourne was a multi-cultural city, but it has nothing on this city.
Tomorrow, is also very significant because the London Marathon is on and of course one year ago I was involved in this amazing event. I will be going there tomorrow morning to cheer on the runners with a touch of envy as I would love to be back out there again.
My volunteer experience with ABANA Group in Australia inspired me to start a branch of this group here in the UK. I had an idea of what I was trying to achieve and had a passion and drive to make it succeed. Everything in between was an unknown and part of the journey in establishing ABANA UK.
On Thursday the group took a step forward as we finalised the committee members and planned our grand launch party. To be honest I have no real expectations of what ABANA UK will achieve in the future, although I keep telling them that this will be a success. Although in my eyes we have already had a success in that all of us have found like-minded peers who share similar passions and interests.
The idea now is to have our launch event in early July and there is a list as long as my arm of what needs to be completed before this is to happen. As they say just take it one battle at a time. I always ‘aim for the sky’ and worry about the details later on; I always say things will just work out in the end.
The other big news this week is that I finally found employment after 2 long months trying to break the job market. Funny enough, I was offered two jobs in the space of an hour and I chose the one that I thought would be more of a challenge. It is an exciting step forward in my career and these skills and experiences will be invaluable when I once again step foot on the red dirt of Africa.
Well, I have left the most exciting news to last. . . today I went to the Rwanda Genocide memorial at Southark Cathedral in London to mark the 14th anniversary since the events of 1994. It was an uplifting service and it got me thinking that the older I get the closer I do get to the church. This is probably influenced by spending considerable time in Africa where the Church plays such an important role in society as for many ‘faith’ is all they have to hold onto in times of adversity and pain.
After the memorial finished there were light refreshments served in one of the rooms and it was like the whole Rwandese population of London came out to pay their respects to their country. One of my aims was to do what I do best –networking. As I knew some of the faces, I gradually worked my way around the crowd talking to members of the community about ABANA UK and my time I spent in their beautiful country. (Also gave me an opportunity to practise my Kinyarwandan)
My target person of course was the Ambassador of Rwanda for the UK and Ireland. He spoke at the service and I was very keen to introduce myself to him as I would like him to attend the launch event of ABANA UK. Through one of our committee members, I got an audience with the Ambassador. He was very approachable and was impressed with me speaking to him in his language (I haven’t forgotten as much as I thought). We had a great chat about my work in South Rwanda with ABANA and my work here with establishing ABANA UK to continue the great work here in London. I also spoke to him about the eco-tourism project and he has actually invited me to his office. (Which I will do with an invite in hand for our launch event)
Along with the Ambassador, I also met the High Commissioner for Kenya who was also a very talkative and friendly chap.
It was a very special day to pay my respects to the thousands who perished from those 100 days in 1994. We all talk about ‘Never again’ as we said after the Holocaust in the 40s but since then we’ve had genocide in Cambodia and Bosnia and then of course it happen in Rwanda. You would think the world would have learnt its lesson and act and intervene when it comes to ‘acts of genocide’. Sadly, we sit still and watch as Darfur continues to experiences acts of genocide as the Arab majority try and wipe out the Africans. This has lead to hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have moved across the border to Chad. Not to mention the 400 000 people who have been killed due to this conflict over the last 5 years.
To show my solidarity to the cause, I will be attending the ‘National Day of action’ at the Sudanese embassy in London. This global day will show to the world that ‘this’ generation will not sit still and do nothing and that all of us want a peaceful and just world.
On a different note, I will be speaking at our local Rotary club on Monday evening. I will be speaking about my experiences of working in Rwanda and ABANA UK. Depending on how it goes, I will be looking at other opportunities to speak about ABANA here in London.
Anyway, it is getting late and its time for me to sign-off.
I have attached some pics from the last ABANA meeting and the memorial service.
Good night
Troy