Above / Tapas, sangria, bee hives and more will be featured in Kenyan fundraiser hosted by The Rotary Club of Naperville on the patio at Meson Sabika. (PN File Photo)
The Rotary Club of Naperville will host its annual Upendo Village Fundraiser at Meson Sabika on from 5 to 7PM on Tuesday, August 25.
For more than than a decade, local Rotarians and guests have supported the mission of Upendo Village to provide love, care, and comprehensive support services to those infected and affected with HIV and AIDS so they can live with dignity, self-esteem, self-sufficiency and respect.
During that time the Rotary Club of Naperville-Noon Club has provided a water well, fluoridation system, solar ovens, HIV rapid screening kits, and farm animals.
Supporters of the event will enjoy an evening of tapas and sangria while exploring the Upendo Village microenterprise items for sale. One-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rosaries, scarves, woven wool and leather bags and other handmade works of art from the Upendo Village craftspeople.
Attendees also may underwrite the cost of a bee hive (providing honey and wax that village women can sell), a goat (giving 2.5 liters of milk a day for sale and consumption by families) or pair of chickens (producing eggs to sell at the local Kenyan market).
Monetary gifts will be designated for items specified and livestock will be bought and provided to the residents of Upendo Village. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the evenings’ event will be donated to Upendo Village to benefit the families and children living with HIV and AIDS.
Sister Florence Mula, President and Founder of Upendo Village, will be in attendance.
According to Sister Florence, “We have been able to touch and change the lives of many clients who had lost hope and sense of living. This is our moment to continue to save and sustain families.”
“Engage Rotary Change Lives is the International Rotary theme this year, and this event clearly demonstrates what this is all about,” noted Wendy Hayum-Gross, current President of the Rotary Club of Naperville. “…We couldn’t make this happen without the generosity of Hossein Jamali and his staff at Meson Sabika.”
Hayum-Gross added that the community is welcome to attend “this inspiring and fun event to assist those in need” in Upendo Village.
Tickets are $36 per person and reservations can be made at www.napervillerotary.com or paid at the door. For more information, email Pat Merryweather at dg6450pat@aol.com.
Meson Sabika is located at 1260 Aurora Ave. in Naperville.
