“Most of the children at t
he Nzirambi Orphanage are there because their mothers died during childbirth or due to AIDS. Some are there because they have been abandoned by their families,” said Karen Snider, co-founder of the Canadian-based Nzirambi Education Fund. “Despite the odds, these children are striving and healthy. We hope the resilience of these children, as captured in this photo exhibition, will inspire others to give so that we can continue to help these children go to school.”
The collection of photos will be on display at Pikto Gallery in Toronto’s Distillery District on Oct. 27. Doors open at 7 p.m. Along with the exhibition, there will be a silent auction and raffle for which local businesses have donated more than $6000 in gifts. There will also be a live African drumming performance. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at http://orphanage.eventbrite.com.
Among the silent auction prizes included are: an iPod Touch with Beats by Dre headphones; $500 dinner for four in your home catered by chef Matt Kantor; a limited edition print valued at $400 from local artist Arto Yuzbasiyan; certificates from Toronto’s top restaurants; and a 1.5 hour social media consulting session with Canada’s leading tech guru Amber Mac. There will also be a $500 Toronto ‘foodie’ raffle prize with gifts, restaurant certificates, Niagara wine tastings, a special Starbucks Reserve coffee tasting and cupcake making class.
Food and drinks at the event will be sponsored by: Caplansky’s Deli, St. Louis, Le Dolci cupcakes, Underdog Wine and Mill Street Brewery.
The Nzirambi Education Fund would like to thank the following organizations for their sponsorship and donations:
Brian Pieters Photography, Pikto Gallery, Underdog Winery, Mill Street, Caplansky’s Deli, St. Louis Bar and Grill, e11even, Acura Sherway, Molson, Arto Yuzbasiyan, Nathalie-Roze, Any Direct Flight, Meditative Arts, Parent Central, Amber Mac, The Mother of All, Le Dolci, Te Aro Coffee, Fuss Hair Studio, Unmarketing, Poetic Art, Bloom Restaurant, Starbucks, Putting Edge, Evoke Hair Salon, Danier Leather, Fair Trade Jewellery, Lou Dawgs, Bootycamp Fitness, Il Fornello, Magic Oven, Nota Bene, Solo Bace Hair Salon, Table 17, Pangaea, Little Kitchen, HoneyFig, Help We’ve Got Kids, Belly Bootcamp, Borden Communications, Chocolachocola, Michele Nidenoff, Art Gallery of Ontario, Yoga Sanctuary, Green Lavender
-30-
About the Orphanage
The Nzirambi Orphanage was started by Dorothy Nzirambi more than 20 years ago when she took in an abandoned baby whose mother had died during childbirth. She was living in a grass-thatched home at the time, with little means. However, under Ms. Nzirambi’s care, the child flourished and this was the humble beginnings of the orphanage.
Today at this family-run orphanage there are more than 85 boys and girls, ranging in from newborns to 21-years-old. Many of the children lost their mothers in childbirth and their fathers could not, or would not, care for them. Some are there because their mothers have died of AIDS, or because the children have been abandoned by their families.
About the Nzirambi Education Fund
This Canadian grassroots initiative aims to raise funds to ensure that every boy and girl reaching the levels of higher education can afford to go. Primary education in Uganda is free. However, higher levels of education are especially critical for these children, giving them additional resources to become leaders in their communities and break free of the cycle of poverty they are in. The Fund aims to raise $30,000 in the next three years to pay for nine children who will be in post-secondary school.
For more information, contact:
Karen Snider, Nzirambi Education Fund
416 518-2844 / nzirambifund@gmail.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment