In celebration of Valentine's Day, Doug and I attended a fundraising event at the Happy Village Hotel & Casino in Ezulwini. Our friends Nick and Alexandra were involved in the production of the event. They both work for TechnoServe, which is an organization that aims to provide business solutions to poverty. The fundraiser itself was an auction, in support of the Remar Center (http://www.remarswaziland.org) in Manzini which is a rehabilitation center for (as they put it) people living in the margins of society. The center provides support to those transitioning out of prison, prostitution, drug addiction, delinquency, etc. The auction items showcased the talents of Swaziland's local artisans and included ceramics, batiks, baskets, textiles, jewelry, and blown glass items. Many of the items were specially made for the auction and were Valentine's Day themed. It was a really well done event and a good time was had by all. The only hiccup was that it had been a very hot day and the power went out at the hotel; therefore, the hotel was running its generators and there wasn't enough power to run the air conditioning. This made for a very sweaty evening in our 'formal' attire (Doug took off his shoes and socks within seconds of sitting down at the table)! The heat didn't stop me! I got into the bidding spirit and brought home an amazing tray woven from traditional, recycled fabric. It currently looks beautiful on the wall, but perhaps some day it will serve lemonade at our vacation home. A girl can dream, right?
Our table
Let the auction begin!
Models displaying Ngwenya Glass vases
Models displaying woven trays
The fantastic result of my bidding efforts
Beautiful batik (that I secretly wanted, too)
The entertainment
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