Festival of North African Food, Music, and Dancing To Be Held at Montpelier’s Pool Pavilion
Come to the Recreation Pool Pavilion on Elm Street in Montpelier on August 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. for a delicious Sudanese/Tunisian dinner of goat kebabs, spicy grilled vegetables, Tunisian salad, and baklava. Then dance to the Festival of North African Food, Music, and Dancingmusic of the acclaimed
Afro-pop, hip-hop band A2VT (the name stands for Africans To Vermont).
The event is a fundraiser to help build a primary and middle school in the village of Kamo in North Darfur, Sudan. It is being organized by Eltayeb Awadalla, who came to Vermont as a refugee from Sudan, became a U.S. citizen, and now owns Mobi Tech in Montpelier. The fundraiser is supported by Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (CVRAN), a non-profit organization working with refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant
laborers in Central Vermont.
Eltayeb grew up in Kamo. Through all the generations of his family, there was never a school in the village. The closest school is more than 800 miles away in the city of Nyala in South Darfur, Sudan. From the age of six and throughout his education, Eltayeb and a small number of other children from Kamo had to leave their families for several months at a time and travel across Darfur for two straight days on the backs of transport trucks to attend school. They were the fortunate ones because they had relatives to stay with in Nyala.
In the Fall of 2021 an organization was formed in Kamo to begin building a
village school for 700 children, who would attend in two or three daily sessions. The initial funds were raised by the local people. They then contacted the Sudanese diaspora living in Europe and the United States who had fled war and violence in Sudan. Eltayeb is one of about 70 Kamo villagers in the U.S. He immediately became involved in the school fundraising effort.
Ground was broken in Kamo and the sides and windows of the school went up. The next stage will be to build six classrooms and two restrooms, and to install a water tank. The cost for the construction is $69,000. So far $30,000 has been raised – less than half the goal.
Eltayeb is committed to raising $20,000 for the Kamo school construction. He will speak about the project and people can make donations at the North African Festival on August 7. The cost of attending the Festival and additional donations are tax deductible. All money raised will go directly to the Kamo village school
To register for the Festival, email amy.ehrlich7@gmail.com with your name and the number of people in your party. Reservations must be made by August 1. The cost of the Festival is $30.00 per person and $5.00 for children under twelve; payment by cash or check will be taken at the event. Checks for all donations should be made out to Wadi Howar International Relief and Development Inc., the sponsoring non-profit organization.
Eltajeb has been planning this event with the help of many people. He says he is grateful for the generosity of Vermonters from the time he arrived here and ever since.
How to make a direct donation to the Camo village school construction in North Darfur, Sudan:
Eltayeb Awadalla has now added a donor box to his Mobi Tech business website.
https://www.mobitechvt.com/