Wonderfully Successful Fundraiser for New School in Sudan
On August 7th about 70 generous community members and friends of CVRAN gathered to help raise funds for a 700 student primary and middle school in the region of North Darfur, Sudan. The event was organized by Eltayeb Awadalla, owner of Mobitech in Montpelier. Eltayeb grew up in the small village of Kamo in North Darfur. He later came to the US as a refugee and is now a citizen. Kamo has never had a school before so when volunteers in the village began to build the school last fall he decided he wanted to help raise funds to complete the project.
The event took place at Montpelier’s Pavilion building in the Recreation Area on Elm Street. Participants were treated to a delicious North African supper of goat meat and vegetables on Tunisian bread, as well as a dessert of baklava. The band A2VT from Burlington added an overlay of Afropop, music that had many swaying and dancing to the beat.
As a Montpelier businessman, Eltayeb Awadalla has been a friend of CVRAN’s for a long time. Mobitech, his business, has helped provide badly needed cellphones and computers to new refugee and asylum seeker arrivals. He spoke at the fundraiser about the importance of the new school and expressed his gratitude for the generosity of Vermonters.
All funds raised will go directly to building the school. Approximately $7,000 were raised that afternoon and online, and more donations are still arriving. It is not too late to contribute! Anyone unable to donate before is invited to contribute in one of two ways:
- mail a check payable to Wadi Howar International Relief inc. to Eltayeb Awadalla, Mobitech, 13 Main St. Montpelier VT, 05602
- go to mobitechvt.com and scroll down to the bottom to make a donation online.
Thanks to Terry Allen and Pamela Walker for the photos
