IFWA holds fun-filled bazaar to raise funds

Islamabad
Each year the Islamabad Foreign Wives Association (IFWA) organises a fun-filled food and artifacts bazaar to raise funds for a special project and they make a huge effort to see that it is a success. This year the beneficiary of this event was Dost Welfare Foundation (DWF) working under the Child’s Rights Movement (CRM).
The bazaar was held in the IFWA community centre and attended by a large number of people from the sister cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with some making it a family outing. Stalls with artifacts, clothes and other items were arranged outside, with both decorative and useful items, while all the food stalls were inside the hall, where it become a little too warm as it filled up with visitors — making them take the food outside to eat or getting it packed to take home and savour later. It is not possible to remember what each stall served but one or two samples of the cuisine of each country that had a stall was to be found - e.g. Hungarian goulash, Cuban rolls and custard, Bangladeshi ‘Biryani’ and ‘Rasgolas’, noodles of different kinds from countries like China, Myanmar and Malaysia; Indonesian ‘satey’, Polish pastry and so on, while the Iranian stall had pure saffron and fresh nuts like cashew etc.
Many of the IFWA committee members were seen behind their stalls helping with the serving of the food, while other members of the missions were also kept busy as there was quite a big rush to get some food before it finished. Some visitors were seen carrying large packets to take home. “I will freeze some of this food and enjoy it later,” said a foodie. “It will save me from cooking for a few days or eating out of a can or sending for take out.”
All in all, it must be appreciated that these ladies take time out to raise funds for the less privileged or troubled members of the society they live in for a short span of time. They call this effort ‘giving back to the community,’ for the hospitality they receive while they are staying here.
DOST is a not-for-profit organisation that was formed in 1992 in Peshawar, Pakistan. Since its inception, it has been reaching out to people living on the margins of society, and bringing them back into the mainstream. DOST works with street children, drug addicts, destitute women, prisoners, refugees, youth and the general public. It strives to restore their lives, their dignity and their humanity, and to bring them back as contributing members of society.