Cuban hospitality for IFWA fundraiser

Islamabad
The Islamabad Foreign Wives Association (IFWA) held a fund-raising event at the residence of the ambassador of Cuba, Jesus Zenen Buergo Concepcion, hosted by his spouse Dulce, who generously opened up her house for members and their guests. Since President, IFWA Zangah Mosazai (Afghanistan) is out of town, Vice P President Jasmina Makarervic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) took care of the official announcements.
It was a fun, relaxing morning with no particular programme – just a ‘getting to know you’ affair to start off the season, enrol new members and give them a chance to get to know each other as well as the ‘oldies.’ It was good to see that many ladies turned up for the event, so it was a ‘houseful’ gathering with a mix of Pakistani and expatriate women from different diplomatic missions.
Welcoming the gathering in her cheerful and ‘no nonsense’ manner, Jasmina said a few words about IFWA, which is an organization set up about fifteen years ago by the wives of envoys of foreign diplomatic missions to get together with the women of the local community and at the same time give back something for the hospitality they receive from the country they live in for a temporary period - in this case raising funds for deserving charities. Each month there is a fund raising meeting with a programme, held either at the IFWA community centre or at the residence of a generous member of the committee or anyone else who offers to host the event. “Thank you for coming and enjoy yourselves,” she said, “ We have no formal programme today, so get to know each other and enjoy the morning. And a big thank you to Dulce for inviting us.”
The hostess also welcomed the ladies and said she was happy to see so many of her friends at her house. Since most of us know she can sing and play the piano, she obliged with a few Cuban classical pieces on her electronic piano. With Dr Seema – president of ‘Mausikaar’ - present at the event it was inevitable that she also be requested to sing, so she obliged and joined the hostess, both of them singing ‘Guan Tara Mera’ - Dulce in Spanish and Seema the Urdu version made popular by Alamgir, ‘Albela Rahi.’ It was obviously not as coordinated as it could have been but many Pakistani ladies joined in the chorus or with the few words they knew, so it was fun and a big round of applause followed.
After this refreshments were served – these are a treat as the committee members bring something that is a specialty of their country – and after helping themselves the ladies sat down either inside, or out in the garden and enjoyed the rest of the morning until it was time to leave. A whisper going around that Dulce and her husband are about to leave had a bit of a dampening affect as they are a popular couple but nothing was confirmed or denied, so the matter was put aside for another day, another time.