Fund raising dinner

It was with great pleasure that the Dean welcomed 155 participants (including himself!) to St. Christopher’s Cathedral’s second fund-raising dinner and auction. The spacious banqueting rooms of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bahrain, was the setting for old friends to meet and new ones to be made during the preview of auction lots and, of course, over dinner.

Aside from it being a social occasion, the main business of the evening was to raise funds for very deserving causes. One of these is the Diocesan medical outreach in Aden due to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Last year, the two clinics’ operating costs were US$125,000, of which US$85,000 was provided by the Diocese. Parish contributions are vital.

How great is the need for these clinics? 43% of the population of Yemen live below the recognised poverty line of subsisting on less than a US$ a day. Only 1.3% of Yemen’s GDP is spent on medical services.

Many people who attended the dinner and auction were drawn to support the event because of this need. So much so, that one “friend” of St. Christopher’s Cathedral generously purchased a rather large traditional Yemeni necklace in Sanaa, just two weeks before the event, to donate as a splendidly appropriate auction lot.

It was fantastic that the net proceeds were a nudge over BD3800. Of this, a draft for US$3000 was handed to Bishop Clive during his recent visit to Bahrain for transmission to Christ Church in Aden. To put this result into context, for instance, this sum will fund 55 cataract operations. How wonderful to know that so many people will benefit from the auction’s outcome. To everyone who supported this event, St. Christopher’s Cathedral is truly grateful.

Aside from financial seriousness, there was fun, too. Competitive bidding was the order of the evening. In just over an hour, 56 lots came under the precision hammer of auctioneer Andrew Petty. Conducting proceedings at a cracking pace, he made no concession for lapses in bidders’ concentration or their need to re-charge glasses!

Novelty value was a key attraction, such as a silk map of the Arabian Gulf region and Iran, almost 50 years old, of the type issued to RAF pilots during the 1950s. When folded, it would fit into a flying suit pocket. In the event of a pilot finding himself on the ground in unfamiliar territory, the map would then have come into its own.

Other sought-after items were three limited edition prints donated by Anetta Stylianou, an accomplished and prolific artist, and our Diocesan Secretary. How fortunate we were that Anetta and her husband, Andy, visited Bahrain to coincide with being able to join us all at this very successful event.

Promises, too, were favoured attractions: visits to parts of Bahrain’s International Circuit which the public do not usually see, and a desert Hummer adventure over a specially designed course were among those keenly sought after. And the list doesn’t stop here, although space for this article does!

So, thank you again to everyone who supported the event.

Angela Murray