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Rotarians from 7 clubs in District 7070 and beyond attended A Night of A Thousand Dinners, on NOVEMBER 17, 2022 with proceeds going to the Canadian Landmine Foundation. The evening was at the Officers' Mess, Ontario Regiment, in Oshawa, Ontario. This Fundraiser for The Canadian Landmine Foundation was hosted and organized by Oshawa Rotarian Gordon Dowsley of the Oshawa Rotary Club. Many Rotary Clubs in Canada support Canadian Landmine Foundation. A few years ago, over 90 % of the Rotary Districts in Canada all had Nights of a Thousand Dinners. It's NOW time for Rotary clubs right across Canada to start planning for their November / December 2023 Night of A Thousand Dinners. See: https://canadianlandmine.org/ ........
A Night of A Thousand Dinners event hosted by The Rotary Club of Oshawa on November 17, 2022
The Rotary Club of Oshawa hosted their annual event entitled “Night of a Thousand Dinners” at the Officers’ Mess at the Ontario Regiment in downtown Oshawa. Rotarians from across Durham Region & distinguished guests converged to raise funds & awareness of Canadian Landmine Foundation initiatives to eradicate landmines throughout the world. Guests speakers over the years include former Ministers of National Defence David Collenette & Art Eggleton, former parliamentarian and special ambassador on landmines John English. This year's speaker, on the 25th Anniversary of the international signing of the “Ottawa Treaty”, was Canada Landmines Foundation President Alistair Edgar. MC Rotary Club of Oshawa President Rhonda Kirkland Gorham performed her magic at the mic on this special evening. Special shout out to Rotarian Gordon Dowsley and the organizing committee!
We encourage all club in Rotary District 7070 and throughout Canada to start now to plan their Night of A Thousand Dinners in November / December 2023.
In December 1997 the Ottawa Treaty banning the use of Landmines was signed by 122 countries on Parliament Hill. Since then, a further 40 countries have signed up making the current total 162 independent nations worldwide.
Following the signing of the treaty The Canadian Landmine Foundation was formed and Rotary became an unofficial sponsor as a few board chairs are reserved for Rotarians. Its role is to raise money to remove the mines and to educate children in dangerous areas as to what mines look like, to report them to adults and to never touch them.
Many Rotary clubs contribute directly to the Canadian Landmines Foundation from funds on hand. Others raise funds through a Night of A Thousand Dinners evenings and send these funds to the foundation.
This year's distinguished speaker was Dr. Alistair Edgar, President of the Canadian Landmines Foundation and a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University. He will bring a world wide view given that he has flown over a million miles on humanitarian issues.
If your club would like to partner with Oshawa Rotary Club for next year's dinner or would like a speaker on the program, we would be very happy to talk about the possibilities.
Yours in Rotary,
Gordon
Gordon Dowsley
Rotary Club of Oshawa
Email: gdowsley@yahoo.com
Thank you to Oshawa Rotarian Michael Adams and publisher of Neighbour Today Oshawa for the fantastic photos:
Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) is an event that helps to raise awareness of the global landmine crisis and to raise funds for mine action. N1KD began as a global campaign in 2001 and the tradition continues to this day among Rotary Clubs right across Canada. Night of a Thousand Dinners is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to make a positive difference in the lives of those living in mine-affected communities, while at the same time sharing a meal with friends and family. Every contribution, no matter how small, will affect change on a global scale. It is time for more Rotary Clubs in District 7070 and right across Canada to host Night of A Thousand Dinners in 2023.
How are the funds raised for N1KD used?
Net proceeds from Night of a Thousand Dinners will be used to fund mine action programs in Cambodia. Our unSAFE campaign supports Cambodian Self Help Demining, an organization that operates Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams which help rural Cambodians who come across mines and explosive remnants of war in their day-to-day lives. You can read about the unSAFE campaign HERE.
The Canadian Landmine Foundation is a registered charity with a mission to raise awareness and funds to end human and economic suffering caused by landmines. We partner with other charitable organizations that meet our standards and help relieve the global and continued suffering of countries plagued with landmines and their victims.
The Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF) aims to realize the vision and goals of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines by entrenching the norm, now established by 161 governments around the world, and also to meet the challenge of clearing mine-infested lands and to offer hope and practical support to mine victims in the world’s most mine-affected countries/communities. Additionally, we aim to continue raising awareness about the consequences of landmines on the landscape, communities and families of countries around the world. We continue to support organizations that achieve these goals.
Since 1999 the Canadian Landmine Foundation and Canadians across the country have funded $3.7 million in mine action projects around the world, from victim assistance to the clearance of nearly 2 million square metres of land!
Here is a recent letter from Wilf Wilkinson, Past President, Rotary International:
Dear Rotarians,
When was the last time you stepped on a landmine? Probably never – aren’t we fortunate. If you live in Cambodia, Iraq or Syria, or Poland, to name a few, you may have not been so lucky.
Rotarians have committed time and money to eliminate many ills that plague our world, including longstanding support of mine action. We at the Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF) are asking Rotarians to renew their commitment to eliminating these terrible weapons.
Rotarians and Rotary Clubs have been some of the largest financial contributors to the Canadian Landmine Foundation. 122 Clubs in 18 Districts coast to coast have contributed more than $260,000 to Canadian Landmine Foundation programs over the years. These funds went to projects that cleared mines and assisted survivors in places like Bosnia, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Cambodia.
CSHD personnel teach a mine risk education class at a village school.
Today the Canadian Landmine Foundation works to raise awareness at home and support mine action in Cambodia through partnerships with local organizations. Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD) operates demining and explosive ordnance disposal teams in rural Cambodia. When villagers find mines and other explosive remnants of war, one of five Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams are dispatched to neutralize the explosives and conduct mine risk education. The Canadian Landmine Foundation is proud to sponsor one of those EOD Teams.
To date, CSHD teams have cleared 3 million square metres of land. CSHD was founded in 2008 by an ex-child soldier named Aki Ra – who has personally cleared more than 50,000 landmines – with support from former Rotarian Bill Morse (Palm Springs).
It is now time for Rotarians to revisit their commitment to this worthwhile humanitarian cause. In keeping with this year’s Rotary theme, it is time once again for Rotarians “To Make a Difference.”
On behalf of the Foundation’s Rotary engagement committee, I thank you for taking time to consider supporting the Canadian Landmine Foundation. I believe it typifies the work that Canadian Rotarians do every day of the year.
Sincerely,
Wilf Wilkinson, CM, FCPA
President of Rotary International 2007/08
Chair of The Rotary Foundation 2012/13
Past Board Member of The Canadian Landmine Foundation