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The Rotary Club of Oshawa hosted the annual Night of a Thousand Dinners and raised over $3,000 for Canadian Landmines Foundation at the Ontario Regiment Officers Mess in downtown Oshawa on March 12, 2025. Guest Speaker for the evening was Patti Lee, Rotary Club of Toronto West and landmines Foundation Board member, who presented her many projects in Cambodia. 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. They support demining, victim assistance, and educational programming in countries plagued by landmines.
Thank you to all those who attended from Rotary Clubs of Oshawa, Oshawa-Parkwood, Bowmanville, Trenton, Toronto, and beyond (including Part President of Rotary International Wilf Wilkinson, a former Landmine Foundation Board member. Thank you to Oshawa Rotarian Gordon Dowsley and his team of organizers. Also thank you to Rotary Club of Oshawa Past President Peter Hernandez (who introduced our guest speaker Patti Lee) for sharing his photos. To learn more about the Canadian Landmines Foundation please go to https://canadianlandmine.org . The Ottawa Treaty that brought 161 countries around the world together banning anti-personnel landmines by entrenching the norm.
It is time for Rotary District 7070 clubs and clubs throughout the country to re-energize " A Night of A Thousand Dinners" and host one of these Rotary Club sponsored evenings, this year and every year to promote peace in the world and tell the world it is time to ban landmines everywhere.
Here is a video on the Ottawa Treaty , 20 years later. https://vimeo.com/190510668
A Night of A Thousand Dinners event hosted by The Rotary Club of Oshawa on March 12, 2025
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. Rotarians from all around the District joined our hosts, The Rotary Club of Oshawa, for this year's dinner on March 12, 2025 in the Officer's Mess, The Colonel R, S. Mclaughlin Armoury of The Ontario Regiment, Simcoe Street, Oshawa.
A 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 in 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.
Dave Andrews, Chair of District 7070's Public Image Committee talked about Rotary's involvement in the Canadian Landmine Foundation .
Rotarians and Rotary clubs have been involved with the eradication of Landmines since the passing of The Ottawa Treaty in 1997. Why? It falls right into so many of Rotary’s Areas of Focus - first and foremost is Peace Building and Conflict Prevention; and when the landmines are gone, Rotarians can focus on community and economic development; disease prevention & treatment, water and sanitation and the rest of the Rotary Areas of Focus.
Since its creation, in 1999, Rotarians have served on the Canadian Landmine Foundation’s Board of Directors. Dr. John Frid, a Rotarian from Hamilton (Hamilton) was on the Foundation’s inaugural Board of Directors. Rotarians Herb Epp (Kitchener), and Chris Snyder (Toronto)—have served as the organization’s Chair, and Scott Fairweather (Toronto Forest Hill) was the Foundation’s President and CEO from 2003-2009. Past District Governors Rosemary Barker-Aaragon (5030) and Richard Clarke (7070) have been on the board , as well as past Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson (Trenton) and our 2022 speaker, former Rotarian John English (honourary member of the Kitchener Club and a two time Paul Harris Fellow). The current Foundation’s Board of Directors include Rotarians Gordon Dowsley (Oshawa), Bob Butterill (Toronto Sunrise), our Past District Governor Ron Dick from Oshawa and tonight’s speaker, and Patti Lee of the Toronto West Rotary Club .
With the support of Sandy Boucher (Toronto) and Richard Clarke (Parkdale-High Park), Rotarians for Mine Action, once a Rotary Fellowship, became one of the inaugural Rotary Action Groups in 2005.
As part of Canada’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations, Past President of Rotary International, Wilf Wilkinson, (who is with us here tonight), challenged Rotarians to renew our commitment to eliminate these terrible weapons.
Rotarians and Rotary Clubs have always been two 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.
The funds went to projects that cleared mines and assisted survivors in places like Bosnia, Mozambique, Afghanistan and again, this year, in Cambodia.
The unSAFE campaign, as it is called, raises funds for Cambodian Self Help Demining, which operates explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams that help rural Cambodians, who come across mines and explosive remnants of war, in their day-to-day lives.
At the height of the Night of 1000 Dinners campaign, over 90% of all Rotary Districts in Canada were holding N1KD events!
What is Night of A Thousand Dinners?
Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) is an event, just like we are having here tonight, that helps to raise awareness of the global landmine crisis and to raise funds for mine action. They began as a global campaign in 2001 and the tradition continues, to this day, among Rotary Clubs in Canada. These dinners are 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 our Rotary friends and guests. Instead of guests bringing wine, flowers, or dessert, to a dinner event, they make a donation to the Canadian Landmine Foundation, just like we have done tonight. Every contribution, no matter how small, will affect change on a global scale. When a thousand Rotarians and guests come together, across Canada, have dinner and support the Canadian Landmine Foundation, it is called Night of A Thousand Dinners.
Net proceeds from our Night of a Thousand Dinners will be used to fund mine action programs in Cambodia, which help rural Cambodians, who come across mines and explosive remnants of war, in their daily lives. 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 (CSHD), 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 (see: canadianlandmine.org/the-projects/unsafe) .
In addition to demining, CSHD’s Risk Education Team travels from village to village teaching people how to identify an explosive and what to do if they find one.
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, 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 of Canadian Rotarians during the 150 anniversary of our country.
Sincerely,
Wilf Wilkinson, CM, FCPA
President of Rotary International 2007/08
Chair of The Rotary Foundation 2012/13
Here are a few photos:
