TS WORLD CONGRESS IN ROME  10-15 JULY  2010

Report by TOS International Secretary, Diana Dunningham Chapotin

3 - The Bazaar

A big surprise of the Congress was the TOS fundraising bazaar.  I had been told by Patrizia Calvi that the ladies of the TOS in Italy were making some items for a sale table in support of the Chennai TOS’s Seeing Eyes for Everyone (SEE) project.  I knew also that there was to be a second table selling teddies in support of the Tanzanian TOS’s Heart Babies project.  When Patrizia took me to see the bazaar, I discovered not two tables but three walls of an entire conference room lined with heavily laden sale tables, along with a series of large and beautiful posters explaining the work of the TOS and the three projects that would receive support.  (The third project selected, I discovered, was the repair of the earthquake-damaged HQ building of the TS in Santiago, Chile.)  I was overwhelmed at the sight of the handiwork of the ladies, at the generosity of the TS in Italy and at the actual beauty of the whole room.  How often does an international secretary receive such a wonderful surprise?  When I tell you that the total takings at the end of the Congress amounted to €6,950.00 (8,970 USD; 420,000 INR; 10,000 AUD), you can perhaps better gauge the work undertaken by the Italians, not to mention the generosity of the Congress participants. (I fell in sisterly love with the Italian volunteer sales ladies, Maria, Rosella, Graziella, Mariangela, Manuela… so gracious, loving and flexible. They spent long hours at the bazaar, missing out on many activities, particularly the extra-curricular programmes in Italian.)

Rosella Milani Fanzio & Maria Motore welcome visitors to the TOS fundraising bazaar

Carla Nobis & the ladies from the Italian TOS who hand-made many of the items on sale, including hundreds of knitted teddy bears. 
Carla Nobis sta mostrando i suoi lavori ai membri del bazaar.

Rosella, Graziella & Manuela ready to serve at the bazaar

Mariangela Marsi & Carla Nobis displaying items for sale

C.V.K. Maithreya, president of the TOS Chennai, beside the large sign in seven languages outlining the outstanding project he and his wife Dr Sunita Maithreya are helping to run to provide sight checks for needy children and adults.  Thousands of slum-dwellers have been seen by medical staff already.

Look at the beautiful bags C.V.K. Maithreya kindly brought with him for sale, embroidered by the tsunami-affected women from the south coast of India.  The bags sold within an hour.

Luigi Marsi, head of the TOS in Italy

When TS Vice-President Linda Oliveira visited the bazaar, she spent time carefully reading the big signs on display.  It was a little disappointing to see how little time most visitors spent reading them.  Most were in multiple languages so there was really only a single paragraph to read.

Maureen Paterson from New Zealand browsing at the bazaar

TOS International President, Radha Burnier stopped by the bazaar one afternoon.

The TS in Italy produced Congress pens, T-shirts, bags, note-pads, etc. and donated the entire sales proceeds
to the fundraising bazaar.  Incredible generosity!

Rosella lays out the bookmarks donated by the TOS in New Zealand and the booklet, Helping the Dying, written by
Nelda Samarel of the USA, offered as a gift to all Congress participants who could read English.  

For more information on this booklet, including how to order your copy, see here,  

For lots of other photos of the bazaar and its many visitors, go to the TOS website   You may pick up ideas for organising your own TOS fund-raising sale!

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