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Spreading Christmas joy...and fun!
After visiting producer partner ACOES earlier in the year, one of Bongo Java's staff, Chris Durai felt compelled to help the members of that community make this Christmas extra special for their kids. Throwing together a local benefit concert, Chris managed to raise money to cover costs for what turned out to be a fantastic fiesta in El Salvador! Once again, we're reminded of the creativity and connection that Fair Trade enables. Read Chris' summary of the event below.
Text by Chris Durai; pictures of ACOES by Oscar Ortiz
As the year was coming to a close, Chris Durai, an employee of Bongo Java, began planning a benefit for the children of La Concordia, the coffee growing community we work with in El Salvador. In June of 2008, he had visited that community with a delegation of Cooperative Coffee members to solidify the grower/buyer relationship. It was because of that visit that Chris knew it was going to be a hard Christmas for the families of La Concordia.
Chris solicited the help of fellow Bongo World employees (and their many bands) to put together a benefit concert that raised three hundred dollars to send to Oscar Ortiz, former ASINDEC director and Cooperative Coffee’s contact with La Concordia. (Many thanks to Simone Blanchard of Catholic Relief Services, who was part of Chris’s trip to La Concordia, for helping Chris wire the money to Oscar!)
Oscar took loads pictures of La Concordia’s party and filled out a full report of the events. The pictures showed the kids beating piñatas, the distribution of food baskets to the families and a feast of chicken, salad, rice, and cake that fed over one hundred and fifty people!
In addition to contributing their time and tunes to the concert, George Daeger, a veteran barista at one of our Bongo cafes, and his band The Early Evening were so inspired by La Concordia’s story, they decided to sponsor a La Concordia child through the scholarship program set up by University of Vermont students. (Find out more about this great program at http://sites.google.com/site/coffeescholarship/how-to-donate.)
