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SHAREcircle
625 Madison Street(NEW)
Evanston, IL 60202-2202
Tel.: (847) 491-0800 (NEW)
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Report on SHAREcircle Open House August 24, 2007

By Erin Bridgewater

Scooter Potamites encourages a guest to taste all the goodies, especially the brownies. An active SHARE volunteer, Scooter is the daughter of SHARE board chair, Dr. Patricia Deer.

On Friday, August 24th, SHAREcircle hosted a special open house to celebrate and commemorate the recent trip that some SHARE board members took to Angola to inspect the progress of the university project and meet with its stakeholders. The open house included the board members’ pictures and stories of this moving and memorable trip.

The event was held shortly after the interview that SHAREcircle founder, Guerra Freitas, and SHAREcircle board chair, Dr. Patricia Deer, had with Jerome McDonnell, host of the Worldview program on Chicago Public Radio, which highlighted the conditions in Kuito following the war, the search for healing, and the hope there is for relief through education.

The evening began at 7 p.m. at Reba Place Church in Evanston, just across the street from SHARE’s new office space at 625 Madison. Guests were first invited to mingle, watch a three-minute video on Angola, purchase bracelets and cards supporting development in Angola, and enjoy refreshments from local restaurants.

Then, at 7:30 p.m., the guests gathered to watch a slideshow presentation of pictures taken on the trip, while Rosa and Guerra Freitas, Dr. Patricia Deer, and Cassandra Mitchell shared their experiences and excitement over how much anticipation there is for having a university in Kuito, the capital city of the Bié province. Two other members of the delegation to Angola, Roy Winter and Stanley Majka, could not attend the gathering, but still sent in their pictures.

Cassandra Mitchell, SHARE board member, and volunteer Sanna Longden organize the cards that board members created of the beautiful photos that they took in Angola.

Cassandra Mitchell and Sanna Longden organize the cards created by SHAREcircle
board members’ beautiful photos of their June 2007 trip to Angola.

The trip participants visited the elders of Andolo, Camacupa, Catarola, Chinguar, and Cachiungo. They also visited the future site for the university in Kuito, which already has electricity and water. “When we were in Angola, it was moving to see how resilient, joyful,and determined the people are to rebuild their country,” says Dr. Deer, “They are committed to getting an education for their children and for themselves. We saw kids studying under street lamps in order to have light to read by. But Friday night, when we had our fundraiser, I was truly amazed that so many Americans recognized the need for education in Angola and responded with open hearts and open purses.”

After the slide show, the event really turned into a celebration when everyone was invited to listen to music from Angola, join the party, and get up and dance.

Friday night was not only a chance to express joy at the successes of SHAREcircle to date, but also to bring awareness to the need for continued support. A university in Kuito will cost approximately $10 million. Angola is very rich in natural resources such as oil and diamonds, attracting the attention of companies such as Shell Oil Company, Chevron and other major oil companies from around the world. A university would give students the chance to become involved in their country’s economic development, as Angola has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

SHAREcircle would like to thank everyone who came out to Friday’s celebration, the board members, and the restaurants, and stores that donated food for the occasion. Those who contributed food included Brian Houston from Avec, Dominick’s, Wild Oats, Wynn Graham, and Patricia Deer.

SHAREcircle would also like to thank Reba Place Church for providing the venue and logistical support, Betty Wilmouth, Hilda Carper, and Char Oda for the decorations, Celina Varela, Rosalin, Scooter Potamites, and Shae, Bill Castle for coordinating the sound and video systems, Sanna and Mars Longden for printing materials and more, James and Amy for working on the bracelets, Amy Porch for designing our marketing material.

We would also like to thank Jerome McDonnell in particular and WBEZ in general for their coverage of SHAREcircle and its cause, and everyone who directly or indirectly contributed to the success of the event.