Report: South London Christmas Afternoon Tea - December 16th, 2023, Organised by the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) and Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Report by Lance Gardiner.
“Today, as we gather under the banner of peace and goodwill, we reaffirm the importance of family values in our community”, declared the Deputy Civic Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Appu Srinivasan, as he addressed a capacity audience at the annual Christmas Afternoon Tea organized by the South London chapters of the Universal Peace Federation and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. He continued by commending the work of the hosting organisations in nurturing the values of compassion and respect, learned within the family unit, as essential for building harmonious societies. Mitty Tohma, UK and European President of WFWP and keynote speaker, provided a window on how these values are put into practice through the organisation’s projects such as the Young Women’s Speech Contest, European-level conferences, and development of a peace-centred education curriculum.
Nearly 80 people assembled at the Peace Embassy, Haslemere Hall, in Thornton Heath, on 16th December to celebrate the festive season in the company of the Deputy Civic Mayor. A video presentation introduced how UPF and WFWP have worked in concert as well as independently in the past year, highlighting their conferences, programmes, and fundraisers. Several individuals were recognised through the award of Ambassador for Peace certificates for their dedicated efforts in serving various communities, including Dr Kanchan Sharma, an experienced Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, as well as Pollina Norville and Ursula Madine, who volunteer extensively in providing support for local families and groups.
A charity raffle, with first prize of a Christmas hamper, was held to raise funds to benefit both IRFF’s Destiny Junior School in Uganda and the Duffus Community Foundation, which makes a positive difference to young people's wellbeing as one of the Civic Mayor of Croydon’s supported charities.
The proceedings were beautifully enriched by superlative musical performances, including by Natalie White, a member of the Coldstream Guards Band, on the clarinet, and by Mia and Kai Gardiner with their renditions of classic Christmas favourites. The MC led the audience in a resounding finale as they sang together “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “We Wish You A Merry Xmas” to celebrate the season. Following the conclusion of the formal programme, festive refresh-ments and warm fellowship were heartily enjoyed by all. While we had our re-freshments we were entertained by Kenneth Read, who went around the tables performing magic tricks.
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