Convocation Trip to UWO

Last Thursday and Friday I found myself back on the Western campus for my convocation ceremony. It's incredible how quickly I've realized how much I'll miss UWO... four of the very best years of my life! Great to see everyone and spend a night celebrating the end of one life chapter and the beginning of many new ones. Luckily, I was able to organize my trip back to London to include multiple meetings with Dr. Reid (my trip supervisor), Jon, Alison and Ruben (the Dutch medical student who will be living with us in Mwanza, who was coincidentally in North America for the week), and a stop by the travel agency to confirm flight bookings.

As of Tuesday, our flight will be official... departing August 6th from Toronto, travelling to Mwanza via London (Heathrow) and Nairobi, arriving in Tanzania on August 8th. Time for an official countdown to begin (51 days...)!

Meaghan, Ruben & Alison!

Tanzania On Tap

This past Saturday, I hosted "Tanzania On Tap" at The Wheat King Bar & Grill in Newmarket with the help of a dedicated group of friends & family. The evening was a great success... the venue worked out perfectly, the band (The Rileys) received rave reviews, and raffle winners went home with a big haul of prizes. The event raised approximately $2200 for the project, which was above and beyond my expectations... thank you SO MUCH to everyone who assisted.

Committee girls! Caitlin, me, Krystal and Steph... missing Kathy and Sarah!

The Rileys and our emcee, Nick!

Adam and Justin working the raffle table

Alison and I! ... almost time for Africa!

Cait, Steph, Al, me, Brent, Chas, Jay and Mandy

One World, One People, One IBM - Diversity Gala 2007

When my father mentioned casually over dinner that Stephen Lewis was the keynote speaker at the 2007 IBM Diversity Gala, he probably didn't anticipate that I'd respond with such fervor. As I explained to many people tonight, Stephen Lewis is my rock star... and I've certainly established myself as a devoted groupie (if politico-humanitarians can have groupies).

The gala's theme "One World, One People, One IBM" was touched on by the senior IBMers who spoke to kick off the evening's festivities, celebrating the pervasive diversity exhibited by the company and the open-door policy of our nation. Throughout the evening, the 800 guests were entertained by Arabesque, African, and Brazilian dance troupes, a performance by Sofonda (a drag queen with an entourage of backup dancers), and various musicians.

The African Dance Ensemble (ADE).

"Sofonda" and her backup dancers on screen.

The Rio Samba Divas.

Early in the evening my dad and I decided to be aggressive and go shmooze with the speakers (most of whom are close colleagues of his) at the head table... "coincidentally" we ended up talking to Mr. Lewis and his companion for the evening, Aissatou Diajhate, who works with the Stephen Lewis Foundation and promises to provide me with a number of NGO contacts in Tanzania. I have already met Mr. Lewis in person once before, but during my first meeting I was determined to be "classy" and not ask for a picture to be taken. Now that I had been given a second opportunity to speak with him, I decided to throw class out the window and asked him for a photo - he informed me that he had come out to the event specifically to "take a picture with Meaghan".... obviously, I should have known (just kidding)! ... we spoke at length about the project and my plans for my time in Africa, and he informed my dad that as a father, he should be reassured that Tanzania is one of the safest and most stable African countries to live in. Thank goodness for Stephen Lewis, always knowing exactly what to say! He further explained that Julius Nyerere (who was the country's prime minister from 1961 to 1985) celebrated the unification of citizens as "Tanzanians", creating an environment where different ethnicities were brought together as a collective group working towards the bettering of their nation. I find it interesting and encouraging that this policy parallels Canada's views on immigration and diversity so closely. I appreciated the opportunity to let Mr. Lewis know (again, and again) what an inspiration he has been to me. His speech, as usual, was fantastic - by far the most eloquent man I have ever met - and I was glad that my family and Adam were able to hear him speak & get a little perspective on what is motivating me to travel to Africa!

SL speaking... I decided not to pull a paparazzi move and settled for a pic of the screen.

Overall a great evening - so good to catch up with some of my favourite IBMers & spend some quality time with some of my favourite men (& my mom)!

The Horgan siblings

Adam & I.