Christmas Lunch & General Meeting 26 November, 2019

Our annual Christmas Lunch is a lovely way for us to celebrate the end of the year. Christmas is all about tradition, great company and festive spirit.

This time was no exception. Thank you members and friends for your attendance. We had a wonderful time together!

To crown it all, we were happy to have two of our lunch guests join DISA;  Ilse and Melanie, both from the Netherlands. A warm welcome to both of you! You raised the number of DISA members up to 61.

We would like to thank Southern Sun Ridgeway Hotel for hosting us again. Your Chefs and the entire team did a fantastic job preparing and serving the delicious Christmas lunch.

There being no General Meeting in December, the next GM will take place Tuesday 28 January,  2020! Looking forward to seeing you there next year.

Please note the brand new DISA banner in the next picture!

Greek Cooking Class 20 November, 2019

Two traditional, world famous Greek dishes - Moussaka and Yalaktopourenko  -  were the stars of the day. As were our hostess & chef Lenia and her sou-chef Maggy who showed how to prepare them, sharing with us valuable tips handed down by mothers and grandmothers.

Both turned out melt-in-the-mouth delicious! And no wonder - prepared with so much skill and care and (in the case of yalaktopourenko) butter - nothing less could be expected.

Thank you Lenia and Maggy for a most enjoyable class and a delicious lunch, and thank you all ladies participating!

Ready for action with recipes at hand

There shall be no lumps in the custard!

Lenia pouring home made syrup on her Yalaktopourenko (a pie with creamy custard filling between filo pastry)

A peaceful moment before lunch

Moussaka two ways: one with beef, one with vegetables only 

All funds raised by the class will be used for DISA charities.

DISA Musical Sundowner 16 November, 2019

Our 3rd annual Musical Sundowner took place under lucky stars; it did not rain! So we were able to spend the darkening evening in the beautiful pool area of Southern Sun chatting, laughing, enjoying the finger food provided by DISA members and listening to the music.





The evening was a great success! We would like to say a huge thank you to our members for their attendance and assistance in making this event happen again.  And to all guests and family members for joining us!

For creating the enjoyable mood of the evening our thanks go to the Lusaka Brass Group: Mulemwa Tembo, trumpet; Eustace Phiri, trombone and song; Yngve Nordin, trumpet; and Daphine Chibinga, euphonium (replacing Crispin Katembo in this event)

And lastly, our special thanks (again!) to Southern Sun Ridgeway Hotel. We sincerely appreciate their ongoing support.

The Musical Sundowner is the main annual fundraising event of DISA, so all funds raised by it will be used to support our charity projects. We hope to see you there again next year!

Invitation to GM and Christmas Lunch 26 November, 2019

Another Christmas is just around the corner!  This year the traditional DISA Christmas Lunch will take place in connection with the General Meeting Tuesday 26 November in the Southern Sun Ridgeway Hotel.

We will start at 11:00 hours with a short meeting, followed by "Secret Santa" and Christmas Lunch.

Southern Sun is giving us a generous discount on their normal Christmas menu price, charging only K200 pp for a sumptuous buffet lunch. Please see the menu below.
Drinks are not included in the price, there will be a cash bar for wine and soft drinks available.

Please sign up for the lunch by Thursday 21 November at disazambia1@gmail.com

The lunch can be paid to Executive Committee members beforehand, or at the event. Kindly note, that after we have given the hotel the final number on 21 November, we then have to pay for that number even if some people don't arrive. So please understand that if you sign up for the lunch and don't come, we will politely ask you to pay anyway.

Kindly bring a wrapped gift to the value of K150 for the gift swapping game "Secret Santa".

Guests are welcome to the event, please sign up for them by 21 November as well.

Southern Sun Ridgeway    -   Christmas Menu

Salad Bar
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A bouquet of fresh garden salads
Cold selection of platters with a variety of condiments, oils and dressings

Hot Selection
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Maple and mustard glazed gammon
Beef tenderloin stuffed with roasted red pepper, goat cheese, basil and 
spinach with burgundy sauce
Parmesan crusted line fish with lemon coriander sauce
Crispy roasted garlic herb potatoes
Fragrant rice

Carvery
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Roast turkey with cumberland sauce, sage and onion stuffing with gravy

Desserts
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Double layered chocolate mousse laced with Amarula Cream
Traditional Christmas trifle
Warm Christmas pudding with brandy sauce

Invitation to Greek Cooking Class 20 November, 2019

The next DISA Cooking Class will be hosted by Lenia and Maggy who will show us how to prepare these delightful traditional Greek dishes:

Moussaka made with beef
Moussaka made with vegetables (a no-meat option)
Yalaktopourenko, a pie with creamy custard filling between filo pastry

When: Wednesday 20 November, starting at 9:30

Where: at Lenia's, Lyssi Village Flats, plot 20430 on a street with no name, off Nangwenya road.
When you have Forest Park Hospital on your left, and come to the junction, turn right. It is the second gate on your right. 

Maximum number of participants: 8
Fee: K300 will be collected at the event

It is first come first serve, so don't hesitate to sign up at disa.activities@gmail.com

Funds raised by the class will be used for DISA charity projects.

DISA General Meeting 29 October, 2019

There were many topics on the agenda of our October General Meeting, e.g. our main annual fundraising event, the Musical Sundowner 16 November; the Greek Cooking Class 20 November; the DISA Christmas lunch 26 November; and the Lusaka Hackers Ball 30 November, where the organizers will donate all proceeds of their charity initiative to DISA.

More detailed information about the above events has already been or will be sent to members by email.

Besides busy moments, there was a sad moment as well. It was time to say farewell to our Projects Chair and friend Gail van Schie who will be leaving Zambia in November. Chairlady Inés thanked Gail for her commitment and her personal engagement in ensuring the success of the project committee. Dear Gail, we wish you all the best, and we will certainly miss you!

Gail and Inés 

As a guest speaker we were proud to introduce Maureen Sumbwe, CEO of Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business.

Maureen Sumbwe 

In her presentation “Making the Case for Supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment”, she gave us an insight into the lives of Zambian women. Zambia is among the 30 worst countries with highest levels of gender inequality. The poverty has a woman’s face; the majority of those living in extreme poverty are women and children. Women also form the majority of the informal sector, which accounts for 80% of the population. This makes them exposed to financial, economic and social risks and vulnerabilities.  Her message was clear. There is only one way for women to escape from poverty or gender based violence: economic independence!

In addition, we were happy to welcome ladies from Chikumbuso, a grassroots project in Ng’ombe. They reach out to widows, orphans, at-risk youths and grandmothers in the township, providing free schooling for the children, as well as adult training and capacity building, income generating activities and community building programs. To learn more, please visit their site:

https://www.chikumbuso.com

Maureen Tembo delivering her personal testimony;  Thanks to Chikumbuso she could as widow generate income,
feed her children and improve her self confidence

Mary Mwale, Head of Product and Gertrude Banda, General Manager with beautiful bags hand-made by Chikumbuso ladies

Purchasing a bag supports not only the women who have made them but also the Chikumbuso school and their investment in the community

A trio of our newest members Sue, Dot and Shelly attending their first GM

Busi, Gail, Ines and Sophie