Night of A Thousand Dinners - January 29, 2026

Rotarians, Rotaractors and guests in District 7070 are invited to : 

EVENT DATE : JANUARY 29, 2026:  Night of A Thousand Dinners – Proceeds to  the Canadian Landmine Foundation  , Officers' Mess, Ontario Regiment, Simcoe Street North. Tickets price: $ TBA per person. This elegant evening will have a the Dress Code: Business Attire. The Bar opens at 6 pm. Dinner at 7 pm.

This year's keynote speaker: Olivia R. Fernandes , a memebr of the Board of Diretcors of the Canadian Landmine Foundation, is a Human Rights and Participatory Growth focused International Development Practitioner. Her work spans the areas of Disarmament, Complex Humanitarian Emergencies, Indigenous Rights, post-conflict rehabilitation. She has worked in the DMZ area of Central Vietnam where she gained broad field experience working in all five sectors of Humanitarian Disarmament. She has also worked closely with First Nations communities across Canada in Community Development, Emergency Preparedness, and Emergency Responses. She is currently an Awards Officer with Save the Children where she manages a portfolio of humanitarian projects across six countries.

Olivia holds a BA. in Psychology from York University and an Honours Post Graduate Certificate in International Development from Humber College. She believes in the importance of recognizing and addressing humanity and human behaviour in all development and humanitarian endeavours.

This is a Fundraiser for Canadian Landmine Foundation hosted by the Oshawa Rotary Club. Call Gordon Dowsley  at 905-576-3636 and at gdowsley@yahoo.com if you have any questions . Many Rotary Clubs in Canada support Canadian Landmine Foundation. Seating is very limited to 100 patrons only. Please purchase your tickets as soon as possible. 

Please join us.

See: https://canadianlandmine.org/

Dear fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors in District 7070,

In December 1997 the Ottawa Treaty banning the use of Landmines was signed by 122 countries on Parliament Hill. Since then, a further 40 countries have signed up making the current total 162 independent nations worldwide.

Following the signing of the treaty The Canadian Landmine Foundation was formed and Rotary became an unofficial sponsor as a few board chairs are reserved for Rotarians. Its role is to raise money to remove the mines and to educate children in dangerous areas as to what mines look like, to report them to adults and to never touch them.

Many Rotary clubs contribute directly to the Canadian Landmines Foundation from funds on hand. Others raise funds through a Night of A Thousand Dinners evenings and send these funds to the foundation. If you would like to join The Rotary Club of Oshawa for this year's dinner on January 29, 2026 (Cash bar at 6:00 pm followed by Dinner  at 7:00 pm in the Officer's Mess, The Colonel R. S. McLaughlin Armoury of The Ontario Regiment,  53 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa L1G 4R9.)

Ticket price for a wonderful meal in the elegant and historic surroundings of the Officers Mees of the Colonel R. S. McLaughlin Armoury of Ontario Regiment is $ TBA per person. A tax receipt will be issued for a portion of the ticket price.

Purchase your tickets today through Past District Governor, Ron Dick   ( ron@rrdfsi.ca ) or Gordon Dowsley  (gdowsley@yahoo.com  905-576-3636). When the ticket price has been set, Internet transfer payments can be made  through  OshawaRotaryClub@rogers.com   Please indicate landmines dinner.

If your club would like to partner with Oshawa Rotary Club for this year's dinner or would like a speaker on the program we would be very happy to talk about the possibilities.

Yours in Rotary,

Gordon

Gordon Dowsley

Rotary Club of Oshawa

Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) is an event that helps to raise awareness of the global landmine crisis and to raise funds for mine action.  N1KD began as a global campaign in 2001 and the tradition continues to this day among Rotary Clubs in Canada. Night of a Thousand Dinners is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to make a positive difference in the lives of those living in mine-affected communities, while at the same time sharing a meal with friends and family.  Every contribution, no matter how small, will affect change on a global scale.

 How are the funds raised for N1KD used?

 Net proceeds from Night of a Thousand Dinners will be used to fund mine action programs in Cambodia. Our unSAFE campaign supports Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD), an organization that operates Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams which help rural Cambodians who come across mines and explosive remnants of war in their day-to-day lives. You can read about the unSAFE campaign HERE.

In addition to demining, CSHD’s Risk Education Team travels from village to village teaching people how to identify an explosive and what to do if they find one.

 The Canadian Landmine Foundation is a registered charity with a mission to raise awareness and funds to end human and economic suffering caused by landmines. We partner with other charitable organizations that meet our standards and help relieve the global and continued suffering of countries plagued with landmines and their victims.

 The Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF) aims to realize the vision and goals of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines by entrenching the norm, now established by 161 governments around the world, and also to meet the challenge of clearing mine-infested lands and to offer hope and practical support to mine victims in the world’s most mine-affected countries/communities. Additionally, we aim to continue raising awareness about the consequences of landmines on the landscape, communities and families of countries around the world. We continue to support organizations that achieve these goals.

 Since 1999 the Canadian Landmine Foundation and Canadians across the country have funded $3.7 million in mine action projects around the world, from victim assistance to the clearance of nearly 2 million square metres of land!

In the Photo:

Ottawa, December 5,1997, while the church bells rang out across the city, representatives of 122 countries signed the international landmines treaty.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jody Williams. the President of the International Red Cross, Cornelio Sommaruga, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Prime Minister Jean Chretien applaud as our guest on January 18, Lloyd Axworthy, signs for Canada