International Women's Club Sarajevo

OVER 2,000 REGISTERED FOR WALK FOR LIFE

As of today, more than 2,000 people have registered for this mega walkathon slated for April 6, 2008. Teams from Avon, Raiffeisen Bank, QSI, French School, Druga Gymnaziya among others have signed up for this fun event.

A great man once said “ Acts of courage shape human history. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others…he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope”.

Project Mammogram is a concrete step to improve the lot of the women of Bosnia & Hercegovina. It may not be enough but it is a step in the right direction. It sends forth a tiny ripple of hope to the women who may be confronting Breast Cancer. It underscores the message that “Early detection through mammogram screening can save lives.”

This Walk for Life is the culminating fundraiser for Project Mammogram and organized by the IWCS in partnership with Avon, Raiffeisen Bank, EUFOR- NATO.

The magic figure is 3,000 people walking and proceeds will all go towards the purchase of a Siemens Nova Mammomat 1000 machine which will be installed in the Zavod in Novi Grad.

On-going registrations are being held every Saturday from 1:00-5:00 pm at Mercator, Robot Mall (new) and weather permitting, in front of the Cathedral. Registration costs 10 KM. Each participant will get either a T-shirt or baseball cap or WFL bag or umbrella as their admission to the Walk.

The walk will start at 11:00 from Skenderija, along historic Obala, around Bašèaršija, Marsala Tito and back to Skenderija.

This Walk for Life is a trail blazer – a first-of-its-kind walkathon for breast cancer in Bosnia & Hercegovina: women and men of all ages, families with children, even pets are welcomed. Remember, breast cancer does not only impact on the lives of women but also those of their families and friends.

We invite you all to join this historic moment and make a difference. Let us all Walk for Life!

Watch out for this first ever mega walk for Breast Cancer in Bosnia. We invite you to join this historic fun event! Our 4kilometer walk is for everyone – women, men, youth, children, babies in strollers, pets – All are welcome! It is for people who want to make a difference. All you have to do is walk an hour and you have done your part in helping us raise funds to purchase a Siemens Nova Mammomat for the countless women of Bosnia.

Step 1 : REGISTER and pay 10 KM registration fee and receive your Walk for Life t-shirt for walk day.

Step 2: FORM A TEAM! Invite family, friends, and colleagues and do your part in raising awareness for breast cancer screening.

Step 3: WALK side by side with us and make a difference! By walking, you are helping us raise funds to purchase one Siemens mammomat for the women of BiH!

PRE-REGISTER FOR THE WALK FOR LIFE!

The countdown begins for the mega walkathon, Walk for Life 2008 / Sjetna za Zivot 2008. Slated for Sunday, April 6, 2008, 11:00 am, the 4-kilometer walk for Breast Cancer Screening Awareness starts and ends at Skenderija, Sarajevo.

There will be WALK FOR LIFE Registration Centers set up in front of the Cathedral, Mercator Supermarket and Robot Mall on March 22 & 29 and April 5 from 1:00-5:00 pm.

Project Mammogram and Breast Screening Awareness-Raising began as a result of concerns among ICWS members (international and Bosnian) about the long waiting lists for mammogram tests in the state health institutions in Canton Sarajevo. Even women with warning signs of breast cancer must wait up to 6 months for an appointment. During this period, a tumor can develop into advanced metastatic breast cancer, for which the only treatment is a full masectomy followed by chemotherapy, if the woman has not already died from the disease.

A group of IWCS members decided to go beyond anecdotal evidence and research the screening capacity of health institutions in Sarajevo, as well as the level of awareness among women about the need for regular screening to ensure early detection.

The International Women’s Club Sarajevo (IWCS) caps another successful event as its Feb. 15 Valentine Fashion Show & Dinner-Dance at the Congress Hall of Holiday Inn brings it a step closer to realizing its goal to purchase a Siemens mammogram machine for the women of BiH.

The event was a glittering, glamorous event that brought together the international and local community in a show with a difference. The Thai silk creations, donated by Logo Asian and designed by Bosnia’s top designers were modeled by the ladies of IWC – Klavdija Tomsich, Ewa Tyszkiewicz, Marjo Wieman, Susanne Prahl, Silvia Girlea, Elvira Furnari, Lejla Shaw, Ksenia Wooster, Shereen Youssef, Belinda Causevic, Victoria Jack and Kristina Navickiene… women of various ages and nationalities who radiated inner confidence and exemplified the essence of women committed to a noble cause.

The main theme was Breast Cancer Screening Awareness and the main focus was to raise funds for Project Mammogram. To underscore the message that early detection through breast cancer screening can save lives, there were 5 models who are members of the breast cancer survivor support group, Renesansa. Yes, these women- Isma Rascic, Azra Cajo, Atija Faslic,Razija Misut and Senada Hadzimuratovic are all survivors! They successfully and courageously battled breast cancer and they are reaching out to other women to come forward and take proactive measures in order to save more lives. The grand finale to this Fashion Show was the parade of national costumes of countries like Austria represented by Sonja Zsolnai, Bindhya Priesner for Bhutan, Zlata Ramic for BiH, Hazijah Nadiah Ismaon for Malaysia, Junu Raghuvanshi for Nepal, Teresa Lucar for Peru, Cheryl Romano representing the Philippines, Vera Kavcic for Slovenia and Madina Jones representing Uzbekistan.

Avon’s expert make up artists provided the make up for the models as well as Gift bags for the Door Prizes while Quirashi provided the elegant jewelry and accessories worn by the models. Friends of IWCS like Coca Cola, Heineken and Vipava Wines donated drinks for the fundraiser. Truly, a magical night to remember and IWCS thanks Project co-chair Mehtap Colan, co-Presidents, Sharon Papps and Cheryl Romano and supportive spouses, Amir Colan, Ed Papps and Jude Romano.

The Fashion Show was a prelude to the culminating fundraiser, a mega walkathon for Breast Cancer called WALK FOR LIFE 2008 / SETJNA ZA ZIVOT 2008 slated for April 6,2008. This is a FIRST in BiH – a truly historic moment which is open to everybody. By joining the walk, you are raising funds for the mammogram machine and making a difference

The Holiday Spirit Bazaar 2007 last Dec.2,2007 raised over 83,000 KM for our HAC funds and over 11,000 for Project Mammogram bringing it to a total of over 95, 000 KM for the Club or approximately 42% increase from last year’s record. Last year’s gate receipts registered 1,533 attendees and this year 2,000 or anincrease of approximately 30%.

We welcomed 25 embassies who responded to thechallenge to showcase the best of their country’s cuisine and products. This included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and US. What was heartening to witness was that the embassies went out of their way to creatively set up their tables. The UK won the award for Best Embassy Table. For TOP SELLERS we decided to give 5 instead of just 3 awards because we are so pleased with the unprecedented efforts exerted. Awardees are ranked as follows: (1) Slovenia (2) Denmark (3) Germany (4) UK (5) France.

Isfahan Gallery won the Best Commercial Tableand the Center za samopouzdanje Sarajevo bagged the award as the Best NGO Table.

The Bazaaralso featured a Children’s Corner with various craft activities organized by the QSI, the French School and Montessori House Sarajevo.The new segment, only introduced this year, dubbed Movies & More featured the movie, Charlie & The ChocolateFactory; theatrical face painting by artist and IWCS member, Ksenia Wooster, guest appearance of Sasa the Clown, Moveone Bouncyinflatable bus and goody bags from Raffeisen bank’s Child Savings Program, Kellogg’s, Wrigley, Trolli candies, Tiger Juice, Corny chocolates, Coca Cola, EU and Sam Shop.

The Grand Raffle for Project Mammogram also generated a lot of excitement as crowds gathered during the draw. Prizes were fantastic because of the support of sponsors like Austrian Airlines, Malev-Hungarian Airlines, Canadian Embassy, Avon, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Norwegian PX, AAFES, Logo Asian, Top Shop, Sam Shop, Kellogg’s, Gorenje, Unicef, UnionLook, Quirashi Jewelry, Zlatarna Celje, Holiday Inn, Robot Commerc and a personal donation from Cathy and Rudy Runko. Its unique selling feature was that the raffle ticket entitled holder to Free Entrance to Terme Rivijera in Ilidza for the period Dec.2, 2007 till April 30, 2008.

Wonderful support was extended by UNITIC, Café Boulevard and Scutum Security. This year we also had 35 terrific student volunteers from the MYP and IB Program of Druga Gymnaziya.We also had KIDS OF IWC helping in raffle ticket selling.

THANK YOU, IWC members, your hubbies and kids. Your cooperation and support made this all possible. Yes indeed, the Holiday Spirit Bazaar does serve as a tangible testament to the remarkable cooperation and teamwork of the international, diplomatic, local business and NGO community.

It is also just the beginning. For 2008, IWCS promises more exciting events like the Valentine Dinner-Dance & Fashion Show for Project Mammogram on Feb.15, 2008 and the Walk For Life, a breast cancer screening awareness raising mega walkathon slated for April 6, 2008.