Operakallaren Foundation
Operakallaren Foundation
Operakallaren Foundation was started after the President of Operakallaren Abbe Ibrahim visited Kenya in 2006, and with his own eyes saw the terrible consequences of drought and water shortages for the people of the country. The purpose of the Operakallaren Foundation is to raise funds for organizations working in East Africa and to give more people access to clean water. Operakällaren Foundation 2018 is held in favor of WaterAid.
We start in the morning at Operakällaren with inspiring and interesting lecturers. This year, we will have the pleasure of welcoming the ex. Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Eliasson and Ilwad Elman, Social Activist. This event is then followed by a golf competition at Fågelbro Golf Club. The competition ends with a mingle and the highlight of the evening is of course the big charity auction back at Operakallen where the banquet takes place.
If you wish to support the work of Operakallaren Foundation and WaterAid you can read more about how to here, www.operakallarenfoundation.com
Photography by: WaterAid / Behailu Shiferaw
Photography by: WaterAid / Behailu Shiferaw
The story of Operakallaren Foundation
In 2006 I traveled back to my native Africa to attend a wedding in Nairobi, Kenya. After the ceremony a group of friends decided to travel further north east of Kenya and Mombasa for a safari, to experience wild animal life and true soul of Africa’s population. The bus came to a stop when arriving at a small village. The houses were made the same way as ancient mud huts and there were no streets or shops. Only the Acacia trees provided some shade from the burning sun.
The road where we were standing was separated from the village by barbed wire and inside the fence adults and children stood, looking like they were waiting for something. I asked our driver and guide what they were waiting for and he answered quickly with a sad voice: “They are hoping for possible aid shipments”. My friend, the best man of the wedding, took a sip from his water bottle and was instantly approached by a group of children reaching their arms towards him.
He handed them the bottle and they took it thanked for it. As we were prepared for the immense heat, our bus was completely stocked up on water and we started to share our supply with the children from the village. Finally we stood in the front of the bus surrounded by almost 100 kids who wanted water, but we were starting to run out. The driver told me that it had not been raining there for 5 years and we all felt an urge to help in some way.
We interrupted our safari, drove along to the next village and searched for a grocery store where we bought all the water, flour and butter that they had. With this load we went back to the village and handed over our “aid shipment”. The feeling that we hadn’t done enough kept coming back to me after returning to Sweden and I started thinking about what I could do.
The idea of arranging an event where the surplus goes to charity hit me and I consulted some friends and colleagues if it could work. Said and done. The Operakallaren Foundation was born. After eight years, it is now Sweden’s private leading charity event!
Operakallaren works passionately with this event and we do our very best to ensure that Operakallarens Foundation is a very successful and exclusive charity event.
Abbe Ibrahim , Founder of Operakallarens Foundation & CEO AB Operakällaren
Operakällaren Foundation continues to save lives - In support of WaterAid
Time flies and soon it is time for another great day, evening and night with Operakällaren Foundation! We are happy to announce that this year´s Operakällaren Foundation will support WaterAid and their life-changing mission to provide people in East Africa with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.
WaterAid is one of the world's leading organisations who provide access to clean water for millions of people every year. WaterAid does not only drill wells, they also convince governments to change laws, link policy makers with people on the ground, pool knowledge and resources and rally support from people and organisations around the world, making lasting change happen on a massive scale.
For this year’s event, we are delighted to announce that Jan Eliasson will be one of the keynote speakers at the breakfast seminar. Jan Eliasson is a global ambassador for WaterAid and one of the founders of WaterAid in Sweden. During the seminar, he will share his unique insights about the importance of clean water for peace and sustainable development.
We would also like to thank UNICEF for excellent cooperation during the past eleven years. We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. THANK YOU UNICEF!
We are really looking forward to this year’s day, evening and night with Operakällaren Foundation and the possibility to - with your help – be able to support WaterAid’s work and provide people with clean water.
THANK YOU for joining us.
Photography by: WaterAid / Behailu Shiferaw
Photography by: WaterAid / Behailu Shiferaw
WaterAid - Clean water changes everything
WaterAid is a global organization, located in a total of 34 countries, and we work to ensure that more people have access to clean water, toilets and hygiene. Since the start, we have made it possible for 26.8 million people to have clean water, and it has been made possible through the commitment of private individuals, companies and institutions contributing to WaterAid's work and our issues. Visit www.wateraid.se for more information.
All the money that comes through the Operakallaren Foundation goes to our work in East Africa, a region we have long experience of working in. We are currently working with the Operakällaren Foundation and our colleagues in the region to discuss where the need is the greatest and hope to announce shortly what country and program this year's collected money from the Operakallaren Foundation will go to.
"- In every crisis and every war I have visited in my assignments, water has been a recurring theme. Pure water is the basis for all development. You can´t achieve peace, children be healthy or business flourishes with out water. For a sustainable world, clean water is required and that's why I once founded WaterAid in Sweden. I know that their work has concrete effects for people. Therefore, I consider it a matter of course to participate when the Operakallaren Foundation is organize for the benefit of WaterAid. ",
Says Jan Eliasson, WaterAid Ambassador
