Fund Raising Event: Indian Ceremony and Festivities

Guests stepped over a traditional rangoli design on the threshold of the Otis-Pasternak home. The rangoli decoration is a folk art passed down through generations to bring good luck. Katherine and her mother Nancy greeted attendees with the red tilak on the forehead, our point of wisdom and concentration, and the arati burning lamp ceremony, an act of veneration and love.

Each guest received a garland showing honor and respect. They were embarking on a fundraising event where they made their own rangoli with colored powder, competed to identify Indian incense scents, and painted traditional henna designs on their bodies.

Katherine, as a Prosperity Rings Board Member, organized and hosted the event, including a fine banquet of chicken masala and other Indian favorite dishes. While thoroughly enjoying the evening, the guests learned about the origins of micro credit loans, how Nancy and Derick were compelled to establish Prosperity Rings, and its accomplishments over the past 15 years. They were inspired by Nancy’s introduction to our borrowers and their enterprises — so inspired that they jointly contributed $1,355 to enhance the lives of those borrowers.

Prizes from India were flowing – door prizes, game prizes, a first donation prize, and ultimately a prize for the largest donation. All 21 guests went home happy, knowing they would make a difference in the borrowers’ lives.