Big Hat Tea

Last Friday I attended a South African Women's Tea which was an event to raise money for an NGO here in Ghana that provides micro loans and other services to woman in the North of Ghana where conditions are very poor and services are sparse. I was invited by Alan's boss's wife, Julie, who is South African and was part of the organizing committee. The invitation said we must wear a hat, flower, or feather in our hair, as I suppose this was tradition at tea's back in the day. Having none of the above handy at home, I was a bit worried that I would not find an appropriate hat but low and behold, the other day while shopping for batik fabric, I came across the biggest and brightest hat I've ever seen and it had to be mine! Of course, I'm not sure what other occasions I will need this hat for in my life, perhaps this will be the only one, but it was still a must have.

After a few wardrobe changes to get the dress and hat combo just right, I found in my closet a dress that was made for the hat and despite looking a little ridiculous, I was off to my fundraising tea.

This type of occasion is common here in Accra because many expat wives become involved in NGO's whether volunteering at orphanages or offering to hold fundraisers. This happened to be my first such event, and I was really impressed with the what a production it was. There had to be over 100 ladies there all decked out in pretty dresses, hats, feathers and flowers. It was held at a woman's house on her huge lawn and rented tables and chairs scattered the lawn.





Each table had a coordinator who decorated the table, provided the sweet eats, and tea, coffee and juice. Some tables were filled with desserts bought at bakeries in town while others, like ours, were filled with homemade treats such as coconut macarons, chocolate cupcakes, and a traditional South African milk pie.


My table was also filled with Guinness wives and so we had quite a good time as we devoured the desserts and sipped tea like proper ladies. However, my hat got in the way of feeling too proper because I could barely see out from under it and when I went to give someone a hug, the thing usually wound up poking them in the face or flying off my head.

Part of the fundraiser was the sale of baskets and beaded jewelry that the woman, who receive the NGO's help, make and so we all bought a few items.

And there was even a giveaway of prizes that local shops and companies (most of them were companies that the wives' husbands work for like Coca-Cola) donated. It was a simple procedure of drawing names out of a bucket and despite my low odds of winning, I actually won a set of cooking pots!



It was a hoot and now I have a bright pink hat for my next tea!