Fun first at diplomatic wives' club

Charity as well as camaraderie is role of the women's association representing 14 African nations

Last weekend, as part of China's "golden week" holiday surrounding National Day, hundreds of Africans congregated in the upmarket Shunyi suburb in northwest Beijing to share in the festivities.

Organized by the Southern Africa Development Community Women's Association, Beijing, the Family Fun Day and Braai (Afrikaans for barbecue) was thronged with more than 300 guests, the families and friends of southern Africa diplomatic spouses.

A variety of activities kept the partygoers entertained from midday well into the night as old friends reconnected and new acquaintances were made, and usually busy diplomats got to know each other's spouses and children.

For the children, fun beckoned at the entrance to the venue with a huge bouncy castle, as their parents proceeded to enjoy a drink on the open verandahs of the Pinotage Plaza restaurant.

"In the past, the events we held such as visits to cultural sites, and galas in each other's homes were for adults only and we were keen that our children and their friends mingle with us to create a truly interconnected southern Africa family," says Mmammidi Clementine George, wife of Botswana's ambassador to China.

"The women's association is a social club created in 2006 for the spouses of ambassadors from the 14 countries that form the Southern African Development Community," she says, adding that the club has expanded to include all cadres of diplomatic spouses as well as lady diplomats.

The club's members come from a region spanning the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania in the north to South Africa in the south and embracing the Indian Ocean island states of Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles. It is organized on the same structure as the Southern African Development Community diplomatic corps in Beijing with the wife of its chairman serving as the club's chairperson.

Initially, the club's main activity was a monthly meeting when members mainly got to know each other through gala events, tea parties and the like. Over time, however, the club has grown to incorporate families and to introduce a philanthropic angle.

"The role of the wives of SADC diplomats is not merely to host guests in chanceries," George says. "The definition of a diplomatic spouse has changed over time and thus our efforts to foster a sense of belonging among members from our region and perhaps more importantly to contribute to the alleviation of vulnerable groups here in China."

Last Saturday's event was the second family fun day following the inaugural event in May, which celebrated the coming of spring and served to bid farewell to diplomats departing in summer. The autumn event doubles up as an occasion to welcome incoming diplomats.

A sense of how the club raises funds for charitable activities was evident in auctions of wine and spirits - a bottle of Malawian gin netted more than 1,000 yuan ($160) - and in sales of southern African dishes, cakes and wines.

So why would spouses of southern African diplomats go out of their way to contribute to charity in China when received wisdom is that their countries face bigger poverty challenges?

"As wives of diplomats and female diplomats, we are motivated to seek friendship, but more importantly to contribute to the alleviation of vulnerable groups in China," George says.

"Well, no country is an island when it comes to vulnerability. We are currently living in China and as accredited diplomats we cannot turn a blind eye to instances of poverty around us. Similarly, the spouses of Chinese diplomats accredited to our countries are contributing in their own way to lessen the challenges in our countries."

She is in favor of supporting a children's orphanage or a home for the elderly to serve as a legacy for future diplomats' spouses.

"If we can raise funds while at the same time having fun, we would have achieved two goals at once," she says.

At last weekend's Family Fun event, the diversity in the 14 African nationalities represented was evident in everything from their attire to the food and music.

Guests enjoyed mealie mealie, a maize meal known as pap in most of southern Africa and as sima or ugali in the eastern Africa region. Two varieties of pap were on offer - the lighter porridge-like version from Botswana and the firmer variety from Zimbabwe - which went down well with a mixed vegetable dish known as chakalaka.

It was whispered to this writer that a woman who wants a man badly enough should prepare him a chakalaka dish and the man would be hers for keeps.

As well as a feast, there was fun, with African characteristics. At the start, guests hummed and swayed to Congolese soukous maestro Koffi Olomide's sensual music. As the day wore on, offerings from Zambian musicians would draw diplomats from that country in captivating jigs.

The Angolan music attracted huge interest, not just because it was fast-paced but also because a towering male diplomat took the mike to ad lib a couple of numbers. Guests poured on the grounds for vigorous footwork and body shaking. One could tell South Africans apart from the rest by their synchronized shuffles.

And underlining the event was the bonding that could be observed. In the true sense of an African handshake, most guests, including ambassadors, moved from table to table shaking hands with all and sundry and engaging in social banter.

For China Daily

Above: Mmammidi Clemtine George with husband Sasara Chasala George, Botswana's ambassador to China, during the event. On the left is the South African trade and industry counsellor Gregory Munyai. Below: Brand South Africa Country Manager for China Tebogo Lefifi with Nigerian counsellor for Immigration L.A. Junaid. Bob Wekesa / for China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/11/2013 page26)