South London Christmas Afternoon Tea - December 16th, 2023
“Today, as we gather under the banner of peace and goodwill, we reaffirm the
importance of family values in our community”, declared the Deputy Civic Mayor of
Croydon, Councillor Appu Srinivasan, as he addressed a capacity audience at the annual
Christmas Afternoon Tea organized by the South London chapters of the Universal
Peace Federation and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. He continued by
commending the work of the hosting organisations in nurturing the values of
compassion and respect, learned within the family unit, as essential for building
harmonious societies. Mitty Tohma, UK and European President of WFWP and keynote
speaker, provided a window on how these values are put into practice through the
organisation’s projects such as the Young Women’s Speech Contest, European-level
conferences, and development of a peace-centred education curriculum.
Nearly 80 people assembled at the Peace Embassy, Haslemere Hall, in Thornton Heath,
on 16 th December to celebrate the festive season in the company of the Deputy Civic
Mayor. A video presentation introduced how UPF and WFWP have worked in concert
as well as independently in the past year, highlighting their conferences, programmes,
and fundraisers. Several individuals were recognised through the award of Ambassador
for Peace certificates for their dedicated efforts in serving various communities,
including Dr Kanchan Sharma, an experienced Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, as well
as Pollina Norville and Ursula Madine, who volunteer extensively in providing support
for local families and groups.
A charity raffle, with first prize of a Christmas hamper, was held to raise funds to benefit
both IRFF’s Destiny Junior School in Uganda and the Duffus Community Foundation,
which makes a positive difference to young people's wellbeing as one of the Civic
Mayor of Croydon’s supported charities.
- The proceedings were beautifully enriched by superlative musical performances,
including by Natalie White, a member of the Coldstream Guards Band, on the
clarinet, and by Mia and Kai Gardiner with their renditions of classic Christmas
favourites. The MC led the audience in a resounding finale as they sang together
“Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “We Wish You A Merry Xmas” to celebrate
the season. Following the conclusion of the formal programme, festive
refreshments and warm fellowship were heartily enjoyed by all. While we had
our refreshments we were entertained by Kenneth Read, who went around the
tables performing magic tricks.
