Last Saturday, September 12, Shalom Toronto held the Building Hope Gala Dinner, a benefit dinner aimed at raising funds for the construction of the Shalom Catholic Community’s Educational Space of Peace in Lubango, Angola. The initiative aims to contribute to building a welcoming space for education and care for children and adolescents living in extreme poverty.
The evening brought together 87 guests and 15 volunteers who, with generosity and a missionary spirit, united for this project. More than just a fundraising night, the Building Hope Gala Dinner was an opportunity to make the communion of the Shalom Mission concrete in favor of those in greatest need, recognizing in each gesture of generosity a sign of Divine Providence.
A mission already underway in Lubango
The presence of the Shalom Catholic Community in Lubango is already marked by close work with the local population. The missionaries develop various evangelization and service activities, including prayer groups, family visits, and the distribution of food to more than 30 families in the region.
However, the reality encountered by the missionaries presents major challenges. Many families live in conditions of extreme poverty, while access to basic services, including medical care, remains limited. Added to this is the lack of safe and adequate spaces for the support and development of children and adolescents.
Faced with this reality, the project for the Educational Space of Peace was born—a place designed to be a concrete sign of hope and care for approximately 80 children and adolescents.
A space to educate, care, and proclaim hope
The Educational Space of Peace will be built on land already owned by the Shalom Catholic Community in Lubango. However, for this dream to become a reality, resources are still needed for the construction and structuring of the space.
The project intends to offer children and adolescents a safe environment where they can find not only material support, but also opportunities for integral growth.
The space will feature:
- Educational support
- Professional training
- Faith formation
- Recreational activities
- Guidance and care for children and adolescents
- Medical clinic
Thus, the Space of Peace aspires to be more than just a physical building. It is born with the purpose of being a place of hope, dignity, and new possibilities, where children and adolescents can be welcomed, guided, and encouraged to build a different future.
Toronto in communion with Lubango
It was with this vision that the Shalom Mission Toronto promoted the Building Hope Gala Dinner. The event was organized by the Events Sector, composed mostly of people who are part of prayer groups, collaborators of the Work, as well as members of the Life Community and the Covenant Community.
The dinner was therefore the fruit of the collaboration of many people who placed their gifts, time, and availability at the service of the mission.
Andrea Reis, coordinator of the Events Sector of the mission, shared her experience of organizing the Building Hope Gala Dinner:
“Organizing the Building Hope Gala Dinner was undoubtedly a milestone for me and for everyone in the Events Sector. First, because it was for such a noble cause, one that responds to the Church’s call and to our charism of caring for our brothers and sisters who are materially in need. Secondly, because of the profound experience of faith, self-emptying, humility, and uncertainty that we lived throughout the preparation for the event.
There were countless challenges, especially when it came to selling the tickets. But we did not give up. While praying, I received an inspired word that said: ‘God will bless the work of our hands.’ I shared this passage with the Events Sector group and asked everyone to work with even greater dedication.
And that is exactly what happened. They reached out to friends who were still ‘hesitant’; they sent videos and photos; they began fasting and making sacrifices; they offered the intention in their Rosaries and novenas… And exactly three days later, all our tickets were sold out!
We came out of this event happier, strengthened, renewed, more self-emptying, and even more in love with this God who always sustains us and continually surprises us.”
The 87 guests and 15 volunteers who participated that evening became part of this story. Each person who collaborated, served, and contributed to the realization of the dinner participated, in some way, in the construction of this project.
For the Toronto Mission, this experience was also an opportunity to witness that God’s Providence can manifest itself through the generosity and availability of so many people who allow themselves to be touched by the needs of others.
A night of hospitality and communion
In addition to contributing to a missionary cause, the Building Hope Gala Dinner provided participants with an evening marked by hospitality, beauty, and fraternity.
One of the participants, who attended accompanied by a couple of friends, shared her experience:
“I would like to congratulate everyone who prepared and dedicated themselves to serving at the magnificent Gala Feast. It was a magnificent event in every sense: decoration, hospitality, appetizers, dinner, desserts, the sweet table, and coffee. The place setting at the table customized with the name of each participant was very special. I loved the music, at a volume that allowed us to interact. The couple we brought loved, above all, the hospitality.”
This testimony also expresses an important dimension of the evening: the opportunity to welcome people who perhaps did not yet know the mission, allowing them to experience, through a fraternal and welcoming environment, a little of what the Shalom Catholic Community wishes to live and offer.
A communion that transcends borders
The initiative also joins the efforts of the other missions of the North American Region, strengthening communion between the missions and the desire to bring hope to families living in extreme poverty in Angola.
The Building Hope Gala Dinner thus becomes a concrete expression that the evangelizing mission transcends borders. From Toronto to Lubango, different people can unite around a single desire: that the life and dignity of children and adolescents be cared for, and that hope may reach those who need it most.
Building hope
The land already exists. The dream has already been born. And through communion among the missions, the generosity of benefactors, and the action of Divine Providence, the Shalom Mission wishes to take new steps so that the Educational Space of Peace in Lubango can become a reality.
Each contribution represents more than just funds for construction. It represents the possibility for a child to find a safe place, receive educational support, have access to basic healthcare, discover new talents, grow in faith, and, above all, experience that their life has value and dignity.
The Building Hope Gala Dinner was thus a concrete step in this mission: Toronto uniting with Lubango to build hope and bear witness that when generous hearts place themselves at the service, Divine Providence finds ways to reach those who need it most.
