Cook Up A Spicy Curry For Anti-Poverty Week!
Are you a curry lover? Do you like to get in the kitchen and cook up a storm? Are you passionate about ending the poverty cycle? Are you a foodie? Then get on board with other Aussies for The Great Australian Curry Fundraising Campaign. It's simple, fun and profound. Opportunity International Australia invites Aussies to cook up a curry this October or November, share it with family and friends and raise funds so families in developing countries can receive small loans to build businesses and break the crippling cycle of poverty.
Set up a fundraiser on the Opportunity International website and cook your spicy curry to raise money to break poverty!
With the success of the campaign last year, Opportunity international is again inviting Aussies to come together around curry for a great cause. Launching the Great Australian Curry fundraising campaign, Opportunity Chief Executive Officer, Robert Dunn, says: “Curry celebrates the vibrant cultures of developing countries and it’s a great meal for bringing families and friends together. It’s also easy to make. “Last year by cooking curries, Aussie families raised $108,000, which is enough to provide over 1,500 families with small loans to start or grow businesses. We hope to help even more families this year through the generosity of Australians." How good is that! Cooking up curry to make a difference! (Check out the images here of a recent Opportunity International Australia launch event for the Great Australian curry Campaign).
The Great Australian Curry has its own webpage, which includes lots of tips and tricks for hosting a curry fundraiser. It has invitations, posters, recipes, place cards, flyers, social media posts and lots more. Opportunity International Australia says Australia’s Anti-Poverty Week is the perfect opportunity to cook up a spicy curry and raise funds to help families break the cycle of poverty. So how about a Rogan Josh, a Butter Chicken or even a Vindaloo? How about a Sri Lankan Curry? A Green Curry of Thailand? Or your own curry recipe?
The World Loves Melbourne loves to cook up a curry and we like to make our own spice combinations from scratch, the ingredients sourced from the Dandenong Markets. Some quality meat and fresh leaves also add to a great curry. Slow cooking the meat so it's still tender is a key for us - don't overcook the meat. Curry is such a globally popular dish full of flavour and texture - it speaks of community.
Too many people in the world live in poverty. Many of them live on our doorstop. Even our neighbours in Asia struggle with families finding it difficult to earn an income, not getting three meals a day, clean water and safe shelter. Even struggling to get schooling for their children.
There's satisfaction in cooking up a great curry but also in making a difference in the lives of those struggling with cycles of poverty. And Opportunity International is also running a couple of competitions that are fun to enter.
Competition for Rick Stein Book "India"
The first 20 people to set up a fundraiser on Opportunity’s website will receive Rick Stein’s mouth-watering cookbook, ‘India’. The book features a wealth of simple curry recipes that’ll come in handy for your Great Australian Curry events. The colourful cookbook features the best recipes from Rick Stein’s Indian odyssey in search of the perfect curry. Opportunity International are running a writing competition and the prize is a signed copy of renowned Sydney Quay chef Peter Gilmore’s cookbook ‘Organum’. Peter’s book delves into the four essential ingredients for the perfect dish “nature, texture, intensity and purity. Just tell us in 25 words or less why taking part in the Great Australian Curry is important to you. Details of this competition are on the Great Australian Curry website.
Competition for Peter Gilmore's Cookbook "Organum"
Opportunity International Australia is also running a writing competition and the prize is a signed copy of renowned Sydney Quay chef Peter Gilmore’s cookbook ‘Organum’. Peter’s book delves into the four essential ingredients for the perfect dish “nature, texture, intensity and purity. Just tell them in 25 words or less why taking part in the Great Australian Curry is important to you. Details of this competition are on the Great Australian Curry website.
Signing up online to Opportunity’s Great Australian Curry campaign is one of the easiest and tastiest ways of helping those in need in developing countries. Opportunity’s website has a fundraiser toolkit packed with everything you need to run your curry fundraiser.
Why get on board?
Members of the Opportunity International team are encouraging all Australians to get on board -
Opportunity Global Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Dunn, says: “One of the goals of Anti-Poverty Week is to get Aussies motivated to hold events to raise funds to help families living in poverty. “Opportunity is honouring Anti-Poverty Week through its Great Australian Curry fundraising campaign. We ask Aussies to cook up a curry, share it with family and friends and raise funds so that Opportunity can give small loans to families to help them build businesses, earn regular incomes and lift themselves out of poverty.
Allan English, Founder and Executive Chairman of Silver Chef and an Opportunity Council member believes Opportunity’s Great Australian Curry fundraising campaign is ”a fantastic opportunity for Aussies who are not familiar with microfinance to be introduced to it. “Hosting a curry night gives you the opportunity to share with your friends what you find important in life. Your passion to help families break the cycle of poverty. “It’s the great taste of the curry and the great taste of life that gives you the chance to share what’s important to you,” he added.
Matt Hope, CEO Colour Capital and Opportunity Board member says: ”I’d encourage all entrepreneurs to get their thinking caps on and come up with simple ideas for a Great Australian Curry event to raise funds to help families in developing countries make the journey out of poverty. “Last year, I hosted a dinner at an Indian restaurant for our franchise group in Sydney. Robert Dunn, Opportunity’s CEO, spoke about the way Opportunity provides small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them build businesses and earn regular incomes. “Our guys certainly got on board with it straight away. They are all business owners and they instantly recognised what it must feel like for entrepreneurs in developing countries to be given a hand up through small loans from Opportunity. Opportunity’s approach to poverty alleviation resonated with them and they made generous donations.”
Annie Crawford, Founder and Chairman of Can Too and Opportunity Council member says: “The Great Australian Curry will raise awareness about poverty in developing countries and the way Australian families can help families on their doorstep. ‘‘Hosting a Great Australian Curry dinner is very simple and a great way to build awareness of Opportunity. Having a curry night is a lovely way to entertain friends and raise funds to help families break the poverty cycle. ‘‘Opportunity provides lots of tips for hosting a curry night on its Great Australian Curry website, as well as recipes, flyers, place cards, posters and donation forms.’’
Former Australian Test cricketer and Opportunity Council member, Michael Kasprowicz, says: “I’d love Aussie cricket fans to cook up a curry this Anti-Poverty Week, share it with family and friends and raise funds to help families in developing countries receive small loans from Opportunity. I’ve seen firsthand how families in India use the income from their tiny businesses for the basic necessities of life – clean water, nutritious food, safe shelter and education for their children.”
If you’d like to honour Anti-Poverty Week by hosting a Great Australian Curry event click here.