Environmental Society of Oman scores WGO donation

Thursday 07th, January 2016
by Oman Observer

Susan Flower, President of the Women’s Guild in Oman, chose the most appropriate farewell to her office, during the Crystal Ball at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Auditorium recently. Environmental awareness has a growing profile within Oman, as has the level of environmental concern, and Flower offered the Crystal Ball attendees, a video presentation featuring the full spectrum of Oman’s rich natural environment, from the stark harshness of the mountains and deserts, to the beauty of its aquatic wonderland and pristine beaches.

However, as she said, the reality of today’s ‘plastic bag’ generation, and its intrusion into the natural environment that means so much to Oman in terms of tradition and tourism, is omnipresent.
“The WGO recognises”, she continued, “that community, commercial and societal groups”, such as those represented at the function, “have the ability to make a difference,” and accordingly, they had selected the Environmental Society of Oman to be their 2015 charity beneficiary.

Geoff Murray, General Manager of Sodexo/Socat LLC, one of the major sponsors of the event indicated that a key reason his organisation is involved in events such as this is “to continue to develop links with the local community in an effective manner.” He also intimated that, “We have the experience of how we can improve our quality of life, and environment, by changing organisational and individual attitudes to how we treat our environment, and we should be sharing that knowledge, and those experiences”.

Flower was delighted to announce to the charitable gathering, a significant financial boost to the ESO with a cheque for RO 15,000, raised by the event, for the charity, being presented to the Executive Director of the ESO, Lamees Abdallah Daar.

Daar commented on the need for all sectors of society to all contribute effectively to maintaining the Sultanate’s beautiful environment, and encouraged her audience, as leaders in the expatriate community, and possibly therefore more aware of the need for care in our environment, to be pro-active institutionally, organisationally, and personally.

She emphasised however, that personal decisions, rather than governance, are the answer, saying, “It’s great to have your financial support, but we would like you all to do just one thing, to care.” It was a wonderfully simple message, presented with a simple dignity, to an appreciative and attentive audience, perfectly in keeping with the tone of the evening.

She applauded the work of the WGO, Flower, and the contributors and sponsors of the event, saying that the ESO recognised that the 15,000 Rials was a significant donation, and she, and the ESO are extremely grateful for the support.

The Crystal Ball 2015, chose a ‘Café de Paris’ theme for what has become a ‘must do’ event, given its charitable and social objectives, and Flower felt that while each of the previous incarnations had their own merits, for elegance, beauty, and, as she put it, “the joi de vive, or joy of life. This one had it all.”
Art Buchwald, the long serving satirist in the Washington Post, wrote of French cuisine, “That we should regard food the way the French always have. Dinner is not what you do before you go out in the evening, it is the evening!”

In keeping with those sentiments, the Head Chef of the resort created an iconic Parisienne menu to remind the diners that there is indeed more to Paris than the Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa and Champs Elysee.