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The Eisen Family and TunaHAKI
Q&A with Rob Eisen, Fund Advisor & Founder
It’s not exactly a typical family vacation – taking your children to Africa to examine the gums of orphans – but that’s what Toronto dentist Rob Eisen did. In December 2007, his family put the animal safari on hold and opted for volunteer tourism instead. They spent a week at the TunaHAKI centre for Child Development in Tanzania.
When the Eisen family returned to Toronto they were inspired to help the centre become financially sustainable, so they called Tides Canada for advice on fundraising and international grant-making.
What was it about the centre that matched your view of real change?
Lots of money thrown into Africa evaporates, but this organization wants to be sustainable. They want to see these kids stay in school long enough to become productive adults. On top of growing their own food, they have innovative ideas on how to become financially sustainable, and our family really likes that. The centre’s philosophy is long-term.
What did you do to raise money?
In September 2008, we had an indoor volleyball tournament, where we invited friends and family to form teams, and each team member had to raise $100. Two hundred fifty people showed up, and we raised more than $30,000 in one day. We had a blast! We even had people dancing in the sand. Who knew that raising money could be so much fun?
