Rastas raise funds for Liberty Hall
Saraphim Gabourel & Ras Rueben
Rasta United is inviting you to join in their annual Haile Selassie I Earth Day celebration at the B.T.L. Park on July twenty-second. The group is having an all day fair, both to honor Haile Selassie and to raise funds for the renovation of the historical Liberty Hall on Barrack Road, which will be used as a community center for youths. There will be entertainment, food and drinks on sale plus lots of activities for the entire family. The main event will be the raffle of handmade bamboo furniture and you can get your tickets today. Ras Rueben and Saraphim Gabourel of Rasta United spoke to News Five about the upcoming celebration.
Ras Rueben, Member, Rasta United
“It’s an all day festival, we’re going to have a lot of cultural groups out there selling their products. We’re inviting families, we’re inviting people in general to come out and be a part of the day. It’s a part of our—it’s like our Christmas then, Haile Selassie I Earth Day. So it’s just to enlighten the people them and make them become more aware of his imperial majesty and his divinity on earth. It’s going to end with a concert from six until ten and we’re gonna have a lot of participation from a lot of different people you know. The telecommunications said that they’re going to be a part of it so they might have some deals out there. You know we have a couple restaurants that’s going to be out there selling their food and you know we’re trying to invite more people. So we still have space if people want to come and be a part of it, we still have space for them to come and showcase whatever talent they have.”
Saraphim Gabourel, Facie It Productions Bambu Me, Rasta United
“The raffle is for renovating the verandah; the building is very important and this is the face of the building. We want the building to be presentable so we invite people to come in to see the condition of the building. But the building is very strong, it’s about a hundred and forty years old—something like that roughly and it belongs to the people. We are the people so we need to contribute towards renovating and contribute towards the community and have a community center to help our youths, get them off the streets and try to use some positive force to encourage them so we could end the violence and seize all corruption.”
Delahnie Bain
“What are you raffling?”
Saraphim Gabourel
“The raffle is a furniture set; first prize is two side couch and the long four seater, a value of about two thousand dollars with a side table and a lamp. The lamp and the side table are second prize, the third prize is a picture frame, a napkin holder and a couple cups and we will be having giveaway dinners from different restaurants and different places also.”
Delahnie Bain
“The sets that you’re raffling, those are all made of bamboo?”
Haile Selassie I
Saraphim Gabourel
“All made of bamboo, representing us at Liberty Hall. The brothers help us to put it together and I represent Face It Production Bambu Me and it’s all original work and these are one of a kind pieces. And all these pieces they have names on them; Isaiah Matus, Samuel Haynes and Marcus Garvey who contribute towards this building. We have a slogan: you come with something, you bring something… because Isaiah Matus, Samuel Haynes and Marcus Garvey already left something.”
Raffle tickets can be bought from the Rasta United members at Liberty Hall.
