Jaunting Along

After the Refurbishment All good ideas need others to propogate them; all groups need individuals to join them and all journeys begin with a few first, small steps. When the team that took on operation turn-around began the transformation of Baker House from the utilitarian, drab, unequipped and cold environment it was into the wonderfully warm, rich and embracing series of rooms you encounter today, full of professional equipment, we had relatively few members, little money and not a whole lot of commitment within the general member body, which was due to all kinds of external factors, but was primarily a result of the ageing of a demographic body brought in on the last oil boom. What we were facing, on the other hand, was the beginnings of what was to be an influx of a far more diverse and multi-cultural society from the next oil boom, complete with kids. 

Talk Given at 60th Anniversary of the Dhahran Women’s Group,  May 3rd, 2007, Saudi Aramco Learning to let our light shine out  Welcome.  In particular, to our honoured guest and speaker, Mr Mazen Snobar, Executive Director of Community Services and his wife, Naheel. We welcome too our other special guests, Mr Ahmed Zahid, CCSD Manager and Mr Richard Ksiazek, Administrator, Recreation Services Division, CCSD.  And of course, we welcome all our very special guests, members of the Dhahran Women’s Group, our Board and especially our wonderful volunteers and friends.  We come here from all over the world, a disparate bunch, derived from a variety of cultures, heralding from a multiplicity of lands and speaking a cacophany of tongues.  Like many an expatriate population, we are subject to both unique privileges and peculiar privations. The privileges are well-documented and often future-oriented – to do with establishing a nest egg, ensuring a better...