---
title: 50 Years of Giving- How Actar and Art Celebrated their Latest Milestone of Happiness by Creating More Of It In The World Around Us
description: Actar and Art mark 50 years of marriage with a community Indonesian feast, blending generosity, culture and joyful giving to support local and global causes
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2025-08-08T14:13:07.000Z
updated: 2026-02-26T22:05:29.604Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/50-years-of-giving-how-actar-and-art-celebrated-their-latest-milestone-of-happiness-by-creati
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-08-at-14.53.49_eb0365c9-e1754664702922.jpg
categories: Philanthropic Minds
content_type: Feature
region: Global
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
---

The air at Tudor Manor Gardens was thick with the aroma of Indonesian spices: turmeric, galangal and coconut milk mingling as friends gathered around tables laden with home-cooked curries and fragrant rice. Actar and Art had chosen to mark their 50th wedding anniversary in a way that would lift up their entire community, turning a personal milestone into something far more meaningful than a traditional celebration.

Food has always had the power to [bring people together](https://richwoman.co/article/building-bridges-through-food-how-to-serves-up-connection-and-community-with-a-delicious-meal), but Indonesian cuisine takes this concept to heart in ways that many cultures have forgotten. Traditional Indonesian practices like ‘megibung’ and ‘ngeliwet’ centre around [sharing meals at one table](https://www.socialexpat.net/love-in-indonesia-a-foreigners-experience-of-indonesian-food-culture/) to strengthen social bonds, whilst the custom of ‘mampir’ involves [welcoming spontaneous visitors](https://keasberry.com/news/mampir-indonesias-tradition-spontaneous-visits-hospitality/) with generous offerings of food and drink. When Art spent hours in his kitchen preparing traditional dishes for his fellow Rotary members, he wasn’t just cooking, he was honouring centuries of Indonesian hospitality that views sharing a meal as the foundation of community connection.

## Turning Celebration Into Service

Most couples marking five decades of marriage might expect gifts, flowers or perhaps a holiday. Actar and Art chose differently. Instead of asking for presents, they invited their Watford Rotary friends to make donations to the club’s charitable initiatives. It’s a gesture that reflects what the club describes as ‘service above self, and fellowship that goes beyond meetings and formalities’.

Plenty of people now use personal milestones like anniversaries and birthdays as fundraising opportunities. [Major UK charities](https://www.macmillan.org.uk/fundraise/fundraising-ideas/celebrations) encourage this, with the Salvation Army suggesting everything from [birthday barbecues with donation requirements](https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/other-ways-fundraise/fundraise-celebration) to anniversary celebrations with QR code favours linking to charity pages. What made Actar and Art’s celebration different was its authenticity – rather than following a charity template, they simply extended their natural Indonesian inclination towards generous hospitality. As we’ve seen before, Actar’s approach to [giving comes from an unshakable calling](https://richwoman.co/article/actar-dinata-s-legacy-of-kindness-why-you-never-retire-from-giving) rather than any expectation of recognition.

## Where Generosity Leads

The donations raised from that July afternoon will support Watford Rotary’s extensive network of local and international projects. Locally, the club has recently updated its [grant distribution process](https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/24558877.watford-rotary-club-opens-new-grant-process-charities/) to reach charities focused on mental health, environmental initiatives and youth support in the Watford area. Their long-standing commitments include supporting the Watford Blind Centre and bereaved children’s support groups.

Internationally, the club collaborates with partners like the Rotary Club of Mushin Golden in Nigeria on water borehole projects, whilst contributing to global initiatives including [COVID-19 vaccine provision](https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/watfordrotaryvacinneappeal) in countries where cost remains a barrier. The couple’s anniversary lunch directly funds this work, turning an intimate celebration into tangible support for communities both nearby and thousands of miles away.

## The Human Side of Giving

Everyone who attended recalls the lunch as ‘both a cultural experience and a culinary delight’. The home-cooked Indonesian dishes – fragrant curries alongside traditional rice and vegetable sides – created an atmosphere where stories and laughter flowed as freely as [the generosity](https://richwoman.co/article/what-drives-you-to-keep-giving-the-heart-and-hope-behind-philanthropy-s-champions).

In Indonesian culture, it’s customary to send guests home with food, symbolising abundance and care. [Art and Actar’s invitation](https://richwoman.co/article/honouring-three-decades-of-making-youth-sports-possible-and-the-power-of-creating-a-better-fu) to donate rather than bring gifts turned this tradition inside out, asking guests to take something intangible but equally valuable – the satisfaction of contributing to causes that matter.

The warmth extended beyond the meal itself. Watford Rotary’s appreciation was evident in their response: ‘Your hospitality, kindness, and ongoing support for Rotary are truly appreciated’. It’s the kind of gratitude that emerges when personal celebration becomes community investment, when a couple’s love story expands to embrace everyone around their table. This mirrors what we see in other community initiatives where [grassroots kindness builds belonging](https://richwoman.co/article/being-human-and-kind-there-is-kindness-behind-every-serve-day) through meaningful local service.

## Celebrations That Count

Memorable celebrations aren’t measured by the expense of the venue or the extravagance of the gifts received. They’re marked by how meaningfully they connect us to what matters:[ Actar and Art’s 50th anniversary](https://richwoman.co/article/actar-dinata-s-legacy-of-kindness-why-you-never-retire-from-giving) lunch offers an universal template for giving worth considering: choosing generosity over gifts, sharing culture over showcasing wealth and using personal milestones as opportunities to lift others up alongside our own joy.

Their Indonesian lunch became something far more valuable than a charity fundraiser. It became proof that the most authentic [celebrations happen when we bring others along](https://richwoman.co/article/weddings-that-grow-with-you-how-bonita-ranch-turned-louisiana-and-yadiel-s-love-into-living-m), share what we have to offer and choose to mark our happiness by creating more of it in the world around us.