Newsletter - January 2007
This newsletter was originally added to the site last year, but re-added to explain some of the activities in which the Volunteers are involved
Dear Friends
As many of you will know I went out to Liberia last year accompanied by Fr Joe Brown and Sally Hounsham. If you haven’t already read about our experiences I would encourage you to have a look at earlier pages in the website where you can read about our adventures and the projects we have been supporting.
This month saw the launch of the Sean Devereux Peace Walk on the 6th January in Monrovia. It has been organized by the Volunteers of Sean, who are a group of young people whom Sean taught and worked with and were inspired by his commitment to humanity during his time in Liberia The aim of the walk is to keep Sean’s legacy and the values he stood for alive, focusing on child’s rights, protections and advocacy, community involvement, using sports as a mobilization and peace fostering tool. Fr Joe Brown and one of our Trustees traveled to Monrovia to attend the launch. Once they are both back from this trip we will have a full update which will be available on the website and in our next newsletter. To read more click here
Girls Home, Chicken and Bakery Projects, Darfur, Sudan
Maureen has received a letter from Br Anthony. The Girls Home project is very successful and has helped 85 girls so far. He is starting a project for 21 street children and we are waiting for further details regarding costs and then we will support this project. The situation in Darfur does not seem to improve and it is proving increasingly difficult to obtain information and updates on the projects but we will not give up on these children.
Sean Devereux Memorial School, Brewerville, Liberia
An opening ceremony for the school was held in November. Unfortunately none of the Trustees were able to attend but there were several local dignitaries present as well as representatives from the UN. The rebuilding of the school has been a huge achievement and we are delighted that the school is up and running again
Mary’s Meals
This project is based outside Monrovia in Bomi Hills. We are supporting their feeding programme and are looking into other projects which we hope to be able to report on later in the year. If you want more information on this project please have a look at www.sir.org.uk
We also enabled a young medical student John Patrick Byars to stay in Bomi Hills for several months during the summer. It was a very successful trip and John Patrick made great headway in setting up the patient database which will be used to track infant and maternal mortality rates as well as other information which has not previously been available. This is essential information for the local community to help with the health and wellbeing of all the local villages.
Container Shipment
After several delays the container finally arrived in Monrovia – having been to Monrovia, then to Nigeria and finally back to Monrovia. All the recipients were delighted with the goods we sent them. Absolutely everything we sent has a great deal of value for the local people. What made this container so good was the tremendous amount of support we received from all of our supporters and the local community around Yateley who responded so generously to our appeal for sports equipment, toys, clothing etc. It is encouraging to know that items that have been discarded by the Western world can be recycled and provide so much good to those less fortunate than ourselves.
Scholarships
The sponsorship programme is now underway. To date we have managed to sponsor 86 students from 22 different schools and organisations. We are hoping to extend this project and have also been approached by the Salesians in Ghana to help set up a similar programme. If you are interested in becoming involved in giving children the opportunity to empower themselves, escape the poverty trap, and the hope of a better life please contact us. All of the children we support are known to the Salesians in the community in which they live. It costs just £8 per month to sponsor a child which will provide them with a full education for year.
Future Projects
We have several potential projects that we are considering. These range from funding a container of aid in conjunction with Feed the Children to Uganda, additional projects at Bomi Hills, student sponsorship in Ghana and the work of Don Bosco homes. Before we support any projects we carry out a detailed analysis of the project considering the benefits and the risks to success so you can be assured that your funds are spent wisely.
We still have plenty of wristbands available bearing the slogan “…While my heart beats…” If you would like one of these please send us £1.50 (plus 25p for post and packing).
Finally I would just like to thank you all for your continued support of the Fund. Without your help none of these projects would be possible and they all make such a difference to the lives of the children in Africa.
Best wishes
Maureen
