This year we will be able to replicate last year’s fundraising results to continue the support for orphan and parishioner children administered under the outstanding leadership of Fr Taylor.
Once again the fundraising and activities for the group have been very successful, supplemented as always by some very generous donations with the mainstays represented by the annual parish collection and raffles which continue to be very well supported. Parishioners at times express their delight to me when notified as the winners, some to say this is the first time they have ever won a prize in a raffle. This year your chances of securing a winning ticket were further enhanced with the Christmas raffle offering 5 lovely prizes.
In August I gave a talk to the school children, at the request of
the school, about the Malawi Support Group and pointed out that Malawi,
with a population of 16 million occupies an area less than the
size of Tasmania, explaining the country has limited resources.
One of the biggest differences I explained is how much
better off we are in Australia compared to Malawians – as nearly half
the people in Malawi earn only $1 a day. After talking about life in
Malawi and the limited facilities in their sister parish’s catholic school,
they all watched the video of the inaugural mass in the new church which
we largely funded, then ended the talk with a short story I had composed. The children were wonderfully attentive and asked many thoughtful questions to subsequently raise a creditable donation from their own efforts by doing odd jobs over the holidays. A further amount was donated by the tuckshop. It is a reminder how many of the regular amounts raised like this have all added up to make a bid difference to the outcomes for your sister parish.
But possibly more importantly is the narrative that has emerged to unite
us in a common thread of unity to embrace fellowship
in fundraising activities and in co- sharing the gifts and
stories to learn more about each other’s respective customs and
cultures.
But our numbers are getting thin so we welcome any new members to the
group as we were saddened to lose one of our younger members this year who has
left the parish. He will be sorely missed as he made a substantive contribution
during his brief membership.
Thanks to the committee and to everyone for your continued very generous
support.
