Our Zambia project aims to provide individuals in Zambia with help that will be able them to improve their lives and give them the prospect of a brighter more hopeful future.
The individuals to receive the help have been identified by Dr. Anthony Simpson a university lecturer and former parishioner who has spent many years in Zambia as a teacher, and has worked in the HIV and AIDs fields, researching and lecturing on the implications, spread and prevention of the disease in Africa.
He has, in the years spent in Zambia, gained many contacts with people working with those most in need, and has seen first hand what hope a little help can create, not only to the individual but eventually to the wider community. Through these contacts and his visits to the country we are assured that the money raised is actually being spent on the individuals identified. Being aware of the many demands on people’s generosity, not least by the response of parishioners to various disaster appeals and Cafod’s ongoing collections, and the number of charities supported by many, we decided early on that fundraising would be done through events rather than asking for donations.
We have now held a number of ‘Table top sales / swap shops’ which have proved very successful. Our other main income is from the selling of handmade greeting cards. There have of course been donations from individuals and groups. and we have also sold a number of items on e bay, generating a better price for donated goods.
Much of the money raised to date has been spent on education. One year we enabled orphans in the care of nuns to return to school to finish their education. We have also helped out with a donation to an AIDs orphanage, and have helped equip a young man with the land and tools to start a small holding, which means he is now successfully growing and selling his produce at a local market.
One of our larger projects was to take on the fundraising to enable a young girl to train as a much needed nurse. This was a three year course costing the region of £1000 a year.
Fundraising events will be announced in the Parish newsletter
