Christian Aid Week

I am very pleased and thankful that so many people came to the meeting at St Mary’s to hear Charlotte Scott speak about the situation of many people in Bangladesh, the focus for Christian Aid Week this year. We heard about Morsheda and her continuing struggle with frequent flooding of her home, and the difference Christian Aid had made to Feroza and her family’s life by raising her home above the flood levels.

Picture a young mother of four. Her husband has left. She has no land. No assets. No savings. And the only work she can get is backbreaking manual labour for as little as 74p a day. Her home has been flooded several times, and last August it flooded again. This is Morsheda. She’s our neighbour, and she desperately needs our help.

From 15th – 21st May, our church will join with more than 20,000 others across the country for the sake of people like Morsheda. Across the UK and Ireland we will deliver 7 million envelopes to our local neighbours to raise money for our global neighbours in need. It’s an opportunity to reach out to our community, and to make sure some of the world’s poorest people have enough to eat and a safe place to live.

A Home Safety Package from Christian Aid could raise Morsheda’s home on an earth plinth, safe from the flood plain, and give her resources to invest in things like farm animals, seeds and a composting kit – giving her the tools she needs to build a better future. A new chance at life for Morsheda costs as little as £250.

On 8th May we will be hearing more about Christian Aid in our church services.

There will be a door to door collection in various parts of Bishopstoke during Christian Aid Week – 15th - 21st May. If you would like to support this charity and there is no collection in your road you may like to bring you donation to St Mary’s or St Paul’s when there’s a service on, drop it into The Rectory, 10 Stoke Park Road, or to Jeanette at 99 Church Road. Due to changes in charity laws we can no longer collect in certain roads.