Fabulous Milestone Reached!

We started our Millennium Project in 1999 to help Fr. Ed O’Connell, a Columban Priest, who had gone to work with the poor in Lima Peru. We began by serving ‘Breakfasts’ after Mass and also putting our small change into the Coke Bottle. Later we sold Peruvian Handicrafts. It has been quite a low profile project with excellent results and today we have reached a great goal.

This week we have counted £96 from the Bottle. This makes our total raised so far from the ‘Bottle’ and ‘Breakfasts’ £10,041. This amount has a spending power of over £70,000 in Peru. It is a tremendous achievement from everyone and Fr Ed will be delighted.

It will help him with his projects for our friends in Lima…..there are photographs in the entrance hall, showing some of these projects. A Women’s Refuge, A Kindergarden for the children, Helping young people to access Higher Education, Re-building a Chapel which was burned down 2 years ago, A Women’s Co-operative making handicrafts to sell, Training Youth Workers and Lay People to help with the Liturgy

We have also sold Peruvian crafts and this week we will send £66.64 to the Women’s Co-operative. So far we have raised £2,463 in our sales of these handicrafts. There is an example of their work in the Parish room, the lovely Arpeilla (pictured above) which hangs on the far wall. It was given to our Church, a few years ago to say ‘Thank you’.

We now have a new ‘Bottle’ because the old one fell apart under the weight of your generous donations. Let’s continue to save our small change for our friends in Peru.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for your help and support!

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