Working with others |
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Christian organisations that have
links with us as a church or individually include:Ten SingHiston Ten-sing is a Christian Youth Organisation associated with the YMCA specialising in the performing arts. You can read about the local group here. Irene Butlin Email: irene@thebutlins.net Aquaid Lifeline TrustYou can read more about this charity here. Stephen Thornton and John Searle(Stephen published the following article in the November 2004 issue of the Girton Parish News:) We really can make a differenceWe all know that millions of people are dying prematurely across Africa of AIDS and AIDS related illnesses. We all know that this is causing immeasurable personal suffering as well as having a devastating economic impact on fragile African economies. Some say the problem is so huge that there is nothing we can do about it. Others say it is governments that should act. The Aquaid lifeline Fund, a charity based here in Girton, says otherwise. It is taking action right now. It is making a difference. It is transforming lives. Started just five years ago The Lifeline Fund has grown from a turnover of just £32,000 in its first year of operation to an estimated £300,000 this year. With a contribution made for every bottle of water sold by the Cambridge-based company "Aquaid", together with donations from local churches and well-wishers, the charity goes from strength to strength. Where does the money go? Well, virtually every penny goes straight to the people who need it. It spends nothing on fund raising; nothing on staffing here in the UK. Instead the money is spent supporting orphans in Malawi. A small, poverty stricken yet outrageously beautiful country, its people have suffered dreadfully from the devastation of AIDS. Tens of thousands of its children are without parents. They roam the streets. They live a precarious existence with relatives too poor themselves to provide properly for them. Many fall into prostitution or crime. Thankfully however, for some there is The Lifeline Fund. Based at Namisu, close to the southern industrial city of Blantyre, the Fund provides residential care for 73 orphans and day care for a further 330, in high quality, purpose-built facilities. In addition, the Fund pays the secondary school fees for 600 orphans who would otherwise not be able to afford any schooling. It has sunk 10 bore holes, bringing clean water to innumerable poor rural communities; and provides basic equipment and training for villagers who want to run their own simple low-technology irrigation schemes. In times of need it provides food relief to the immediate neighbourhood. It has recently begun to provide technical assistance, training and equipment to other orphan day care projects set up by Malawians who want to do something themselves to care for the orphans in their midst. Earlier this year, in June, my wife Lorraine and I had the privilege of visiting Malawi. We experienced the warmth of an African welcome. We witnessed the stark realities of life - joy and laughter one moment, sadness and grief the next. We saw for ourselves the damaging impact of abject poverty. But we also saw local people striving to help themselves, determined to make a living for themselves and improve their communities. We saw what a difference The Fund could make when it came alongside local people and offered a helping hand. We saw how less than £100 spent on a simple irrigation pump could stave off a community's hunger; and how £50 could guarantee a young person's secondary education, so necessary to their future prospects. One of the greatest needs we identified whilst we were there was for a purpose-built primary school for the orphans at Namisu. With over 400 children at the village, the local government school was overwhelmed. With education so vital to children's futures, it was important to act. On our return we brought this issue to a meeting of the members at Girton Baptist Church. We told them we needed £20,000 to build and equip the school. Amazingly, by the end of September, just three months later, all the money and more had been raised, much of it from people here in Girton and neighbouring villages. Two blocks of classrooms have already been built and a head teacher appointed. By Christmas the school will be complete and in use. What a wonderful example of compassion in action! As a 'thank you' to all those who have supported The Fund and as a celebration of its work, we will be holding a 'wine-and-nibbles' evening on Friday 19th November in the W.I. Hall, 7.00pm - 9.00pm. This is not a money-raising occasion! Simply come and hear about The Fund's work and view a photographic exhibition about life in Malawi. Do join us. Stephen Thornton Trustee Aquaid Lifeline Fund sthorn100@aol.com Cambridge Food BankKen Smith who is a member of GBC is also a director of Cambridge Foodbank writes: What is a food bank?It is a collection centre that receives food and non-food groceries donated by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. these provisions are then redistributed to support organisations who provide meals and care for those in need. Why do we need a food bank?Two charity groups in Camrbidge have identified a need, through their close work with the homeless and ex-homeless, to offer wholesome and regular food to those in need. Nutritious food is disposed of daily for many reasons and many food companies are concerned about the waste of good, edible food.The food band aims to help:
Why Donate?Cambridge Foodband offers donors an economic, effective and envionmentally friendly altenative to dispose of unwated or surplus products, reducing transport and disposal costs and enhancing customer and community relations.The Cambridge Foodbank is an excellent initiative that fits in well with Barclays Community Programme's key theme of helping the disadvanteged and the homeless - What products can we use?Cambridge Foodbank will accept any items of food an non-food grovery products which:
Examples: Our Commitment to donorsTo provide a professional and credible service to ensure donated products are re-distributed before their use-by date. To ensure than any product that becomes unfit will be disposed of according to the Environmental Health Officer's instruction. Donors will be indemnified by contract against public liability risk. Products will not be made available to individuals or unregistered agencies. The foodband reserved the right to monitor storage, preparation and distribution of products by its member agencies. Donated prodcuts will be directed to agencies that provide meals in site. Cambridge Food Bank Website ContactProject Manager Cambridge Foodbank Unit B Rene Court Coldham's Road Cambridge CB1 3EW Tel: 01223 415341 Cellphone: 07780 996661 Link House TrustLink House provides friendship, support and accommodation for international graduate students (also spouses) in their "home from home" here in Cambridge - especially those who have just arrived in this country for the first time. Geoffrey Butlin (Iris Niven published the following article in the November 2004 issue of Girton Parish News:) THE PLACE IN CAMBRIDGEWarmest thanks to everyone who donated to the charity auction at Coton Hall on 2nd October, or who came along to offer support and practical help. The proceeds have provided a gift for two charities, one of which opened in Cambridge in September this year. THE PLACE IN CAMBRIDGE is a local pregnancy advice centre where anyone with an unplanned pregnancy may go to quietly discuss all their options in an atmosphere of care, compassion and confidentiality so that decisions are not made out of panic and fear. Operating at the York Street Medical Centre, THE PLACE was opened after prayerful consideration and concern about soaring abortion figures in our national society. The centre has fully trained counselors and it aims to provide financial, medical and practical information. Help can also be offered for the emotional problems of post abortion trauma. If you know anyone who could benefit from this service, the local helpline is 01223 500118. THE PLACE IN CAMBRIDGE is a registered charity No. 1104889. Iris Niven. |
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