Tranmere Catholic Women's League

The Tranmere Catholic Women’s League held their Christmas gathering on Monday, November 19.

It is a wonderful group of women who do many good things and do them generously.

What a great gathering it was!

Superb food was shared and the meat was barbequed very tastily by Peter and Trevor.

Top class musical entertainment, including a warm up session of Christmas carols, was provided by Neale, Bob and Larry.

The special guests for the gathering were Abuk and Andrew De Yel with their two youngest children – Akut and Wol.

Abuk and Andrew met in Kenya after fleeing from war-ravaged Sudan.

They have an incredibly strong desire to help their extended families back in South Sudan, now a newly independent country.

They are seeking our help to make it possible to build a clean water well in their home territory of Wakou, the land where water from wells brings life.

The gathering raised over $200 for this project and the family also shared in the raffle prizes!

And Andrew sang a solo hymn beautifully!

How good is that?!
Thank you Josie and friends!

A few snapshots........

Other stories about Wakou Aid:

http://tranmereweb.blogspot.com.au/2012_10_01_archive.html

and 

http://www.waaa.org.au/

Africa United!

Many friends of the Wakou Australian Aid Association gathered at the Trak Cinema, Adelaide to watch ‘Africa United’; and a most interesting film it was.

It opened with an 11-year-old Ruandan AIDS orphan, Dudu, lecturing to his peers on condoms, safe sex and the importance of football in Africa. 

His younger sister, Beatrice, dreams of being a doctor. 

He fancies himself as the ‘manager’ of Fabrice, a skilled football junior from a relatively affluent background. 

The three of them decide to find their way to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, but of course things go wrong and right and wrong again.

They end up in war-torn Congo, escape from an orphanage with a tough but traumatised child soldier, Foreman George, and push on to South Africa for the opening match of the World Cup.

Along the way they are rescued and joined by, Celeste, a tough, young prostitute.

The affluent football junior throws his mobile phone into Lake Tanganyika to break away from his ambitious mother; the child soldier throws his gun into a river, rejecting violence as a solution to tribal conflicts; the young sister who dreams of being a doctor finds a school that will help her fulfil her dreams.

Along the way we are given glimpses of life in Africa, the extremes and the contrasts and the triumph of goodwill.

More information here: http://www.africaunitedmovie.com/

The film did not tell us anything specific about South Sudan, but all of us already knew what this was about.

Andrew’s extended family in South Sudan live in the village of Nyinameth.

There is no safe water.

After more than 20 years of war there are no resources to rebuild any kind of infrastructure.

Now that South Sudan has gained independence many refugees are returning, adding to the need for the most basic resources.

Clean water is the number 1 priority.

Andrew and the Wakou Association feel that desperate need very keenly.

We want to help them.

We are helping them.

Feel free to join in!

Oh I mustn’t forget......

• There were people attending who came from as far away as Poland!
• Mary won the raffle!
• The after-the-movie gathering was wonderful!

Water Is Life!

Wakou Australian Aid Association Inc is fundraising for the people of South Sudan where clean, safe water is in very short supply.

One of our parishioners - Andrew Atak-Deng Yel - and his family and friends are trying hard to help the people of the village where he was born and where his extended family still live.

They want to make clean, safe water a reality in the village of Nyinameth.

The next fundraising event is  the film 'Africa United.'

 

 

Africa United tells the extraordinary story of three Rwandan children and their bid to achieve their ultimate dream - to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Football World Cup in Johannesburg.

On the way to the vital selection trial, disaster strikes when Fabrice, Dudu and Beatrice board the wrong bus and cross into the Congo. Without papers, money or a believable story, they are escorted to a children's refugee camp. But with considerable ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), our pint-sized heroes escape the camp and set off in pursuit of their dream, picking up along the way a "dream team" of displaced kids, who help them negotiate a series of thrilling and hilarious adventures.

During their 3000 mile journey, we encounter an Africa few people in the West ever see; experience an epic adventure across seven countries; and feel the joy, laughter and hope that comes from making an incredible journey together.

See you there..............!!  Where?

Vinnies Souptember

Vinnies is asking you to help the work we do in distributing $750,000 of food relief to those facing disadvantage across South Australia, by holding a soup event during the month of September.

The Facts

• Around 1 in 6 Australians live below the poverty line.
• More than 57,000 South Australians went without a meal in 2011 because of financial stress
• These Men, Women and Children live in your community

Over the last two years, food assistance provided by Vinnies across the state has risen by over 30%.  Your contribution can help us feed the thousands of South Australians who turn to us when they just can’t make ends meet, when their children are hungry and when all other hope seems lost.
Every little bit counts, and your donation could help in the following ways:

• $5 can feed one homeless person for a night a Fred’s Van
• $25 may help our volunteers put together a food parcel for someone living in a boarding house.
• $100 could provide a food voucher to help a struggling family make ends meet
• $500 can buy a month’s fruit and vegetables for one Fred’s Van
• $3000 would purchase enough groceries to feed homeless men for one month.

Who are Vinnies?

Operating since 1884, the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) in South Australia has over 2500 members and volunteers.  They work together, supported by dedicated staff,  to relieve not only the immediate requirements of those in need, but to identify the deep and long-term causes leading to spiritual, financial and social hardship in our community, and provide a voice for the disadvantaged.
Each year Vinnies assists almost 100,000 South Australians in need.  This help is not limited to providing material goods, food and shelter, but extends to providing spiritual support, relief from loneliness and encouragement for people to help themselves. 

Get Involved!

Share some soup fun with friends!

And support the work of Vinnies at the same time!

Find out more here!

www.souptember.org.au

Volunteer Value

Volunteers Worth More to Australia Than Mining

Research by Dr Lisel O'Dwyer of Adelaide University has found that volunteering in Australia is now worth more than the mining industry and has valued it to be more than $200 billion a year. And this is a very conservative estimate based only on volunteer hours rated at $7.00 per hour.

 “More than 6.4 million people volunteer their time in Australia, which is double the number in 1995.

"Volunteers get a lot of satisfaction from helping others, enhancing the quality of their life and their health. The benefits to the recipients are obvious and there are also positive spin-offs for governments and workplaces."

People aged between 40-54 comprise the highest bracket of volunteers, with slightly more women (40 per cent) than men (37 per cent) giving their time to voluntary work.

While the economic value of volunteering to Australia is huge, Dr O'Dwyer says the true value of volunteering goes far beyond a dollar figure.

 “If a volunteer fire fighter saves the life of a child, what is that worth?

If environmental degradation is slowed because of millions of trees planted by volunteer conservationists, what is that worth?

And if an elderly person receives a hot meal five days a week, what is that worth?

Employed people are more likely to volunteer, as are couples with dependent children aged five to 17 years.

The number of hours donated by volunteers had risen 16 per cent since 2000, with 41 per cent of adult Australians volunteering 836 million hours with an average of 132 hours per year per volunteer.

WOW!

 http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news55621.html

Online Safety

 

Cybersafety Resources for Parents

Online safety for children has become a serious issue.

It is almost impossible for parents to control or supervise the access to all sorts of online activities and tools.

What parents can do is to teach children to know what kinds of behaviour and activities online are appropriate, useful and ‘good’.

This website could be a useful source of information for parents.

We encourage parents to have a serious look at this resource.

A Government sponsored Website also has many resources.
It is called eSafety

Young Children At Mass

For Your Marriage

We came across this website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

A very brief look showed some interesting topics, including:

How To Take Young Children To Mass.

Let's know what you think.

And here is another Link