17 January 2017
Little Bags of Hope from Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group at St Mary of Charity Parish Church
Fifty-seven ‘Little Bags of Hope’, each including a warm hat, socks, snack, and a number of other toiletries, have been packed and sent on their way to northern France this week. It’s all thanks to the efforts of the Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group (FVRSG), many of whose members attend St Mary of Charity Parish Church in Faversham.
The group took up the appeal of Seeking Sanctuary, the refugee support organisation with which the Diocese has close links. Since the clearance of the Calais ‘Jungle’ many of the residents have dispersed but still need support.
Among the variety of colourful stalls at St. Mary of Charity’s Christmas Fete, the FVRSG made an appeal for goods and funds, and for help with items to be packed into bags. Valerie Jeffries of FVRSG said they had been delighted by the response:
“People were overwhelmingly supportive and we were particularly delighted that Bishop Trevor was able to see the collection of Little Bags when he came to dedicate the new doors and access alterations at St Mary of Charity on 15 January. Since we began in early 2015, we have collected and delivered goods to supply refugees in the Calais, and we are under no illusions about the continuing need to support these people."
The group have also campaigned through their MP and Swale Borough Council for a more generous and welcoming policy towards refugees at both a national and local level and have nearly collected the 1500 petition signatures needed to trigger a full-council debate on the petition’s request for more homes to be made available in Swale for housing Refugee families.
To find out more about the Advent Justice Appeal which is still open for donations, and Seeking Sanctuary’s Little Bags of Hope initiative, please click here.
For more information about how you could support refugees, please contact Domenica Pecoraro the Diocese of Canterbury’s Refugee Officer on dpecoraro@diocant.org