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| 226,
Trelawney Avenue, Langley,
Slough, Berkshire. SL3 7UD |
Telephone:
01753 543770 |
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From
Langley
to Africa - with Love
| As
part of our on-going 50th. Jubilee Celebrations, and by
way of preparation for Easter, we have organised a Lenten
Project in association with the Bernardine Sisters, who
are in the process of building a new monastery in Burkina
Faso, Africa. |
There
are already six Sisters in Burkina Faso,
overseeing the work that is in progress, with a
very much 'hands-on' approach. The buildings for
the monastery are already taking shape.
It is envisaged that the first phase of the
building work, the Sisters' living quarters, will
be completed by Easter, this year. The next part
of the profect should be finished around October.
This wfll see the completion of the church.
It is after this that thoughts will
be turned to the guest accommodation. At the same
time as all this is happening, the Sisters are
overseeing the planting of a fruit and wood
plantation of about 1000 trees. Not only will
this impart employment for local people on an
on-going basis, but also provide a source of
food.
Water shortages are a problem in Burkina Faso,
although there are ground supplies. Therefore,
the building work will also incorporate two new
public water wells.
For obvious reasons, the two new wells have to be
built early on in the project. This in itself
will make huge improvements to the lives of the
women and children of the community, who
generally have to walk long distances to collect
their water on a daily basis.
Each and every brick has to be made by hand, and
there is no heavy machinery, so as you can
imagine, it is a slow process.
There is, however, no shortage of labour or
enthusiasm, as the Sisters have been welcomed to
this area by the local community.
Whilst the buildings are going up, local people
are being employed, bringing much needed work to
this area. There is presently a team of 25 local
men working on the project.
The monastery will have a large impact on the
local area for many years to come, in this, our
jubilee year, our well established Parish of the
Holy Family, Langley, intends to help this new
community in Burkina Paso, to get off to the best
possible start.
Lent is
traditionally a time of giving and of sacrifice,
so with this in mind, on this first weekend of
Lent,, we are giving a collection box to each
family. You will notice that the box is very
plain, and we encourage you to decorate it in
whichever way you wish. Once the boxes are filled
and returned over the Easter weekend, we will
make a display of any that come back decorated.
Please give as generously as you are able.
The Bernardine Sisters have kindly made a
display, which is in the church. You will be able
to see pictures and gain more information. All
money collected will be sent directly to the
Sisters so that they can buy something locally.
This will save on shipping costs and provide
local employment at the same time. Here is a list
of things we might hope to buy, and the
approximate costs expected:
£1 could buy 10 bricks
£5 could buy a tree for the plantation
£50 could pay a mans wages for a month.
£100 could buy a statue of Our Lady
£200 could buy a Lectern
£400 could buy a Tabernacle
£800 could buy an Altar
£5,000 could build a water well.
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Our
local schoolchildren have created their
own picture images of the Project.
Here are some of them. |
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The
Parish, Bernardine Sisters and the people of the Diocese
of Diebougou, Burkina Faso thank you in advance for your
generosity.
Letter from Burkina Fasso
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