Hand in Hand – Our charity 2006 – 08

1 Oct 2008 | Get involved

Every year in Shirley parish, we support a large charitable project for twelve months.

Hand in Hand was our project for 2006 – 08. We raised £17,633!

A card from the Hand in Hand children of Peru - "Thank you to the parish of St Boniface. From the children of Hand in Hand Trust

Hand in Hand cares for young children in extremely poor families up to age 6, in Peru, whose mothers have to work to raise a basic income. The children cannot go with their mothers and if there was no provision, they would be in danger of being left home alone or abandoned.

The Trust provides nurseries, where parents can also receive education, and works in partnership with local health centres to provide essential health support. They then make sure that all the children go on to school.

Hand in Hand currently cares for over 300 children in Lima and Arequipa and relies on donations to keep the nurseries running. We are raising money during 2006 and 2007 to support their work and make a difference to these communities in South America.

Hand in Hand is the brainchild of Josie and Roger Masters, who have many connections with Southampton and from time to time visit St Boniface’s. Our Bishop Crispian is also a patron of the charity. Latest: Josie has been crowned Clarins Woman of the Year 2007 for her work with Hand-in-Hand. Read more at Saga Magazine.

More information is available at Hand in Hand’s website: www.handinhand.org.uk. Registered charity 1062505.

Here are some stories, taken from the Hand in Hand newsletter, about some of their children:-

Saskia, Ederson and Elizabeth no longer come to the nursery because they are going to the school to the first grade of primary. For their age the teacher told us that they are demonstrating a lot of ability for their beginning of reading.

Eduardo surprised us all when we saw him sit next to Bianco to help her eat; normally Bianca wants to be independent and she never allows us to help her to eat but this time she accepted Eduardo’s help very tenderly.

Josue is about about 3 years old, his mother doesn’t remember his birth date as she had him alone in her little straw house. He lived in a cot whilst mum worked all week making friendship bracelets for £1.50 a week. Despite his lack of space his mother has tried hard and he is a pretty and intelligent little boy.