Fundraising for L'Aquila - Twinning Plans

Felicity Surridge   |   13th September 2009

You may recall before the Summer break we mentioned that St Joseph's was launching an appeal to help the victims of the devastating earthquake which hit L'Aquila in Italy earlier this year. My wife, Felicity and I have recently returned from a visit to San Raniero in Civita di Bagno, one of the most badly-damaged of the villages in the region. We saw the destruction at first hand and met the parish priest and some of his 297 parishioners who are now living in a temporary camp.

The parishioners of San Raniero have had an appalling time over the last five months. We can only begin to imagine what they are going through. They have lost their homes and businesses to the earthquake. In some cases they have also undergone personal bereavement or injury. Many are suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome as they struggle to adjust to life in the camps. Daily temperatures during the summer have regularly reached 40 degrees centigrade under canvas and this, coupled with poor sanitation and minimal care has taken its toll on the elderly and frail. Many of them have fallen ill as a result. They are now facing an uncertain future in an unforgiving climate where winter temperatures often drop to -20 degrees centigrade. Most feel abandoned and forgotten by both the Italian government and the outside world.

Developing a personal relationship between our parish and theirs will help these parishioners realise that they are not alone. With our compassion and support they can look to the future with hope and faith renewed. For this reason St Joseph's parish will be adopting a two-pronged approach to the assistance we will be providing to San Raniero parish.

Firstly, we are looking to twin our parish organisations with similar groups in San Raniero – musicians with musicians for example, and youth groups with their Italian counterparts. This will help develop a friendship between our two parishes and will provide much needed outside contact and support to the displaced parishioners. We will be writing to group leaders in the next few days to update you on what is proposed and what the next steps need to be.

Secondly, over the next 3 months we will focus on fund-raising events to provide an emergency fund which San Raniero's parish priest can use to meet the immediate needs of his people, be it temporary accommodation for the frail and elderly, or emergency medical treatment for sick babies.

Planned events include an Art and Crafts Fair, a Parish Quiz and an evening of family entertainment provided by St James players. More details on each will appear in the bulletin.

Finally, we are hoping that San Raniero's parish priest will visit our parish within the next few weeks to meet as many of our parish groups as possible and to give a short talk at all Sunday Masses.

In the meantime, please ensure you visit the new updated display in the Pastoral Centre corridor to find out more about the village we are supporting. Please also get involved in the twinning and fund-raising activities in any way that you can. This is a humanitarian crisis that needs a generous response from each and every one of us.