We continue to contribute 2.5% of our weekly Offertory Collection to our twinned parish in Dundee, South Africa. We provide approximately £1,500 annually and our last donation was sent in May 2007. We receive regular messages of sincere gratitude from Father George Massa, who remains the Parish Priest for the Embalenhle Mission, on behalf of the Parish Council and his parishioners.

The diocese covers a huge area and the Embalenhle Mission includes the three parishes of St Michael, Leboheng, Holy Trinity in Kinross and St Augustine, Embalenhle.

The most significant development supported within the last year has been the opening of a new church; demonstrating that the poverty of people’s daily lives does not appear to be reflected in spiritual poverty. The church is highly active with a constant stream of celebrations of the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation. The new church serves a vast and dispersed community where poverty is overwhelming, with the majority of people still living in shacks with only the very basic necessities of life. The area is economically and educationally impoverished - in his last letter Fr Massa commented that there was no teacher or nurse in the community. Aids is still rife with the result that the church also has to provide for many orphans. Significantly, by choice they used our donation to support the building a simple church to glorify God - rather than provide immediate, if short-lived, relief from their personal hardship.

In addition to supporting the building of the new church our financial support enables help of a very practical kind. For example, education programmes - particularly around Aids, basic church maintenance, transport and insurance costs, youthwork and emergency support to families and homeless children.

f you want any further information please contact Mary Morris (01992 815438)