Money for Madagascar (MfM), the UK-based charity that administers the money raised by the Union of Welsh Independents (UWI) for the Madagascar Appeal, recently managed to secure funding to supply hot meals for children in several schools in Madagascar. This scheme will include two of the projects supported by the UWI’s Madagascar Appeal. During its Bicentenary Appeal 2018-2019, UWI had raised over £156,000 to support several projects in Madagascar, an island where two Welsh missionaries were sent by the London Missionary Society (LMS) over 200 years ago. To date, MfM has delivered over £20,000, and is seeking famine aid to continue providing nutritious meals daily to all 650 children in 2 primary schools in Amboasary Sud. For more information and to donate, please visit https://moneyformadagasc ar.org/famine-appeal/ MfM’s famine feeding programme is run in partnership with ALT MG (Andry Lalana Toahana), a reputable Malagasy NGO who has run food security, education and emergency feeding projects in the South for over a decade.
22 INSiGHT MARCH 2022
A Warm Welcome By Annalyn Davies Annalyn Davies is a retired headteacher, a member of a small rural congregational church and also its secretary. She is also a lay preacher, and considers it a privilege to be appointed as Community Officer for the Tŷ Croeso project which is located at Bethlehem Newydd Chapel, Pwlltrap, St Clears.
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xciting things are happening in rural areas in Wales, aimed at strengthening small communities and raising up the most vulnerable in society. Here is the story of one such venture. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to share with you details of an exciting project that is commencing in the community of St Clears, Carmarthenshire, west Wales. Following the restrictions imposed by lockdown in 2021, we realised that the ministry provided by our church needed to change and that it was necessary to reach out and make a concerted effort to invite people into a welcoming community within the chapel. Charitable work was already in place, but this needed to be increased by offering help locally to those in need, alongside supporting the work of charitable organisations such as Christian Aid. Also, we could see that the traditional format for worship needed adapting in order to try to meet the expectations of our modern-day society. Following numerous discussions, an action plan was drawn up and was fully supported by the chapel members. A community officer was appointed, namely myself, in order to raise awareness of the project locally, to coordinate the work and to liaise with members of the community. We are aware of the need to be inclusive and the installation of modern technology will allow us to do so. The new facility supports the services and allows them to be live streamed to people’s homes if they are unable to attend church. The adoption of modern equipment is also useful for when it is used as a venue for community organisations as it can now offer
