We have launched our Annual Christmas Appeal in support of Queen of Peace Primary School for Girls, our parish outreach project in Lodwar, Kenya.

Last year €15,010 was donated. In 2017 a total of €13,960 was raised. (See school Facebook page here and photos).

The photo on the right shows Fr Fergus with Bishop Dominic Kimeng'ich in Nairobi in August 2016, giving him our summer contribution of €5,290. A further €12,480 was raised at Christmas 2016. 

The school is developing very well, as Bishop Dominic outlined in his November 2019 email:

"I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to you and the Parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Peace for helping me achieve my dream of building a Church school for the girls in Turkana. Now we have Queen of Peace Primary School. This year it recorded very impressive performance and I am proud to note that all the girls who did their Class 8 Kenya National Primary Education examinations attained the marks to join good Secondary schools. Now they have the opportunity to a bright future. 

The latest structure that has just been completed in the school, with your help, is the Convent for the sisters who are teaching and at the same time forming the girls. There are 4 sisters now in the school and they are very happy because they have moved into the brand new convent - thanks to the collection you made last year."

 

 A total of €15,996 was donated between summer and Christmas of 2015.

During his visit to Lodwar in July 2015 Fr Fergus celebrated Mass for the students and staff of the school in the new multi-purpose dining hall. The liturgy was enhanced by the beautiful singing of the choir. Afterwards there was some poetry and singing to entertain the visitor, which among other things illustrated the talent of the girls and highlighted their dreams for the future.

It was a joy to see how much has been achieved already and to be able to assist in the ongoing development of this wonderful project.

Our initial donation was in fact the catalyst for launching the construction of the school.

Fr Fergus stayed with Bishop Dominic and also met Fr John O'Callaghan, a Kiltegan missionary from Kilmallock, who has been very involved in the execution of the project and Mr Tony Woods, from Doon, the diocesan administrator.

In 2014 our Christmas Appeal raised €10,539.

The visit of Fr Joseph Ekalimon, Vicar General of Lodwar Diocese, to our parish in June 2013 further cemented our links with Queen of Peace School. Fr Joseph spoke at all weekend Masses expressing the gratitude of the people of Lodwar for our support. He also highlighted the need for this project: the provision of quality integral education for young girls, who tend to be overlooked due to shortage of resources. We are very pleased to be able to lend our support and will continue to do so. The Christmas 2014 contribution was slightly up on the €10,471 donated in 2013 and is an indication of our ongoing commitment to this worthy cause.

Our 2012 Christmas Appeal, raised €9,264 for the second phase of the project: the construction of 4 more classrooms and some administrative offices.

In 2011 we raised €14,095, which gave the initial impetus to begin the project with the building of the first 4 classrooms of the Queen of Peace Primary School for Girls in Lodwar.

The ongoing generosity of our parishioners  is giving a welcome boost to this very worthy project and helping these young girls to have a brighter and better future through the empowerment that access to education will give.

This YouTube video gives some background to the project. See especially comments of Bishop Dominic at 2'52".