Bishop of London launches 'Transforming Lives' appeal

The challenge is immense but our Lent Appeal provides us with the opportunity to be agents of transformation through the donations of our Lenten sacrifices and gifts

04/02/10

The Bishop of London has launched the Diocese of London's 2010 Lent Appeal at Old Ford Primary School in Tower Hamlets. The Bishop met with pupils at the school to talk to them about this year’s theme of transformation and to explain the importance of the appeal.

The school children took the Bishop on a tour of their school and he met members of the school Gardening Club who told the Bishop about their own environmental projects.

The Diocese of London's 2010 Lent Appeal Transforming Lives... ALMA's Children will raise money for the Angola London Mozambique Association's (ALMA's) Children Fund which supports health and education projects for young people in Angola and Mozambique. ALMA has set a target of £70,000 for this year's appeal.

The Bishop also paid a visit to the church of St Paul and St Mark, nearby to the school. The theme of transformation is reflected in the church itself, which was transformed in 2004 with a brand new building that now offers a wide variety of community activities including a community cafe, a gym and an educational support centre. The church is also currently hosting a sculpture called 'music man' made up of weapons traded in by people in Mozambique in exchange for farming equipment as part of the 'swords into ploughshares' scheme.

The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres said:

"The Lent Appeal Transforming Lives... ALMA’s Children grounds our London Lenten journeys in the experience of our partners, whose context is so different from our own. The challenge of ministering to the young is one we all share but Angola and Mozambique have almost 50% of their population under the age of 18 and a third of these young people have had no formal education. The challenge is immense but our Lent Appeal provides us with the opportunity to be agents of transformation through the donations of our Lenten sacrifices and gifts."

The Revd Philippa Boardman at St Paul and St Mark, Old Ford said:

"I am delighted that we have been able to visit Old Ford Primary school which has been transformed in recent years from a struggling school to a place which provides an outstanding education for all its children. I hope and pray that through the ALMA appeal we may play our part in contributing to the much needed transformation of children's education in Mozambique and Angola."

For more information visit the Lent Appeal pages.