Charity Work

Since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, 21,000 Afghan refugees have been settled in the UK, according to government figures. Some found temporary homes in two hotels in Oxfordshire. St Mary’s supports Asylum Welcome, which helps them access healthcare, education, employment and English lessons.

In Advent 2021, members of the congregation filled backpacks with gifts for the 42 children in one of these hotels. Ages ranged from small babies to 17-year-olds. Each donor bought gifts for a specific child. We also gave presents to their parents and the other adults in the hotel.

The project gave such joy to both donors and recipients that we repeated it in 2022, by which time the first families had moved on, and 15 new ones had arrived, with 58 children. These children already had backpacks, so we filled boxes with toys, treats, hats and gloves – and, responding to a suggestion from Asylum Welcome, gave umbrellas to the adults.

Asylum Welcome’s worker at the hotel reported that ‘excitement levels went through the roof’ when the presents were distributed: ‘lots of happy children and adults’.

In both years, students from the chapel of Wadham College played an enthusiastic part in the project.   

Caption: The 2022 boxes, ready for delivery

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over half the population living in poverty. Eighty per cent depend on farming.

In partnership with Christian Aid, the Nandolo Farmers Association in southern Malawi is helping pigeon pea farmers to break out of poverty. In January 2023, its founder, Susan Chimbayo, visited St Mary’s to thank us for the £11,700 we raised for their work in 2021 and 2022.

Although unfamiliar in the UK, pigeon peas are widely eaten in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Malawi is one of the world’s top 10 exporters. But smallholder farmers find it hard to tap into this potential because they cannot get good prices, partly because they are unable to store their produce until prices rise. They also lack access to affordable credit.

Over 15,000 people are benefiting from the pigeon pea programmes, which helps farmers’ cooperatives to access largescale buyers directly and negotiate fairer prices, and promotes organic farming and processes which enable pigeon peas to be stored. Its Village Savings and Loans Associations enable farmers to improve their lives.

Lucy Gomani used to work in other people’s fields to earn enough to feed her four children. With help from the Nandolo Farmers Association, she has set up a business selling fritters made with pigeon pea flour. ‘The money is helping me to provide all house necessities as well as paying school fees for child who is now at secondary school,’ she says. She is saving to build a corrugated iron house.  

Caption: Will Lamb interviews Susan Chimbayo after the morning service