FILM NIGHT AND CURRY SUPPER IN AID OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS

The Jefferies Hall at St Pius Church was buzzing on Friday 7th October. WHY?
 
FILM NIGHT AND CURRY SUPPER IN AID OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS
 
Sharmalene and her team had spent the afternoon preparing a mouth-watering assortment of curry dishes and by 7.30 over 60 parishioners from around Guildford were gathering to sample them before watching a film.

But there was a serious side to this evening and before eating we listened to an introduction by Pat Jones.
She described her experience when, working in Sudan for CAFOD her group was ambushed by soldiers and almost everything they had with them, including shoes and personal possessions, was taken away. They were forced to rely on help from a group of nuns who they would normally have described as much poorer than themselves: now these nuns helped them by providing shelter, flip-flops, T shirts and even toothbrushes.
For Pat’s group this was a very real experience of the plight of refugees; and she invited us to consider supporting one or more of three charities currently working with refugees, especially in Syria:

• The Cardinal Hume Centre in London – a Hostel which currently houses 9 young refugees.
• The Jesuit Refugee Service in London.
• The CAFOD Refugee Crisis Appeal.

The film for the evening was The Good Lie, a gripping account of a group of Sudanese refugees. Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983 these young victims travelled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. As children, they spent many months evading captivity together before reaching the relative safety of refugee camps.  Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America.
 
The food was delicious, and there was plenty of noise as friends met and exchanged news before preparing to watch the film. The film was moving and particularly spelled out the challenges faced by both refugees and local agency workers as they tried to understand each other’s cultures.
 
After the evening the sums donated were
CAFOD:                                  £818.75
Cardinal Hume Centre:       £838.75
Jesuit Refugee Centre:       £1081.25
 
The total raised including Gift Aid income, equated to £2738.75