Recent News Special – December 2024
SPICMA’s founder receives Papal Knighthood
Paddy Phelan, SPICMA’s founder and director of more than 50 years, was recently honoured with a Papal Knighthood.
Full story here…
Poverty steals the opportunity to live LIFE in its fullness.
SPICMA is a Catholic charity which aims to help those who would otherwise fall between the cracks left by the larger charities.
Current Appeals (1)
March 2025 – Toilet Block for Kataboi Dispensary, Kenya
Kataboi is a community on the western shore of Lake Turkana, the world’s largest permanent desert lake. The environment is
harsh all year round. This dry and dusty landscape is very difficult to farm and the people who live here traditionally rely on pastoralism to make a living by herding goats, sheep and camels.
The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate manage a dispensary in Kataboi and provide outreach health services to nomadic
communities. Sr Faith Samongi recently approached SPICMA for help in funding a new latrine. Currently there is a single
one, and this is in a poor state. Their hope is to build a 4-door block (2-doors for women and 2-doors for men) which will significantly improve the comfort and hygiene of the patients and staff. We would very much like to help them with this.
The total cost of the project is £4,700 and anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Current Appeals (2)
February 2025 – Finishing a classroom block and teacher’s house at Luwe School, Malawi
Luwe is a remote community on the brow of the Luwe Hills in northern Malawi. In an effort to help their children, local
people began the construction of a triple classroom block. They made the bricks and found a donor who provided for the
roofing sheets and beams. Even in its present condition, the school has 137 children, two fully trained teachers and
two volunteer teachers. According to Bishop Ryan, “Luwe Junior Primary School is as needy as you will ever get.”
SPICMA has been asked to fund the floors, windows and doors. In addition, a small house for a teacher requires finishing.
The total request for both the school and house is £5,000 and we have agreed to help.
Thank you for whatever you can give.
Current Appeals (3)
November 2024 – A Roof for Mingana School, Democratic Republic of Congo
The Missionaries of Africa, formerly known as the White Fathers, run this very remote school in a densely forested area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The structure is rough and requires a great deal of work, but the most pressing need is to replace the grass roof. This will allow the classrooms to be used even in their current state during rainy spells. The cost is £5,500 for the metal sheets, wooden posts, labour and transport.
It can be a struggle to keep the children at school in this part of the country. The region has suffered greatly, not only from poverty, but also violence and exploitation. A rebel group known as M23 continues to seize towns spreading fear and prompting a huge displacement of people. The rebels sometimes attract young boys to join them with promises of food and money and they are not alone in robbing the children of their education. Gold mining is a growing industry and unscrupulous companies have employed children as young as 10 years old to work for them. We would like to improve the environment of this school in the hope it will give the children a better chance at a proper education.
Thank you for whatever you can give.
Current Appeals (4)
November 2024 – Creating a Free Community, Hyderabad Diocese, Pakistan
Missionary priests in Pakistan are asking for help to free people of the Kutchi Kohli from bonded labour by giving them a modest home and patch of land in a community with others in the same position. Nearly 94% of the Kutchi Kohli people of Pakistan are bonded labourers. They are living in perpetual, inescapable debt to their landlords. They don’t own the land they work and can be evicted at a moment’s notice at the whim of the landlord. Although the crops they grow are meant to be shared, some landlords do not even grant them this meagre allowance.
The Hyderabad Diocese has already established two communities where 41 Christian Kutchi Kohli families are living independent, secure lives. Each family has a small plot of land to cultivate for themselves. The children are attending school and the cycle of virtual slavery is broken. A third area has been purchased to house more families. Money is now needed to develop this land. The first element is to build a boundary wall, followed by accommodation for 15 more families.
Please, can you help support this effort? Thank you!
