Fundraising For 38 People To Travel To India
Bermuda Overseas Missions [BOM] President David Thompson announced that this summer 38 local volunteers will travel to Kerala, India in support of Habitat for Humanity International [Habitat] and as part of this year’s fund-raising efforts, BOM will be hosting a Fish Fry dinner on May 17th at Christ Church in Warwick.
Each year, Habitat India hosts between 35 and 50 international teams of volunteers who come from 15 countries from around the world and who take part in “builds” around the country. In 2006, 100 homes were built by over 2,000 volunteers, including celebrities Brad Pitt, Steve Waugh and John Abraham, during the five-day Jimmy Carter Work Project outside of Mumbai.
As part of this year’s fund-raising efforts, BOM will be hosting a Fish Fry dinner on May 17th at Christ Church in Warwick from 4 pm onwards. As usual, one of Bermuda’s favorite local sons, “Keith’s Kitchen”, will be preparing the dinner of fish, fries, peas and rice, coleslaw, desert, and a soft drink.
According to Mr. Thompson, “BOM is a local charity that was formed in 2006. Our mission is to provide the people of Bermuda, from all backgrounds, ages and faiths, an opportunity to make a difference in our world by addressing global issues and by building houses in countries where a critical need exists.
“We strive to build bridges of cultural awareness, develop new friendships and to renew our faith by committing to help our fellow man and woman, both overseas and in Bermuda, with practical caring actions.”
Mr. Thompson said “We are excited about our trip to southern India. The sub-continent mission will offer an amazing opportunity for our volunteers to assist families in need and at the same time offers the adventure of a lifetime. With 60% of our volunteers being local students, this type of charitable giving is something that will impact the lives of these young Bermudians for many years to come.
“In fact, 100% of the fundraising goes towards this trip and help these students travel off-island many of whom might not ordinarily be able to afford such a trip. Volunteers contribute their own labor, or sweat equity, and funds raised help pay for construction materials and the cost of building homes for these impoverished families”.
Mr. Thompson added, “To achieve our goal of building homes for those in need we have worked closely with Habitat for Humanity International, a world-wide organization dedicated to providing housing in underprivileged neighborhoods. We are pleased that in our eleven years of building, we have made a difference in the lives of 80 families, totaling 400 people in 13 countries”.
Started in 2003 a small group of volunteers from Bermuda went to Montana, USA to build homes for needy families and each year, as word spread, the number of volunteers grew. In 2004, BOM built homes in Bolivia; 2005 Botswana; 2006 Romania; 2007 Brazil; 2007 Guatemala; 2008 Mexico; 2009 El Salvador; 2010 Colombia & Honduras; 2011 Zambia; 2012 Paraguay and Dominican Republic.
Kerala is a small state tucked away in the southwest corner of India. It represents only 1.18 per cent of the total area of India but 3.43 percent of the population of the country. Though Kerala has a history dating back to the Christian era, the modern Kerala was created in 1956 when all the states were reorganized along linguistic lines.
Kerala is different from the rest of the India in many ways. It has the highest literacy rate in the country, lowest infant mortality rate and the highest female to male population ratio. However, many rural communities are mired in poverty and most dwellings are significantly substandard by western standards, with no running water or electricity.
Tickets for the May 17th fish fry are available on the night or by calling Carolyn Arnold 504-2114.
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