SFRCC 2020 Fundraising Authorisation
Our charitable association began 1998, when His Grace Maurice PIAT, bishop of Port-Louis (Mauritius) while in Sydney, asked our French speaking community, especially the Mauritians, for help to support the educational program in Mauritius. From the start our efforts were undertaken in association with the Australian Catholic University (to help education in Mauritius) through the formation of qualified teachers for the education of poor children there. Since then, the “Mauritian Night” became a “Charity Night” taking place every year on the last Saturday of October. From 2005 in association with Caritas Australia we have alternatively helped Mauritius and Madagascar sending our help through Caritas Mauritius and Caritas Madagascar. In Mauritius our goal was to provide help to the poor living in slums in form of an micro project for accommodation. People could borrow money without interest for their home construction from the Caritas Mauritius on condition that they were employed and making repayments in accord with their financial situation. In Madagascar our help has gone to the holistic social development of the poor through support of education for children and adults, health care in the bush through mobile dispensaries as well as small hospitals looking after lepers and TB sufferers on the south-east coast of the Island In 2007 our charitable association was registered with NSW government as the “Sydney French Roman Catholic Charities” (CNF/20467) and recognised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. The official committee is made of 11 persons (including Fr Jan Chrzczonowicz as a chairman). Our association is based on voluntary membership, has wider committee made up of about 30 members, meeting twice a year for planning/organisation and evaluation of activities. In 2011 we started helping Fr Pedro OPEKA of Madagascar with his endeavours on the outskirts of Antananarivo. His NGO organization called “AKAMASOA” (which means ‘Good Friends’) with the help of thousands of paid professional teachers, health & social workers and many volunteers, provides for around 25000 people (60% children under 15; including orphans and abandoned) jobs (brick homes construction, hand crafts, agriculture, carpentry, mechanics, welding) and education (4 primary & secondary schools, 4 kindergartens and 6 pharmacies). More details maybe found on: www.perepedro.com www.madagate.com . In 2013 the SFRCC joined ‘Catholic Mission’ in partnership in order to improve its fundraising activities through the tax deductibility offered for the personal donations going to the ‘Akamasoa’ activities.
Financial and donation expectations: Amount raised to date: since 1999 until 2023: over $1,759,444.00.
Number of donors to date: average 500. Fundraising goal for the last five years: between $120,000 to $140,000 each year.
LATEST NEWS/REQUEST:
Dear Friends,
Do you have any computers (Laptops, PCs) at home, at your business or school which are no longer needed or used?
Fr Pedro Opeka from Madagascar (see: www.australiansformadagascar.org ‘home’ slides ) is looking for donations of this equipment to help the poor young HSC graduated at his educational centre called Akamasoa which means: ‘Good Friends’ .
Access to technology tools for learning and communication will make a big difference to these children’s education and future.
If you, your business or school would like to donate, the IT equipment, please phone Fr. Jan 0412 786 245 or Daniel Polo 0431 688 820.
All computers will be professionally data wiped and refurbished. Items that cannot be sent to Madagascar will be recycled or sold and the proceeds used to offset the costs.
COMPUTERS 2015
For the last three years, our support for the young graduates of the Akamasoa lyceum has not diminished!
It’s obvious we can’t (for the moment!) assure that all of them will receive a laptop, but we do our best. Fr Pedro is rewarding the best of the students with this tool which they can then use in their further studies or jobs…
In 2015 our faithful provider of laptops, Daniel Polo from ‘Dpolo Accountants’ (http://www.dpolo.com.au/), presented us with ten professionally reconditioned laptops.
Longtime supporters of Akamasoa, Marie-Thérèse and Robin Barnes also gave us their almost new desktop for use at Akamasoa in one of their many offices.
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These items, together with others (among them 12kg of caramels given by ‘Apromo Trading’) were sent to Madagascar on the 13th November and reached Akamasoa just few days before Christmas.
Thank God for the good hearts still living in this world, which enable us with small efforts to give great joy to those most in need!
Fr Jan
Two years ago, thanks to the generosity of Daniel and his friends from ‘ANZ Asset Management’ (Moorebank NSW), we sent 17 laptops to Fr. Pedro at Akamasoa.
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Thanks for your generous support and concern for our beautiful young Malagasy Friends!
Yours gratefully in Christ: Fr Jan
“BREAKING” NEWS:
In 2013, 17 laptops were sent to Akamasoa.
Last July again I made an appeal for donation of the second hand computers (preferably laptops) to be sent in September to Madagascar. Fr Pedro at Akamasoa would reward his newly graduated students with this beautiful gift from Australia.
Last year, thanks to the generosity of Daniel Polo from ‘dpolo Accountants’ (http://www.dpolo.com.au/), I was able to send 14 professionally reconditioned laptops as non-accompanied luggage of Jeannette Beaudoin who went to Madagascar with Nadia Fortuné, one of the founders of our charitable association.
There was great excitement at Akamasoa in expectation of these wonderful educational tools! For at least the last 5 years, non-accompanied luggage, sent by myself has arrived at its destination without any problems…
This time the things seem to have gone surprisingly awry…
Luggage was left at Ivato airport customs for one and half weeks instead of being retrieved in couple of days… When it finally arrived at Akamasoa, Fr Pedro realised that only eight laptops were there and not fourteen as sent!
I don’t know who needed the second hand computers more, than the poor students at Akamasoa… As well as the six laptops “disappearing” there were also a number of accessories “mixed up”…
I hope that this unpleasant situation will not discourage our donor’s continuing support for those in need…
I’m including for your information photographs taken at Akamasoa with 8 happy students receiving the laptops from Australia together with Fr Pedro and Jeannette Beaudoin:
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Once again I wish to express my gratitude to our good and generous friend, Daniel Polo!
Yours gratefully in Christ: Fr Jan