Shared supper with CAFOD talk

As you know CAFOD’s current campaign is on climate change. One aspect of the message being the effects on communities in developing countries of extreme weather.

Two CAFOD partners from Myanmar (Burma), a country which is often overlooked by the media but is a place of great charm and mystery as well as sadness. – Fr Pius Win Than and U Than Win – will be in the parish and will be speaking at each mass over the weekend 14/15 February. Tea and coffee will be available after each mass in the parish centre.

Saturday 14 February: 7.30pm-9.30pm Shared supper with talk and displays at St Peter’s parish centre. Please bring along food to share.

There will be an opportunity to view some displays about Myanmar and, perhaps an illustrated story of the village of Ko Dan Gyi and Bishop Charles Bo (now Archbishop of Rangoon and about to become Myanmar’s first Cardinal).

Father Pius Win Than (pr. Pius Win Tan) is the Associate Director of Caritas Pathein, a local CAFOD partner based in Myanmar. Fr Win Than has been working in Caritas since 2005, supporting his staff wherever necessary; whether travelling to the project areas to meet the communities, or putting his staff in contact with the township authorities. Caritas Pathein works with poor and vulnerable communities in the Diocese of Pathein, helping them to increase their job opportunities and income, increase their access to healthcare, increase their understanding of their basic human rights, and help communities to mitigate disasters through supporting the development of emergency preparedness plans.

U (Mr) Than Win (pr. Oo Tan Win) is the community leader in Ta Loke Kone, a small jungle village in east Myanmar (Burma). In 2008 Cyclone Nargis hit the region and the world’s headlines, killing 140,000 people. It left such devastation in a region already rife with poverty that the Burmese government unprecedentedly opened its borders to aid agencies. U Than Win led the recovery process in his village, being elected community leader and then also in 2009 leader of the Village Disaster Management Committee. With CAFOD’s local partner, Caritas Pathein, the community rebuilt homes and livelihoods, and now also have an emergency drill for when cyclones hit again.