The article explained how the area of Yanaoca is a very impoverished region in a country where over 44% of the population live below the poverty line. The Children’s Centre of Yanaoca began with the initiative of a few Columban benefactors and their concern for the survival of children during a couple of years of intense cold.
With the assistance of generous benefactors, the Parish Priest, Fr Young-In Kim, was able to convert an existing building owned by the parish into the new Children’s Centre.
This space is not just a place where children can come to play in safety; it’s a learning place where they can attain valuable skills for their future life including hand crafts, painting, music and communication skills.
With that in mind, we went ahead to organise a youth Mass followed by a fundraiser for the children of Yanaoca in Peru. Children of Grade Five to Year Nine participated in the liturgy of the Mass including the offertory, prayers of the faithful, singing and playing the keyboard and liturgical dancing. This was the first time in a long time that liturgical dancing had been introduced at Birchip. These dancers were aged from kindergarten to Year Four and made us all smile with the looks of concentration on their faces. Fr Eugene McKinnon made everybody feel welcome and relaxed and thoughtfully managed to include everyone in his acknowledgements.
Following a buoyant Mass, we went across to the Parish Centre (formally the Catholic primary school: The Immaculate Heart of Mary Primary School, Birchip, closed at the end of the year 2000). Here the children organised their own activities including nail painting, neck massages, lucky dips, a golf putting competition. We had to put Fr Eugene on a huge handicap due to his golfing prowess and a basketball hoop throwing competition, which we allowed him to enter even though he shot very successfully!
It was a hot muggy day at the start of our annual harvest of canola, barley, wheat and legumes in the north west of Victoria, but spirits were high even if a lot of the men folk were otherwise busy with their harvest to attend our fundraiser. The main attraction for the adults was a Dutch auction where some randomly donated goods were wrapped and auctioned off. Packets of lollies and jars of tomato paste sold for around $20.00. The amount of excitement that surrounds a mystery gift is astounding and also the degree that these wonderful parishioners were keen to go to donate towards such a wonderful cause, is admirable. It was a joyous auction with lots of laughs involved.
We raised just over $700.00, which is the most our little community has ever collected at one morning tea fundraiser. And it is with great pride that we hand over this money to support Fr Young-In Kim and his children’s centre. The morning brought us all so much pleasure and we hope that we were able to pass that happiness onto the beautiful youth from the parish of Santiago Apostol in Yanaoca.
Noeline Hogan, parishioner of St Mary's Parish in Birchip.
1Birchip is located on the southern edge of the Mallee in N.W. Victoria, approximately 320 km from Melbourne with a town population of 822 and an area population of 1200. The farms in the area typically grow wheat, barley, canola, and other cereals. Some people farm pigs, turkeys, ducks and cattle but most livestock in the district are sheep.
LISTEN TO: Birchip parish takes action
(Duration: 4:54mins, MP3: 2:24MB)
Related links
- Read more from The Far East, March 2018
