2022 | Issue 6 | SJC Newsletter

The last two years have proven what an outstanding community we have at St Joseph’s. We have met every challenge and cared deeply for one another, particularly those who have been doing it really tough. One of the most outstanding achievements of 2021 was us contributing over $40,000 to support the community of Kensekka in Uganda where illness, death and lost employment was even more significant than in Australia.

Uganda has no social security system, (no job keeper or job seeker and for many no job!) which has made life incredibly difficult. St Joseph’s Vocational Secondary School in Kensekka was closed for many months during which students had no access to education and remote learning is not possible. Education is the only thing that can break the poverty cycle.

In the last two decades we have bought the land for the school and for the growing of food, built a dam with a pump and tank to supply clean water, built one classroom block and toilet facilities, and supported the growing of coffee to provide school income. In 2022 the majority of the funds raised on Edmund Rice Day will be used to complete the construction of three additional classrooms to allow courses in tailoring and bricklaying to be run. 

Some funds will also be deployed to assist with organisations including the CARITAS appeal for Ukraine .The employment of a librarian at a school in Viqueque. Timor Leste. Locally, for Edmund Rice Camps where they create a world where children and families who have experienced trauma and adversity can thrive and belong, Samaritan House (accommodation for homeless men) and Lifeboat Geelong, who provide a pastoral support service for survivors of sexual abuse.

This year the College celebrates the feast day Edmund Rice on Friday 13 May. On that day we celebrate our identity and help those less fortunate. This year I hope that you will encourage your son’s involvement on the day and support the fundraising effort. As Abraham Lincoln so succinctly reminds us “When I do good. I feel good”.

You can donate to Edmund Rice Day at https://www.sjc.vic.edu.au/eve...