NOTES FOR SPEAKING
EXAMPLE 2: AUKI WATER TANK PROJECT SOLOMON ISLANDS
(NB: These are intended as a guide. Feel free to adapt to your own purposes and style.)
Good morning/evening.
Thank you Father _____ for the opportunity to speak to you for a few minutes today.
{Introduce yourself}
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter in which we traditionally focus on prayer, fasting
and almsgiving. It is a time of the year when we consider more concretely how we
share the love of God with our neighbours.
During Lent, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops invite us to provide for the needs of the
poor through the work of Caritas – a network of Catholic agencies for justice, peace and
development, present in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
Caritas Aotearoa supports community development projects in the Pacific, Asia and
Africa and does advocacy and education work in New Zealand. It funds emergency relief
work following disasters like last November’s Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,
and Cyclone Ian which devastated the Tongan island of Ha’apai in January.
This year’s Lent materials focus on the Solomon Islands around the theme of ‘Open Up a
Horizon of Hope’, a theme taken from Pope Francis’ homily at his inauguration Mass in
March last year. Hope is what we wish to provide for the people of the Solomons, and
for people around the world through the Lent Appeal.
A Caritas water project in Auki, Solomon Islands is an example of the kind of ‘love in
action’ Caritas promotes. Whether it’s for drinking, cooking, cleaning or washing, water
is something that we all depend on for our survival. Until recently, over 1,500 people in
Auki relied on just five dripping pipes from a water tank as a source of water. In
December 2012, with the help of funding from Caritas, local communities came together
and contributed to the repair of the ailing water tank system. Old iron pipes were
replaced by new PVC plastic pipes and taps were installed so no water would be wasted.
Maria from Niukaloka village, who features on the week three Lent envelope, told
Caritas staff that it is much easier to get water to wash clothes for her family. There is
now a pipeline closer to her home and the water is flowing much faster! With the time
saved, families have more time for other important tasks such as growing vegetable
gardens and doing school work.
The next stage of the project is to construct 17 more stand pipes and taps and concrete
skirts for the six communities in the surrounding area.
Money raised though the Bishops’ Lent Appeal helps support this and other water
projects around the Pacific. Having access to clean fresh water improves the livelihood
of families such as Maria’s.
There are many ways that you can donate to the Lent Appeal. You can donate each week
using this pack of six envelopes {hold up envelopes}. Or if you’d rather make a single
donation, then use the ‘single Lent donation’ envelope {hold up envelope}. These can be
returned through your parish’s weekly collection or posted directly to Caritas. People
can also donate online by visiting the Caritas website. Caritas has many very loyal
supporters who contribute regularly – we sincerely thank you for that.
If you are unable to make a donation, we would still appreciate you taking a set of
envelopes, so that you can join us in praying for the work of Caritas. Each weekly
envelope features a Caritas project and a prayer for that week.
You may also like to consider using the Caritas Lenten Reflection Programme which is
available on our website to pray with the Gospels as a group or as an individual.
If you have any questions or comments please come and see me after Mass { in the foyer
or wherever} and I’ll be happy to help you. Thank you for being part of the work of
Caritas. Thank you for opening up a horizon of hope.