Sunday 9 December 2007

MALIN HEAD


Malin head tower. See more about Malin

EC MISSION, GHANA

E.C. MISSION GHANA .

Noeline Haylett.

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I started to help Rev. Sylvanus Botsyoe in 1996. He started the mission the year before to try and help the very poor and needy, these included women who were forced into prostitution due to poverty, aids orphans and orphans in general, people with physical and learning disabilities and also lepers. Lepers are at the bottom of the heap.

FIRST STEPS
At first he started growing vegetables, I sent him a copy of the organic training programme I had drawn up and was using in Mayo Ireland. A year later the local government official was so impressed with the results that he asked the Rev. if he would take on some street girls. The Rev. said yes and say they say “the rest is history”.

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SEWING MACHINES
The poor man was expecting to get 5 or 6 girls instead he was brought a bus load of girls between the ages of 12 and 18 years. He phoned me in a very confused state not knowing what to do. I told him to do a Home Economics course. He had no clue where to begin and needless to say he had nothing to work with. This caused me to collect & send off the first of many containers, many unwanted sewing machines were put to use and this year up to 300 ladies have been trained as dressmakers. Each trained lady has to train 2 more ladies, these ladies can now earn an honest living and can also care for their children. Many rural ladies put hand sewing machine on their heads and walk from village to village getting work.

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PROUD
So far 4 ambulances, 1 tractor, 1 transport box, 1 plough and a quad have been sent out, containers also contain wheelchairs, crutches, school books, medicine in date etc, other items always needed are bicycles. Children spend hours each day walking to school after having nothing to eat before they set off. Bicycles can help a great deal. The government of Ghana is very proud of the fact that Ghana has 30% bicycle ownership.

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MORE IS NEEDED
We can never get enough wheelchairs. “Wheelchairs are not even manufactured in Ghana”, crutches are also invaluable. When the news of the arrival of the container reaches the bush telegraph, people from near & far come and beg for a wheelchair. People have been known to travel up to 5 miles on their bottoms and the palms of their hands to beg for help.

EDUCATION
Education is also a problem. In some places there are no schools for miles around – many schools are only huts and often the children don’t even have pencils or copy books.

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To help address this problem I got a small classroom block build (at my own expense). It was intended for 60 children but within a few weeks a 110 children were crammed into it. I am at present trying to get help to build a second classroom block.

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CLEAN WATER
This area, as many others has only filthy water to drink. A group of people in Kilmurray collected enough money together to sink a borehole (not a well which dries up) at 300 feet they reached cleaned water and thank God four villages who all share the borehole now have clean water for the first time ever. This eliminates the dreadful problem of “guinea worm”.

MEDICAL AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Medical & Educational needs are very high as is transport. Getting people to help themselves is very necessary therefore small projects like sewing, gardening etc. are great, but they need to be in good health and educated to do so.

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Our main lists of invaluable items are:
(all in working order)

· Life Jackets
· Computers
· Bicycles
· Sewing Machines
· Hand tools for gardening, carpentry & mechanics
· School books (not Irish)
· Medicine in date
· Wheelchairs
· Crutches
· Hospital Beds etc

We always need money for shipping and money for boreholes.

BOREHOLES
One borehole cost €7500. That is a very good price. My father used to do boreholes in Africa and he says that is good value and he knows local prices.

SPONSOR AN ORPHAN
We also sponsor orphans to the tune of €60 per year. Anyone who takes on an orphan needs to keep payments up for a few years as once a child is in school we should not pull them out again.

CONTAINERS
At present I am trying to raise the funds to send out another container. The contents of medical and educational aid, is as usual but this container will also include a minibus. The bus will be used by the mission for its work and also as a taxi. This way they can raise funds to help keep the projects going.

AMBULANCES
I am also in dire need of 2 ambulances. They are to be located in very remote areas so that people can be taken to hospital when necessary. Last year a lady died in childbirth due to lack of transport.

CONTACT
Anyone who is willing and able to help with any of the above projects please feed to contact me after 7pm weekdays and all weekends:

NOELINE HAYLETT ON (098) 41484

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PS!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The polyclinic who deal with the lepers, are always asking me to send out nurses and the schools would welcome English, Maths & Science teachers. Needless to say it would be on a voluntary basis.
.


Thank you for taking the time to read this and, may God bless you always.
.

PARKING IN BUNCRANA

Towed away,Cork style!


Here's a letter from the archives!! From 2005 to be precise.


Dear Ian
I read with interest last week about the fact that there are no public toilets in Buncrana. The council will more than likely be able to install a state of the art complex when they introduce some of their latest moneymaking ideas. The first one is the introduction of spot fines for people that think that the pavement is a litterbin. There will be three litter wardens around the county so they will more than likely make an appearance once in a while. There is also talk of turning ten acres of land behind the main road into a car park. There will be a charge to park in the town, which will raise a small fortune from the people who work in the town or visit to do their shopping. Is it too naïve of me to think that the revenue generated will stay in the area or will it be siphoned off and disappear? GT Buncrana

I’m sure the revenue will be part of the greater scheme of things for the county. You never know there might be some allocated to the town for some loos. The car park has been met with mixed feelings as these things often do. The suggestion that this will free the streets from cars that stay in town all day and make room for casual shoppers is a bit dubious. If a worker in the town had the choice of parking in the street for nothing or paying €5 a day for car park fees I know where the car will end up. To combat this the council will have to introduce a card payment system such as the one in Letterkenny for the streets around the town. To implement this there will have to be traffic wardens set on to issue tickets. The traffic wardens will need to generate a revenue to pay their wages, so watch out when you double park! No doubt security cameras are being suggested as well…fun and games!


See the Forum page for an update and views of the parking restrictions in town.


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