Junior BB Appeal
Introduction
Each year, the Junior BB Appeal gives Boys' Brigade Companies in congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland the opportunity to help raise funds in support of an overseas project.
The Junior BB Appeal Year begins in September/October, when project packs are sent out to the leaders of all Junior BB groups in Presbyterian congregations.
Companies are then free to choose how and when they raise funds for the Appeal but the aim is to have all contributions gathered in within nine months, that is by the end of June in the following year.
Typically, the annual Junior BB Appeal raises between £12,000 and £15,000. Projects supported in recent years include:
- 'Bridge of Hope' (2010/11) - This appeal raised the funds needed to pay for the construction of the 'cable anchor points' for a suspension footbridge that willl provide local people with a safe crossing-point across the notorious, crocodile and hippo-infested, Galana River in southeast Kenya.
- 'Enable Kids' (2009/10) - Monies rasied through this appeal are helping blind and deaf children in Afghanistan to obtain a good education.
- 'Trees Please' (2008/09) - This appeal helped fund the planting of trees in areas in Kenya, Jamaica and Palestine which had been cleared of trees (or never had any) and which will benefit from this new planting in the years to come.
Junior BB Appeal (2011/12) : 'Step by Step – in Romania'
The aim of this year's Junior BB Appeal is to raise sufficient funds to build two, urgently-needed, classrooms and to also provide play equipment at the Hungarian Reformed Church's (HRC) Mission Centre, in the village of Mera in northwest Romania.
Supported by Presbyterian Mission Overseas, Ilona Veres has lived and worked in Romania for many years.
Currently, she is working in Mera (see 'red star' on map opposite), where 30% of adults cannot read or write and many children do not attend school very often, as their parents do not encourage them to do so.
Through their Diakonia Mission, the HRC has developed a programme to help children in the village get into school and then assist them with their ongoing education and development through special after-school activities.
This programme is called ‘Pas Cu Pas’; in English: ‘Step by Step’. It currently supports 50 children.
After school, which finishes at 12 noon, these children go to the Mission Centre, where they are given assistance with their homework, extra tuition to help them catch up with any schooling they may have missed, a Bible lesson and time to play.
The children also receive a hot meal each day, as well as training in hygiene.
Staff from the project regularly visit the children’s families as well as providing advice on family and childcare problems.
At present, two of the classes run by the ‘Step by Step’ programme, meet to study in the dining room of a home for the elderly. Local authorities and health inspectors have informed the HRC's Diakonia Mission that this is not permissible and that they must extend the building, adding two new classrooms. This will cost around €12,000 (approx = £10,500).
It is hoped this year's Appeal will raise more than this amount so that outdoor play equipment can also be purchased for the children as, at present, there is no play area in the village of Mera!
A small percentage of the funds raised will go (as always) towards the Boys' Brigade Global Fellowship, to assist in its efforts to help develop the BB movement worldwide.
This photo shows some of the younger children who are benefitting from the ‘Step by Step’programme.
‘Step by Step’ Project Packs, including 'Collecting Cards', a 'Talk' and 'Activities', have been sent to each Presbyterian Junior BB section.
These documents can also be downloaded from this web page (see below) and copied, if extras are required. If more 'Collecting Cards' are required, please contact Michelle McDowell in the Mission Overseas Office.
A cheque for any money raised should be made payable to ‘The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’ and sent, along with the completed 'Returns Form' (enclosed with the Project Packs), for the attention of Michelle McDowell in the Mission Overseas Office.
We encourage EVERY Junior BB Company TO SUPPORT this very worthwhile Appeal!
Downloads
PDF Junior BB Appeal Newsletter - October 2011, [253Kb]PDF 'Step by Step' Letter to Junior BB Leaders, [323Kb]PDF 'Step by Step' Background Information, [1.09Mb]PDF 'Step by Step' Talk for Boys, [127Kb]PDF 'Step by Step' Activity Suggestions, [454Kb]PDF 'Step by Step' Worksheet for Boys, [847Kb]
Events | News & Information | Go | Pray | Deputation
