LONG TERM VINCENTIAN
ASSISTANCE - Aftermath of the Tragedy
Dear National President
You will be
well aware that a disaster has caused immense suffering in countries around the
The President
General’s letter to you of 3 January was quite clear that our love for the poor
and helpless is always to be our mission and that we must offer not only our
prayers and our funds, but where possible even ourselves.
Many millions
of dollars have poured into worldwide disaster appeals and I am sure that they
will all do good – but our Vincentian mission will
help over a long and sustained period to re-establish families and to protect
those who have lost everything.
As our hearts
go out to these poor people, it is the strength of our wonderful Society, that
we are, all of us, “the person-next-door”. We know who is suffering and what
their worries could be. When the television coverage stops, as it certainly
shall, it will be so important that we are there to help people as they start
to reconstruct their lives.
With God’s love
and care we have always been there in small and spiritually important ways. We
have “climbed this mountain” before, but we now urgently need to build up our
funds and I appeal to you to send as much as you can. Please contact your
Vincentian Brothers and Sisters, your benefactors and supporter; beseech them
to give generously to our SSVP Disaster Fund. Expert forecasts are uncertain,
but it will take months and perhaps years, for some communities to recover from
this tragedy.
The disaster is
of such enormity that we will be appealing again and again, so please prepare
for that. It is also critical that all contributions are encouraged and
collected by your National Council and then sent forward to Council General in
National
Councils should forward the collected funds, (preferably in Euro currency), to:
Society of
5, rue du Prex-aux-Clercs
Or by T/T transfer to:
Banque CIC
2 Bd Raspail
75007
Account No. FR76 3006 6100
4100 0105 8120 129
Please specify that is
“For the Asian
Disaster Fund”
Yours in St Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederic
Ozanam,
Ian McTurk
Treasurer General