One of the aims of Mothers’ Union (MU) is ‘to help those whose family life has met with adversity’. MU Members provide money to the Relief Fund for this purpose to enable grassroots members to be a source of hope in their local communities when emergencies strike, wherever they find themselves.
When an emergency situation suddenly de-stabilizes family life – through either a natural disaster or man-made conflict – local Mothers’ Union groups can receive a grant from the MU Relief Fund which helps them provide support to meet the most urgent needs facing their communities. Grants are sent quickly to equip the local MU to respond as fast as possible to meet these needs, using local resources. By equipping MU members to respond right at the heart of an affected region, they are often one of the first agencies to deliver effective relief.
Recently the Relief Fund has supported the relief efforts of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan following the conflict that has devastated South Sudan since December 2013. The MU has 2000 members in Sudan. The MU Relief Fund Committee has sent a grant of £25,000 to aid the humanitarian response which forms part of a wider response of the Anglican Communion given to the local relief arm of the Church, SUDRA used to bring urgent food and medical aid to displaced families. A further grant of £25,000 has been agreed by the MU to support this work.
Within the Great Budworth Deanery during 2014, Lymm and the other four Mothers’ Union Branches have raised money for the MU Relief Fund through joint events within the Deanery. A total of £150 has been raised which has been sent to support the MU work in Sudan. Other fund raising money has been sent to support the MU Literacy Programme, currently supported by Comic Relief, and the work in Britain & Ireland (£75 each) supporting UK members. The Mothers’ Union makes a difference, locally, nationally and internationally. If you are interested in finding out more please contact me for more information. New members are always welcome.
Derek Buckthorpe: Mothers Union Faith & Policy Co-ordinator for Chester Diocese, and Treasurer for the Mothers’ Union Great Budworth Deanery.