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In This Section |
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Child Sponsor/Member
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Current News |
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Click here
to read the latest news of our fundraising initiatives along
with details of how you can get involved and volunteer your
time and effort.
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Updates |
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For the latest on the Children's Village project, please
Click here
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Registered Charity
Number 1003359
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Founder |
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The charity was founded in 1980 by a group of young people visiting India. In a chance meeting with an Indian nun Mother Colombiere, they were presented with a challenge of "doing something for the poor". Some of them, who studied in India at a young age, could not imagine they once lived amongst so much poverty and suggested that they must have been "blind to it all", when they lived there.
Back in the UK, and after leading the first successful fundraising function in 1980, Derrick Pereira and the group from Dark Star, a Sports & Social club for the young, founded HELP A POOR CHILD.
Derrick is extremely grateful to all those who have volunteered their time and whose support the charity has received, which has contributed towards the growth and success of HELP A POOR CHILD.
The Inspiration - Mother Colombiere
 Mother Marie la Colombiere is the nun who inspired Derrick Pereira, and the group who visited India in 1980, to set-up HELP A POOR CHILD.
At the end of a friendly chat with the group about the poverty in India, she simply told them "You are young. When you go back to the UK, do something for India's poor".
Indian by birth, Mother Colombiere comes from the metropolis of Mumbai. She is a member of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.
The Order has served India since 1842. Her entire education, School, College and University, was received in the institutions owned and managed by her Congregation.
Mother Colombiere has been engaged in Education for all of her years in the Religious Life. After returning from St Anne's High School in Mumbai, where she was Head for twenty one years, she was requested by her Superior General to serve the Maronite youth in the Jesus and Mary School in Rabweh, Lebanon, as Faith Formator, between 1992 - 2001. In Lebanon, Mother Colombiere also served on the National Pastoral Team for Afro-Asian Migrants. Mother Colombiere speaks of her nine years in Lebanon as extremely challenging, fulfilling and happy; since her ministry involved working with teenagers of a country that in October 1990 emerged from a seventeen-year war.
She deeply regretted her departure from Lebanon and the surrender of a rewarding mission, but now feels thoroughly compensated to be working for a second time for his Excellency Bishop Ad Abikaram, this time in the Maronite Church in Australia! Bishop Abikaram was previously Rector of The Jesus and Mary School in Rabweh.
Mother Colombiere's work for the Maronite Diocese of Australia included the teaching of English to the Maronite Clergy, assisting in the production of Marounia and administration of the Maronite Census project, Diocesan research and development, Diocesan parish bulletin messages, and media liaison, amongst many other important roles.
In December 2006, the charity was overjoyed at locating Mother Colombiere in Bombay where she will be staying for the foreseeable future. She was offered the position of Honorary Patron of HAPC (India) and, in the name of the poor children, she accepted the position with enormous delight and is looking forward to playing her part in the future direction of HAPC.
The Patron - Keith Vaz, MP
It has been our privilege to have Keith Vaz MP serve HAPC as its Patron since 1992. Born in Aden in 1956, Keith Vaz was appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair MP, on 17 May 1999. He is the first elected Member of Parliament of Asian origin to serve as a Minister in the United Kingdom Government. Mr Vaz was educated at St Joseph's Convent in Aden, and The Latymer Upper School in London.
He also attended Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, and finally the College of Law, Lancaster Gate. Keith was a practising solicitor from 1982 until 1987, working in local government and subsequently for a number of law centres and advice centres.
Politically Mr Vaz has been MP for Leicester East since June 1987, also Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General from 1997 until his appointment as Parliamentary Secretary.
He married Maria Fernandes in 1993. They have a son, Luke and a daughter, Anjalia.
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