Mayo people donated €455,814 to Trócaire’s work over the past year, the charity’s latest accounts have shown. During Lent last year people from the diocese of Killala gave €104,710, while Tuam diocese donated €424,695, both of which include parts of Mayo.
Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire, said that money from Mayo has saved lives in poor, isolated, communities overseas. He thanked everyone from the county.
“Because of people from Mayo, Trócaire is running hospitals in Somalia that carry out life-saving surgeries and give medical care to people who cannot afford treatment. In Kenya, a project we fund has almost completely stopped HIV passing from mothers to their babies during birth, saving hundreds of young lives. Girls from Afghanistan who have been beaten and abused by their husbands or families are being protected in a refuge Trócaire supports in Kabul. All of this is thanks to you.”
Mr Kilcullen paid particular tribute to priests and parishioners across Mayo for their role in making the charity’s Lenten campaign a success. “Our Lenten campaign, which raises a huge portion of our income, could not take place without the energy and dedication of parishes throughout Mayo. Each year we are more than grateful for their loyalty and commitment.”
Mr Kilcullen acknowledged the cloud the recession has placed on the country. “This has been an exceptionally tough year for everyone, but clearly people from Mayo care deeply about the world’s poorest people, and despite our own financial crisis, haven’t turned their backs.”
In the past year Trócaire funded 124 projects across 38 of the world’s poorest countries. Describing how difficult life is in the places Trócaire works Mr Kilcullen added: “No one chooses to be born into poverty. And poverty is about so much more than not having enough food or money. It’s about powerlessness, having no control over your life despite your hardest efforts, stress when you don’t know how you’ll feed your children, and uncertainty about what tomorrow will bring. But life is easier when you know help is out there and thanks to people from Mayo, it is.”
