Diocesan Press Release

$10,000 sent to Honduras

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  23 December 1998

The Diocese of Southwark has sent over $10,000 (about £6,250 so far) from its parishes and people to the Bishop of Honduras to help the population there recovering from the ravages of Hurricane Mitch.

The Rt Rev Leopold Frade, Bishop of Honduras, e-mailed the Bishop of Kingston, the Rt Rev Peter Price, whom he had met previously, in the early hours of 4 November, as soon as communications were restored. His message was read out at the November meeting of the Southwark Diocesan Synod on November 7: "The situation continues grim here. Our church is taking the lead in relief efforts.... Please help us - we need it desperately."

The lay and clergy members of the Synod made voluntary donations on that day. But some took the appeal back to their parishes and friends, and many more donations have flooded in, rapidly bringing the total beyond the ten thousand US dollar mark. Considerable sums are still coming in to the diocesan office, and will be sent on to Honduras.

Ends.