ere in our Archdiocese, rain doesn’t normally fall during winter. But when the first snows fell over the mountains in early May, they were accompanied by torrential downpours. Some homes were swept away and others flooded. People weren’t only wet, but freezing cold as well.

Especially those living in rickety shacks, made from sticks and mud or  corrugated tin sheeting. You can imagine how icy winds whistle through the cracks in the walls. And without electricity or gas for heating, these homes are bitterly cold.

For poverty stricken people on the Missions, your gift of a blanket is like being wrapped in a hug of warmth and care.

Please will you support our annual winter blanket drive now? Your unfailing generosity means that elderly, sick, destitute and suffering people throughout our Archdiocese will get some relief from winter’s cruel bite.

You can give this gift of warmth and comfort online right now for just R300 ($16.28/€14.32/£12.23).

Your gift is especially meaningful because, in the Zulu culture, a blanket is not ‘just’ a blanket. It’s a treasured possession – important enough to be given as a gift at a wedding, or when a young man goes into retreat for his initiation into tribal manhood. And when someone dies, they are buried with their blanket.

So you can be sure that your gift of a blanket will be truly treasured.

In return, please let us know if you have any special intentions you’d like included in our monthly Mass for Mission friends.

May God bless you for your continued kindness to our Mission people.