LINCOLN, United Kingdom – A parish in the East Midlands of England has raised over $700 for a Catholic church on the other side of the world.
The parish of St. Hugh of Lincoln made the collection to help Our Lady of Good Voyage in Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka, in order to help buy a water filter for the parish school.
“I have nearly 200 families and most of them are fishermen. It is by boat that we have access to the churches in the island,” said Father Arosh Appuhamy, the pastor of the Sri Lankan church in a letter to Father Matthew Jakes, pastor of St. Hughes.
“Drinking water is one of the major difficulties my parishioners face here. Since my parish is situated in a peninsula (one side sea and other side lagoon, the content of calcium is very high. Drinking this water is injurious to kidneys. Therefore, people buy filtered water for the above purpose, but use the normal water for cooking, which will have bad repercussions in the long run,” Appuhamy wrote.
The priest noted that Sri Lankans parishioners in Lincoln had suggested their parish help the church in their homeland by helping purchase a filtered water system for the school: “Nearly 500 children are studying in this school and this will be a Blessing for them and a big relief for their parents.”
