Banging for Burkina: Sue Mellor on the carnival float

Members of churches in Whaley Bridge have set themselves a target to raise £5,000 for an African charity as part of Christian Aid. They are working hard to give a better life to people in Burkina Faso, one of the smallest and poorest countries in the continent.

Already, the fund stands at over £3,000. Thermometer-style promotion boards outside the Uniting Church and Holy Trinity are reminders to the public of progress.

On Sunday, 12 July, a joint service of the two congregations, at 10.30 am in the Uniting Church, will hear first hand accounts of Christian Aid’s projects from Joel Payne, a regional co-ordinator with the charity.

At the recent Rose Queen carnival, Sue Mellor, a pastoral worker with the Anglican parish, displayed an African drum to publicise the appeal. Children on the Churches Together float gave the drum some loud bangs.

Several other churches are supporting Burkina Faso. The EU has matchfunded the Burkina project, which would turn the Whaley Bridge effort into £25,000.