Methodist Women in Britain is 10 years old this year, having officially come into being at the Methodist Conference in 2011.
In 1883 women in Manchester collected £32 for missionary work overseas from ‘Christmas pennies’ collected at family gatherings on Christmas Day. This became Easter Offering and is still collected today to make a large contribution to the Fund for World Mission. It is usual for the District President to choose a charity to raise money for during their term of office. I chose to support All We Can – formerly the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.
As a Partner District, we elected that the money raised each year should go to a particular partnership that All We Can was focusing on for the year, in addition to ongoing work and responding in time of emergency. I was delighted to learn that the focus for 2020-2021 is bicycles for Uganda. Change Begins with a Bicycle is the title of the partnership and I hope that you have had an opportunity to see the material that All We Can have produced promoting this cause and how bicycles can change the lives of people in the poorest countries. I have witnessed this in The Gambia.
I was fortunate to visit a Methodist school which a friend in another District had raised funds for during her time as District Network President. The fundraising didn’t stop and eventually 12 classrooms and a toilet block were built! A sight which will never leave me was of going into the compound of the senior school, which at that time was apart from where the building was taking place, and being confronted by a huge pile of bicycles under a very large tree. The head teacher explained that many of the children travelled several miles to get to school and if they didn’t have a bicycle then they would not be able to attend. When he needed to go to the other site he took a bicycle from the pile. He was eventually given one of his own and his delight and thankfulness was amazing.
I do hope that you enjoy the various activities planned, and that your fundraising goes well. I am sure that every bicycle that is provided will make a difference to not just one person, but to whole families for school, going to market and many other activities.
To find out more about Change Begins with a Bicycle follow this link to that section of our website.
Joy Coates, MWiB District President
In 1883 women in Manchester collected £32 for missionary work overseas from ‘Christmas pennies’ collected at family gatherings on Christmas Day. This became Easter Offering and is still collected today to make a large contribution to the Fund for World Mission. It is usual for the District President to choose a charity to raise money for during their term of office. I chose to support All We Can – formerly the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.
As a Partner District, we elected that the money raised each year should go to a particular partnership that All We Can was focusing on for the year, in addition to ongoing work and responding in time of emergency. I was delighted to learn that the focus for 2020-2021 is bicycles for Uganda. Change Begins with a Bicycle is the title of the partnership and I hope that you have had an opportunity to see the material that All We Can have produced promoting this cause and how bicycles can change the lives of people in the poorest countries. I have witnessed this in The Gambia.
I was fortunate to visit a Methodist school which a friend in another District had raised funds for during her time as District Network President. The fundraising didn’t stop and eventually 12 classrooms and a toilet block were built! A sight which will never leave me was of going into the compound of the senior school, which at that time was apart from where the building was taking place, and being confronted by a huge pile of bicycles under a very large tree. The head teacher explained that many of the children travelled several miles to get to school and if they didn’t have a bicycle then they would not be able to attend. When he needed to go to the other site he took a bicycle from the pile. He was eventually given one of his own and his delight and thankfulness was amazing.
I do hope that you enjoy the various activities planned, and that your fundraising goes well. I am sure that every bicycle that is provided will make a difference to not just one person, but to whole families for school, going to market and many other activities.
To find out more about Change Begins with a Bicycle follow this link to that section of our website.
Joy Coates, MWiB District President
