Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 were amazing in our Harvest Festival today. Thank you to all those who attended or donated generous gifts of food or toiletries for local refugees. We were fortunate to be joined by John, Patsy and Shameem from DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise) who have taken all of your donations, the children’s welcome posters, local maps, prayers and poems. They will be sorted into parcels for refugees who have joined our community in order to give them a warm welcome and will also be shared with others in need in our community. We heard a harrowing account from Shameem, who fled from Afghanistan seven years ago due to being persecuted as a female teacher there. She has only just managed to get two of her children here seven years later and they are now attending our local high school and are being supported by one of our past pupils, who remembers Shameem visiting St Barnabas several years ago.
We are so thankful for the work that John and Patsy are doing to support people in our community who are in need and so grateful for your donations. We are so proud of our children for showing our Christian Values of generosity, friendship and respect through the warm welcome they have shown refugees through their prayers, poems, welcome posters, maps and songs.
