Holy Spirit Catholic School
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Hatchett Street
Cranbrook QLD 4814
Subscribe: https://hsstsv.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: crnbrk@tsv.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 07 4779 4255
Fax: 07 4779 7580

APRE News

Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday.  For Catholics, this day is marked

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by fasting and the use of ashes.  The ashes are made by burning the blessed palms that were distributed the previous year on Palm Sunday.  The ashes for us symbolise penance that we are sorry for our sins and we would like to change and live the Gospel values as God wants us to.  It is a time to grow and change, just as the land springs back to life after a bushfire, we too can grow back to find new life with God.  As we prepare for Easter, we reflect on the great sacrifice of Jesus who died on the cross for us.  Lent is a time we can improve our relationships with God and others through fasting, prayer and giving.

This week at Holy Spirit we value justice.  Justice, for many people, refers to fairness.  We should always be looking to discover ways in which we are called to be people for others.  We are called to:  show dignity to others; help those in need with the essentials required for a decent life (food, clothing and shelter); pay special attention to the needs of those who are poor; care for one another; care for all that God has made.  One way we can do this over the coming week’s is to put money aside for Project Compassion.  This week we pray that our students support those around them in need by giving up something for others.  

Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal.  Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.  Over the coming weeks, a feature story from the Caritas Australia website will be shared.

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This year’s theme for Project Compassion is “Be More”.  The first week’s feature story is with Jamila from Bangladesh.  Twenty-two-year-old, Jamila, is a single mother, living in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh.  A Rohingya woman, she fled the armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to save herself, her elderly mother and eight-month-old baby daughter.  Having been abandoned by her husband, she faced life in the camp on her own.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people have crossed into Bangladesh since August 2017. Over 1.3 million people remain in the densely populated camps, in desperate need of    humanitarian assistance.

Thanks to the generosity of Caritas Australia’s supporters and through our partnership with Caritas Bangladesh, Jamila had access to emergency food and shelter. Then, as her stay in the camp stretched on, Jamila joined the Women Friendly Spaces project where she received counselling and emotional support. She learnt about health and hygiene, participated in a parenting program and learnt sewing skills, to help her to earn an income.  Jamila now has a sense of community around her and feels less alone and more supported - and she is able to ‘Be More’ to her family.  “I want to offer my thankful greetings to those who are kindly thinking of us from overseas”, Jamila says“Thank you, and thanks Caritas Australia.”

PROJECT COMPASSION BOXES:  This week, each family will receive a Project Compassion box.  We encourage our students to give up some foods they enjoy such as MacDonald’s, lollies, soft drink etc. or spend time doing jobs for family and placing the money saved into the boxes to help others in need.  Boxes can be returned to the Office at the end of Lent.  For more information about CARITAS and its work go to www.caritas.org.au 

God bless.

Caroline Fuller