People Helping People – Fr. Bernardino Social Solidarity Association (PHP)

Dear Friends of the Chapel of Penha da França in Madeira,

Most of you will now be aware that Father Bernardino, who celebrated our English service Mass at the chapel for many years, sadly passed away on the 18th January this year. You are probably also aware, if you had spent any time with Father, either by attending our Mass or personally been in his company, that he was a champion of the poor, the downtrodden and repressed. Father Bernardino touched people’s hearts wherever he went. As a testimony to this we received many letters from people all over the world who had come into contact with him and been struck by his humility and kindness.

Father Bernardino, was instrumental in setting up our association “People Helping People” which helps a good number of families dependent on the charity for help with food, medication, house rent, transportation and other basic needs. The main regular source of income has been a collection taken at the end of the English Mass.

We are determined to carry on Father Bernardino’s work in supporting the poor in Madeira by continuing the collection after the 10 am Mass, as well as by undertaking a number of activities to raise money for the charity. Consequently we have decided to dedicate the month of April in memory of Father to raise much needed additional funds.

We would like to appeal to those who have been touched by Father Bernardino, to consider supporting our endeavour. W have provided the banking details of the charity at the end of this letter, in the hope that you might make a donation however small.

Father B used to quote Mother Theresa´s words “What I do for others is just a little drop of water in the ocean, but without that drop of water, the ocean is smaller”.

Each week, we will report donations received in our regular newsletter. If you would like your name to be included please indicate this on your transfer. If not, please indicate “anonymous”.

Love and Peace,

Alexandre Silva President of the Board of PHP

Jane House
Chair – PHP fundraising group

Here are the banking details of “People Helping People” should you wish to donate. Any donation, no matter how small, can make a huge difference to someone who has nothing! Thank you for caring.

Transfer from Bank Account in Madeira:
Bank: Banco Santander Totta
Account Name: Associação Gente Ajudando Gente
Account Number: 0003 4938 1759020
IBAN: PT50 0018 0003 49381759020 94
SWIFT: TOTAPTPL
NIB: 0018 0003 49381759020 94

Donations from the UK:
Account Name: Sinead Moynihan
Bank: Lloyds Bank
Account Number: 02461743
Branch: Univ. of Cambridge
Sort Code: 30-13-55
IBAN: GB05 LOYD 3013 5502 4617 43
BIC: LOYDGB21035

When sending any donation, please send an email to penhafranca.php@gmail.com with the date and the name on the transfer so that Alexandre Silva is able to confirm with you as soon as possible as the transfer is received. Thank you.

Hello friends!

On Thursday we delivered the Easter hampers, and it was amazing. The bags were really filled with essential goods and wonderful Easter goodies donated by you! Some of the families we delivered these goods to actually had called me earlier and told me they didn’t have any kind
of treats for their kids this Easter. They were surprised and really happy with the hampers.

It’s always a mixture of shame, surprise, joy and relief that I see in our families when I deliver these kinds of goods. That, and a lot of thankfulness. So I feel obligated to make sure I pass along to all who helped, how thankful they all are for your kind hand in their dire moments…

And also thanks to you, our Easter sweets sale last Sunday was a success! In total we sold 207,10€ of sweets! This Sunday (today) we are back with more sweets, and hopefully you have brought some Tupperwares to pack more of them so you can enjoy later! I know at least one person who will!

And of course, next Sunday (7th of April), we will have the Orange Walkathon! We will have oranges, tangerines, water and a People Helping People t-shirt for all runners, so please try to let us know beforehand so we can make sure we have your size t-shirt available.

Even if you don’t have a sponsor, come walk with us! Help us raise awareness for our cause, and
get a bit of exercise done (and a t-shirt!) while you help!

Thank you again to all of you, and to our wonderful volunteers for making the world a little bit better for those in need.

Alexandre Silva (alex.lupus@gmail.com)

Hello friends!

As you may have heard, we now have a committee, who are committed (pun intended) to help our charity, People Helping People, get on the right tracks.

The committee members understood immediately the needs of the Charity, and have started working hard, finding ways to fulfill them.

In order to kick off their tenure within PHP (People Helping People), they had the wonderful idea that this April would be a special month dedicated specifically to Fr. Bernardino. There will also be activities before and after that, but the ones in April are all meant to remember Father Bernardino,

Our dear friend and teacher. Fr Bernardino was always very proud of all of you whenever there was a fund raising activity. “People Helping People” is a group of PEOPLE who are able, HELPING a group of PEOPLE who are in need. This is precisely what Fr. Bernardino meant when he started this mission.

Sweet Sale after Mass

 
So on the last two Sundays of March (24th and 31st) we would like to sell some traditional Easter sweets outside the Penha de França Chapel, made by the families you help and some of our volunteers.
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On April the 3rd, we will have a “Good Shepherd Meet and Greet” in the late afternoon (more details to follow).

Orange Walkathon

On Sunday the 7th , there will be a sponsored walk, at 11:30, after the mass. It will be called the “Orange Walkathon” as a reminder of the only gift Fr. Bernardino had at Christmas as a young boy.
You can participate either running/walking with us, or by sponsoring someone who will! My son and I will also be running, so if you would like to sponsor us, please meet us after the mass! I should warn you, my son had the most laps last time with 60 laps, and he is even faster now. I did 30 laps, but I’m getting slower, so if you sponsor us both, I’ll act as a counterbalance!

 
There will be more details about these events in the upcoming weeks, so please keep up with the newsletter and you will know all about it.
 
A special Charity has special Members. I can already tell you that I am very impressed with the heart, commitment and performance of this new Committee in bringing this community around these issues.
 
It was Father Bernardino’s dream to see all of us working together to help our suffering Brothers and Sisters. It was something he taught so passionately, that he made us dream with him.
 
Thank you for your help in making this dream come true.
– Alexandre Silva (alex.lupus@gmail.com)

The committees for People Helping People” have been hard at work. PHP will hold an Annual Appeal for the month of April, in honor and memory of Father Bernardino. This will include many events in which you, as attendees of this mass, and others in the community are encouraged to participate! These will be announced as the details are firmed up.

One of the first events will be a Walk-a-Thon in Santa Catarina Park, on Sunday, April 7. We’re calling this the “Orange Walk”,honoring the precious gift that Father Bernardino received as a Christmas gift as a young boy, when it was possibly his only Christmas gift. People are encouraged to solicit sponsors, to donate, to walk them-selves, and encourage others to walk. In addition to raising funds for PHP, we see this as a way to raise awareness, of the poor in Madeira, the needs they are facing, and how PHP can make a difference.

We hope you will give prayerful consideration to getting involved in the events of the upcoming special Father Bernardino Memorial Appeal.

Download the sponsorship form for the walk

PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE (PHP)

Hello friends,

I’m sure many of you know that if you asked Fr. Bernardino what is “People Helping People”, he would first tell you it is a way of life, and then he would tell you it is also a Charity…

His idea for this kind of Charity started in the US, when a lady that lived in a small home called him, and asked if he knew of anyone that had an old dryer she could have as hers was broken, and she
couldn’t afford to fix it. He said he didn’t, but he would keep her in mind in case something came up.

A few hours later, a man called saying he had an old, but still working dryer to offer in case he knew someone who needed it!

Of course, my Uncle was radiant with this coincidence! You all know how precious these “little miracles” were to him.So in few weeks, he cleared a big space in the parish, and made known that everything that people didn’t need, they could leave it there, and if anyone needed anything, they could simply come by and take what they needed, no questions asked. Of course, it evolved into something bigger than that, and eventually they were even distributing meals. And that is precisely what he felt was happening, it was simply People Helping People as a way of life.

So that was what he decided to do here in Madeira after those terrible floods in 2010, and the attention he had for our most fragile brothers and sisters.

Of course, we never had a big space we could use as warehouse as he did in the US. We don’t even have a small space of our own! All we have is lent or offered.

His Charity is simply the intermediary between People who want to Help other People. That is why his favourite reference was the Good Shepherd Jesus, the One who taught us to care for each other, the One who reminds us that no one stays behind, the One who told us that whatever you do for your weaker brothers and sisters, you do it for Him.

We have all been mourning Fr. Bernardino for the last few weeks. It’s been strange carrying on in his absence. But of course, the Charity he founded has continued its work. Many of you certainly heard about how he was afraid that “People Helping People” would end with his death. I promised him that I would not allow that to happen. Two weeks ago, I held a meeting with some volunteers, who are all dedicated to making sure it keeps on running, growing and flourishing into the Charity that Fr. Bernardino dreamt of. And so, it is my privilege and honour to announce that our charity’s name will be changed to “Gente Ajudando Gente – Associação Pe. Bernardino de Solidariedade Social” meaning “People Helping People – Fr. Bernardino Social Solidarity Association”.

I know he would plead to keep the “People Helping People” part. As for him, it was a way of life. It’s simply what we should do when someone needs help. He would certainly be very embarrassed to see his name on it, but since he can’t deny us, we’re going for it. It just feels right. He is not only its founder, he is also the mentor at the heart of everything we do, and the way we do it in the Charity. It is truly his Association. I know it is a big name, maybe even a bit clumsy, but there are things we can’t take out legally (Social Solidarity Association), there are things we didn’t want to take out (People Helping People), and something I feel strongly everyone agrees to add, is Father Bernardino’s name.

I like it, and I hope you like it too. See you soon, and thank you all for being People Helping People.