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This month we are glad to have been
able to help two worthy causes.
Some of you will have read recently
in the newspaper of the plight of Mr. P.M. Philipose who was badly
injured in a traffic accident last October and has spent eight
months in Salmaniya Hospital. In response to an appeal by St.
Mary’s Orthodox Church we have donated BD.100 towards his
rehabilitation costs. Please remember Mr. Philipose, his wife
Eliamma and sons, Anish, Arun and Anil in your prayers, as he
returns to India and begins the lengthy physiotherapy needed to get
him back on his feet again.
A donation of BD.250 has also been
made to the Bahrain Disabled Sports Federation in response to their
appeal. They are sending a team of athletes to compete in the
Special Olympics which will be held in Tunisia from 2-5 September.
We wish them every success and are sure they will bring great credit
to Bahrain.
We would like to draw your attention to another sad case which has
been in the news recently. That of the family of a one-year old
deaf baby, Ali, who have been trying to raise BD.15,000 for an
operation to help him hear. The family discovered that Ali was deaf
when he was six months old. Doctors had diagnosed severe damage to
the inner ears and said he would never be able to hear even with a
hearing aid. The family took the baby for a second opinion to the
Saad Specialised Hospital in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia and, although
the doctors there agreed with the diagnosis, they offered hope when
they advised that they would be able to carry out a cochlear implant
operation which would help Ali to hear. They stressed however, that
this needed to be done as soon as possible.
The family has managed to raise BD.4,000 through earlier appeals but
have had little success so far in reducing the shortfall of
BD.11,000. It has been agreed by the Outward Giving Committee that
we will make a contribution of BD.400 on behalf of St. Christopher’s
Cathedral and Awali Anglican church. We would like to give more but
our funds are limited, and so we are appealing to members of our
congregations to help us raise as much as possible to aid this
family who do not have the means to pay for the operation
themselves. We are sure that you will want to help. It is hard to
imagine a little child being condemned to going through life never
being able to hear (or learn to speak) simply because money was not
available for an operation. We would really appreciate anything you
can give to help us make a worthwhile contribution to this family’s
appeal.
Update on Baby Ali:
Since this was published, over the holiday period, we are very
happy to report that an anonymous donor came forward and offered to
pay the the amount outstanding for the baby's operation.
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