Vienna Moilliet, who grew up on the Aveley Sheep Ranch in Vavenby, has been working at Safe Refuge International in the Philippines for one year now. She is a missionary and midwife there. Safe Refuge is a place for women who have been abused and taken advantage of. Their children also live there.
As a missionary Moilliet does not get paid so relies on donations from people in Canada. She emails information about what is going on at Safe Refuge and with herself about every two months. This way people know how their donations are helping.
Her latest email was a thank you for all the financial support that was received in August.
Moilliet explained that the shelter is currently experiencing the longest financial low in its history. She said that things have been so tight that paid staff were only able to receive a very small fraction of their wages. The refuge is also several months behind on its rent.
To help out, Moilliet used $182 Canadian from her own personal support to feed the whole shelter for the week. She said that the support she received from donators was over and above her monthly needs. She is using another $20 to send their newest resident to the dentist. Even though $182 might not seem like much in Canadian terms, at Safe Refuge in the Philippines it feeds 12 girls, four children, and the people on staff for a week.
Some of the shelter’s expenses, in approximate Canadian dollars, are:
$606 per month for rent
$182 per week for food
$70 per week for school allowances
$43 for Wifi which is required for student needs
Other expenses are water, electronics, medications for the residents, and general expenses throughout the week, which vary depending on needs.
A few weeks ago someone donated enough money and Safe Refuge was able to off pay its water bill. The shelter has always managed to give the girls an allowance for school and to provide three meals a day. Moilliet uses some of her support from Canada to put towards things like weekly baking needs, getting snacks, and lately, buying little things like scotch tape and a toilet plunger.
If anyone would like to help out this Philippines’ mission you can go through their website: www.saferefugeinternational.com or find a link on the facebook page Safe Refuge International.
Trevor Harder, whose three children went through the local school, is donating the school’s cookbook that was put out in the school year of 2008 – 2009. The book was sold as a fundraiser and its recipes were donated from the parents. The book is to be put into the school’s archives.
Crib begins again on Monday, Oct. 7. It will be held at the community hall and start at 7 p.m.
The cost is $3 per night. Come on out and have some fun.
Don’t forget to come out on Wednesdays to the Meeting Place Coffee Shop at the Vavenby Christian Church. It is open from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and the cost is by donation.
