Diocesan News19 Mar 15

Black Santa Appeal Donates £5,000 For Relief In Vanuatu

The Black Santa Appeal at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, is to donate £5,000 to provide emergency supplies for the people of Vanuatu following the devastating cyclone which hit the Pacific island chain.

Cyclone Pam on Friday 13 March was one of the strongest ever recorded in the Pacific Islands. Entire communities have been severely damaged and thousands of people are sheltering in evacuation centres.

Contributions to the annual Black Santa Sit–Out at Christmas on the steps of St Anne’s are collected throughout the year and so the Cathedral is in a position to respond to crisis situations such as that in Vanuatu.

The money will be channelled through Christian Aid to its partner ACT (Action for Peace) in Vanuatu. Christian Aid has already released an initial £25,000 to its partners on the ground to provide emergency supplies including food, water and shelter in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.

In addition to the £5,000 Black Santa donation, St Anne’s Cathedral will be holding a special collection in aid of Vanuatu during its services on the next two Sundays. Donations can also be left at the Cathedral Welcome Desk over the next fortnight.

Black Santa, the Dean of Belfast, the Very Revd John Mann, said: ‘I heard a description from one of the Vanuatu islands as having been like Paradise the day before the storm broke, and now hardly a tree stands undamaged and many have been uprooted.

‘What the affects must be on the people, their homes and livelihoods, both in the short and long term, is hard to imagine in the midst of this scale of destruction.’

For further information contact Karen Bushby, Press Officer, St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on 07766 103880 or email [email protected]