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Money to boost vital African Charities
by JULIE-ANN SPENCE
Lorraine Hayes and Mona Thomas launch the Menary's Fashion
Show to help raise money for projects in Kenya and Ethiopia. US4007-544C0
LOCAL women Lorraine Haynes and Mona Thomas
are the inspiration behind a charity fashion show being held by
Menary's at Lagan Valley Island Civic Centre on Tuesday October
23.
The show, which will feature men's and
women's clothing from all of the concessions in Menary's and
Tempest in the Bow Street Mall, will raise money for charities
very close to Lorraine and Mona's hearts - Operation Rescue
Ethiopia and the Metropolitan Sanctuary for Sick Children in
Kenya.
Lorraine and Mona were determined to raise
much-needed funds for the two charities after visiting the
impoverished countries with their local churches.
Mona recently spent time in Mekelle in
Ethiopia as part of a missionary team from Ballinderry Parish
Church. "We were teaching the gospel to the children of the
village who were being educated in a centre after their parents
died of HIV/Aids," explained Mona.
"The experience was both depressing and
uplifting. We were initially shocked at the poverty but then you
could see God working. "We also visited a school for the blind,
which was horrific. It was run by the government and they had
very little of anything.
"Hopefully my half of the money raised will
be split between those two causes," added Mona.
Lorraine was also inspired in her fundraising
efforts when she visited Neyeri in Kenya with a team from the
Metropolitan Tabernacle. "The church acquired a piece of land
and a derelict building, which was totally renovated to become a
hospice for sick children, the only one of its kind in Kenya,"
explained Lorraine.
"When I first went out I couldn't believe in
the 21st century what I saw but you could see the Lord working
in these people," she continued. "They might not have much but
they were full of the love of God and that is what humbled me."
When Lorraine and Mona returned from their
visits, they began talking and decided they had to do more to
raise money for the charities. They recently completed a
sponsored walk and then realised, by working in Menary's, they
were in the ideal position to organise a charity fashion show.
"Everyone in Menarys has been really helpful
and supportive," said Mona.
And Lorraine has also been moved by the help
she has been offered by her employers, Clarins. "The support we
have had has been brilliant," she added. "Nothing has been a
problem."
The fashion show at the Civic Centre on Tuesday October 23
starts at 7.30pm and tickets, priced �8, are available from any
till point in Menarys in Bow Street Mall.
05/10/2007
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