Dear Friends
We pray that all our members & supporters had a blessed Christmas, followed by a Peaceful New Year, and hope you will not mind me appealing to your generosity again.
You may recall that we made an appeal on behalf of Michelle Rodrigues in order to help her with the cost of university fees for further education as she was returning to the work place as a counsellor. Michelle suffered from a long-term health condition and decided to attend the School of Art & Therapy to qualify as a Transpersonal Arts Counsellor, She was prompted to start this course to retrain for work as she feels that she is well suited to gain employment as a counsellor. Personal details about Michelle are available on this video: https://youtu.be/ZfWk_5Ewxx8
Our first appeal in November 2021 raised £880.00 and together with £2,430.00 from our own funds, we contributed £3,310.00 towards the cost of the first year of her degree course. See extract of an email we received from Michelle Rodrigues after her first year at the university:
“I am delighted to report that I have now successfully completed my first year of the three-year training, thanks to the support of you all! I will be starting my placement alongside my second year of training in September, and it promises to be another intense year of learning, growth and personal development”.
Fortunately, Michelle was able to self-finance her university fees & other costs for her second year and is now seeking support for her final year of her degree course. If you wish to help, then donations can be made direct to our bank account:
Goan Welfare Society UK
HSBC Bank, Sort Code: 40-22-30 Account No. 01435981 (Reference: Michelle). Please email us for an acknowledgement
Cash or cheque donations may be handed to any Trustee of the GWS (Flavio Gracias, Paul De Mendonca, Norma Menezes-Rahim & Rosy De Souza). You can also make donations by “PayPal” through our website: www.goanwelfaresocietyuk.com;
May I convey my sincere thanks for your support and our best wishes to all for a happy & healthy 2003 but please do take special care, given the rising rate of Covid-19 infections.
God bless & keep safe
FLAVIO GRACIAS
Chair of Trustees
