London Golf Classic will support peace-building in Eastern Africa

Fr Devine receiving International Caring Award

The Shalom London Committee which supports the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation (SCCRR) in Eastern Africa will hold its third annual golf classic at Moor Park Golf Club in north London on Tuesday, 17 September. The event will be followed by a dinner and an auction of items donated by guests and supporters of Shalom. The Roscommon-born founder and International Chairman of Shalom - SCCRR, Fr Patrick Devine SMA, will be present to update attendees on the on-going work of Shalom in peace-building in conflict zones in Eastern Africa. The Country Director of Shalom in Kenya is another SMA missionary, Fr Oliver Noonan, from Cork City

Shalom - SCCRR thanks the Shalom London Committee, and their personally owned businesses and associates, Chairman Andy Rogers (Rogers Associates Ltd), Seamus McGinley (McGinley Group), Mick Crossan (Powerday PLC & London Irish Rugby Club President), Seamus Carr (ICCT Ltd - Kryton International), Brendan Morahan (Invennt Ltd), Martin McAtamnay (Red Kite Consultants Ltd), and Julie Brennan (Executive Assistant, McGinley Group) for their generous input in organising this large fundraising event on 17 September.

Fr Devine expressed much appreciation to all their families for numerous kindnesses over the years. "We offer a special thank you to Colm McGinley (CEO) and the McGinley Group, for their immense secretarial support and solidarity to the event and the work of Shalom-SCCRR in Africa."

Shalom - SCCRR is very grateful to its ever growing support base throughout the UK. Earlier this year an interview with Fr. Devine was published in Jacqueline O'Donovan's company (O'DONOVAN Waste Disposal) bulletin - The O'D News - and shared with a wide circle of associated business connections and friends in Europe and the USA.

In 2018, Shalom completed 46 school / education projects emerging out of 176 SCCRR conflict transformation workshops in 15 high volatile conflict environments in Eastern Africa. An interesting aspect of Shalom's peace-building work is how it provides school building materials and solar lighting, underlining the importance of education in the road map to peace. These schools because of their solar lights also double up as evening community centres giving people the opportunity to come together in a neighbourly way to discuss issues of concern or local needs. The education of young people and sustainable development is underpinned by lasting peace and good relationships at community level.

Readers wishing to support or to get involved in Shalom support groups in the UK can contact Andy Rogers in London at andy@rogersassociates.com or 01- 7785920810, or Harry Lloyd in Manchester at harryl@btinternet.com. Further information about the pioneering work of Shalon - SCCRR can be found at www.shalomconflictcenter.org

(Matt Moran is a writer on missionary stories, and the author of book - The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On)