'All families need is a small opportunity' - Team Hope launches tea party fundraiser

Deborah Lowry leads Team Hope, an all-island charity running Christmas shoebox appeals and a Tea Party fundraising campaign. The campaign aims to raise €50,000 for children and communities affected by poverty in countries including Burundi, Rwanda, and Malawi. Funds support community savings groups, education projects, and support for vulnerable children. During a visit to Burundi, Lowry met a family in Gitega Province whose circumstances improved through a Team Hope-supported savings group. The family used savings to start a small restaurant business, growing from basic ingredients to serving more than 70 meals a day and generating income for their children. The campaign was launched by pupils in Dublin, with sports clubs, businesses, community groups, and families invited to participate, building on generosity shown through the Christmas Shoebox Appeal.

"The campaign will support initiatives such as community savings groups, education projects and supports for vulnerable children. During a recent visit to Burundi, Ms Lowry met Suavis Nishimwe, her husband Bosco and their nine children in Gitega Province. Through a Team Hope-supported community savings group, the family was able to save money and start a small restaurant business that completely transformed their circumstances."

"Beginning with just 2kg of rice, 1kg of beans and basic cooking supplies, the family restaurant now serves more than 70 meals a day and earns enough income to support their children and plan for the future. Ms Lowry said: "The reality is that these children are full of hope, potential and dignity," "Sometimes all families need is a small opportunity and someone to believe in them.""

""The support we receive from people across Ireland helps communities build brighter futures for their families. Every Tea Party hosted this June will help bring hope, opportunity and lasting change to children and families who need it most." The campaign was recently officially launched by pupils from Kill O'The Grange National School in Deansgrange, Dublin, with sports clubs, businesses, community groups and families encouraged to take part."

"Ms Lowry said the campaign builds on the extraordinary generosity already shown by communities across Ireland through the Christmas Shoebox Appeal. She said: "For years, children and families across Ireland have shown incredible kindness through the Christmas Shoebox Appeal, sending gifts and messages of hope to children who may otherwise receive nothing. "The Team Hope Tea Party is about"

Read at Irish Independent