77-year-old Br Charles ‘Charlie’ Randle is planning a bike ride of 500+ kilometres as part of his recovery programme after having a second knee replacement.
His bike trip will also be raising money for the education of kindergarten children in two communities in Vanuatu.
The Society of Mary looks after primary schools in the communities of Imaru and Lautapunga and plans to provide proper buildings for kindergarten children.
In Imaru, with a school of 200 children, the kindergarten classroom was an old shelter until it was destroyed by Cyclone Pam in March 2015. Teachers have been conducting classes in a tent.
In Lautapunga the kindergarten was conducted in an old garage that was completely destroyed by Cyclone Pam. Since then there is no proper classroom for the kindergarten children. Classes are held in the open spaces on the school grounds.
Charlie Randle has spent more than 50 years working in a variety of ministries in the Australian province of the Society of Mary.
Last year, he moved into a retirement village in Brisbane after the replacement of his other knee in 2016.
He will be accompanied on his bike trip by Fr Chris Ketsore, a Marist priest from Bougainville who has just completed his teacher education degree at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane.
Chris Ketsore is presently gaining experience as a teacher-chaplain at Marist Brothers College, Ashgrove, Brisbane before returning to the Pacific.
The Marist Mission Centre is asking for people to sponsor Charlie and Chris.
Donations can be made online at www.maristmissions.com
The Australian Marist Centre for Overseas Aid (AMCOA) is part of the MMC Marist Mission Centre (MMC).
It exists to support third world poverty alleviation, development projects and needy persons principally in Third World countries.
In particular, it supports women, children and the disabled.
Source
- Supplied: Marist Mission Centre
- Image: Society of Mary New Zealand