Twinnage involves offering prayers for the twin Conference and for those they work to support, as well as posted or emailed correspondences to maintain contact, share information and learn from one another. It is a great way for our Diocesan SVP groups to feel part of the wider Vincentian family which has a presence in over 150 countries.
Twinning generally also requires a regular commitment to send financial support to help the activities of the twin, specifically the support of the adopted families of the twinned Conference. This helps to ensure that vital funding reaches the poorest communities in countries where the SVP exists.
As an SVP group with a Romanian twin, Tynemouth Priory (St Cuthbert’s 1846) Conference were recently contacted by the SVP Romanian Ambassador for England and Wales. They were asked to consider supporting three projects in Romania where financial help was urgently needed. One project aimed to provide 40 children from very poor families with a rare, if not a once-in-a-lifetime, outing and a day of fun and learning. Another looked to provide 20 isolated elderly members of the community, who rely on the SVP for their friendship, with a day trip. The third project intended to purchase 180 chicks, which would be divided among six poor families. These families included two adults who are supporting two orphaned children, a widowed mother with two children and two grandchildren, and a single mother caring for two children with learning difficulties. Once the families are helped for the first three months in raising the chicks to maturity, they then keep 80% of their grown chicks for food or egg production. The remaining 20% of chicks will be donated back to the Conference who will give the chicks to other families or elderly people in need.
After the Conference discussed the request, it was unanimously agreed to offer £600 to be split equally between all three projects. The ambassador was thrilled with Conference’s offer. It turned out that Tynemouth Priory were, in fact, the very first Conference in the country to respond in this way. Tynemouth Priory SVP ’s generosity is what started the ball rolling on this occasion and contributed towards achieving the target sums for all three projects.
