“Naomi”, said Mayor Peter Quinn, “is the kind of young person we can be so proud of, not just caring but doing something to make a difference.”
Mayor Quinn was speaking in Saint John’s Church on Monday 2nd September, as Naomi Tomlinson prepared to talk to the many who came to hear about life in the slums of Manila in the Philippines.
She told stories of the children she works with; of three brothers, the eldest born when his Mum was 13 years-old, the youngest when she was 18. She told of their mother’s death from heart failure at 19, and their Dad’s murder only a year earlier.
She also spoke of how the children, whose only future lay in gangs or scavenging but who, thanks to the work of the trust Naomi founded, now go to school, are supported outside school, and a have a future to look forward to.
Then there were the stories of life in the drop-in centre that Naomi and co-worker Roy Moore set up and call home; of the floods and of the rats.
The congregation then heard about the new centre established earlier this year, of the renovations, the urban farm project designed to feed the children and of the 200 or so street and working children now accessing the centre every day.
As Naomi drew to an end there was a hushed silence before a spontaneous outbreak of applause and over £600 given in donations.
The centre currently costs £800 a month to run, £4 per child, per month.
The trust, formerly ‘Triple E’ and now known as ‘Fairplay For All’ works hard to raise the funds both here and in the Philippines and Naomi returns to the centre on 16th September.
If you would like to help her through a donation then get in touch with Revd. David at Saint John’s Church on 01388 778998.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
