The Padre Pio Centre is in an area of extreme poverty, near the Cape Coast. In the surrounding villages, families live in mud huts or concrete buildings, sleeping on the floor usually in one room with no electricity or water supply. The children’s residential home at Ahotokurom is now closed. The focus of this outreach work is to achieve the best possible outcome for each of the twenty children who have moved into the community, ensuring they are closely integrated into their family and community. Work to prepare them for successful independent living within the Ghana culture, has been ongoing for 2 years.

Kudjo Gabriel now 15 years old needs suitable accommodation in the community. Kudjo was born in childcare, his mother being a teenager there. She is now a long-term resident at St Clare’s residential home, after having leprosy as a young girl, and is terribly disfigured. She also has mental health issues. His grandfather lives in the local village with Kudjo’s younger Sister in a mud room. They need to build some form of structure there for Kudjo and hope to have at least a room with a veranda and a bathroom. The total project costs will be in the region of £20.000. He would then be able to have his mother visit, and he would have a permanent structure in which to begin his adult life an opportunity for a better life.

From 2017, we began providing meals and activities during school holidays in the Cathedral Hall, for families whose children were receiving free school meals. During the Covid lockdowns, to maintain help to those local families who were struggling, we started to deliver parcels of food to their homes. Initially, we helped around 30 families, but the number needing help has gradually increased and now, with the cost-of-living crisis, we are currently delivering substantial food parcels to over 96 families. We aim to ensure the families have healthy and nutritious food available and deliver seven times a year during each school holiday.

The food parcels contain healthy non-perishable food, with some fresh food including fruit and vegetables. We pack more food in the bags for the 47 larger families. As the number of families requiring support has increased, the cost of providing fresh food has escalated from around £1300 per delivery to £2300 in more recent times.

The Local families supported, live in the most deprived areas of the United Kingdom and around 90% are in receipt of free school meals. It is heart-breaking to hear of the many challenges and struggles that the families face, some now having to choose between eating or heating. We also receive urgent messages from families with no food and no money to buy any.

100% of funds for the food parcels is spent on food, we have no overheads.

As part of the ‘Feast of Fun’ partnership we offer holiday activities with healthy food for children and their families facing challenges without sufficient resources, during the School Holiday periods. During the Covid Pandemic the needs of local families have increased, and regular food and activity packs are being delivered to the families at home throughout the year, also supported by the Parish and the SVP. We will resume holiday activities and a hot meal as well as day trips from the Cathedral as soon as possible.

Middlesbrough Catholic Fellowship is a voluntary non-denominational group offering social support and friendship to members who have varying degrees of disability. Members are able to socialise with friends and volunteer carers who offer support. Regular activities include social groups, a monthly mass celebrating the Eucharist in different Parishes across the diocese, and an annual residential holiday.

The ethos of the organization is that nobody in our community should have to face going hungry. The foodbank provides three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people in crisis who are referred for help.

Music for the Mind is an hour of fun and music for people living with dementia, their friends and carers. Trish McLean is providing an hour of music and fun each Wednesday at 11am accessed HERE .

Dementia Friendly services including a carol service are held at the Cathedral led by Mgr. Gerard.

Interplast (affiliated to ReSurge) is an international organization of Plastic Surgeons and associated professionals who provide free reconstructive surgery for underprivileged patients in the developing world.

MAP offers welcome, practical support and social opportunities to those seeking asylum in Middlesbrough, and to refugees. We support their work by donating food, clothes and household goods and organizing walks and day trips combined with a hot meal for groups of refugees locally.