Brazilian community donates toys to Irish children’s hospital
The Brazilian church group raised hundreds of euro for charity to give thanks to Irish people.
A church primarily used by the Brazilian community has donated toys to an Irish children’s hospital to give thanks for being “made very welcome” in Ireland.
The Assembly of God church in Carlow is collecting new toys and financial donations for Crumlin Children’s Hospital, as well as for a mission providing food and support to orphaned children in Mozambique.
Project leader Marcio dos Santos explained that Crumlin Children’s Hospital was chosen to express gratitude for the treatment it provided to a child at the church who was diagnosed with cancer.
The church, which is predominantly attended by Brazilians, is established in various other locations across Ireland and is led by pastor Lincoln Pilar.
In previous years, the group previously ran Christmas donation drives for women’s refuges and children in Ukraine.
Mr dos Santos said: “The majority of people in the church are all Brazilians but we feel very thankful.
“And we feel very welcome as well in Ireland because it’s a big challenge for us to leave our country and start a new life in your country.
“But in Ireland we feel very, very, very welcome and we are very thankful for all the Irish people that helped us here and we do whatever we can do in Ireland to help because we feel we’re in our own country.”
In addition, the group also collected hundreds of euro for its chosen charitable causes through a GoFundMe campaign.
The church’s GoFundMe campaign is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/jesus4all-a-christmas-of-solidarity
