More than 500 people packed into the Marlborough College Chapel for the traditional candle-lit celebratory charity concert held just before Christmas.
The concert was organised by the Vale of Pewsey Support Group for ‘Hope and Homes for Children’ and as well as being able to join in the chorus for all the popular carols the audience was enthralled by the presence of choirs and soloists creating a haunting atmosphere in the beautiful setting of the College Chapel.
Overall the concert enabled a cheque for £5,116 to be presented to ‘Hope and Homes for Children’.
‘Hope and Homes for Children’ are now the world leaders in the field of replacing orphanage based care with family based care. The charity was started in 1994 by Colonel Mark Cook and his wife Caroline, who live just outside Marlborough, following the Bosnian conflict.
They are now the world leaders in the field of replacing orphanage based care with family based care, and in 2016 received the wonderful news that their team in Bosnia and Herzegovina had finally persuaded the authorities to allow them to close the Bjelave orphanage. It was in Bjelave that Mark and Caroline learned the lesson that remains the Charity’s principle today….that children in orphanages do not want better institutions, they want real homes and families of their own.
The skills the Charity has learnt along the way and the tools it has developed are now recognised as best practice by many governments and organisations including UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
The Vale of Pewsey Support Group would like to thank all those who attended, along with the generous sponsors including Kim Vine, David Dudley, Dept ’83, Hussey Opticians of Pewsey and The Red Lion in East Chisenbury.
The concert has now become established as a regular and popular event, with attendance rising every year. Next year’s concert will be held on Saturday 16 December and tickets can be purchased from David Dudley Jewellers in the High Street, Marlborough.
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