Community
India
Over many years, the GFF has contributed to charitable organisations which have delivered medical, health and other services to needy people in West Bengal. We have worked in partnership with a number of Catholic religious orders and charities such as Rotary, Barnados and the Salvation Army that have delivered services on the ground.
Lepcha Community
Born in India, Owen Glenn, founder of the GFF, spent a few months studying at St Michael's School (now St Robert's Government School) in Darjeerling, and has a knowledge of and great respect for the Lepcha people who live in villages in the hill area near where he grew up. Owen brought this appreciation to the GFF, who understood the Lepchas' wish to preserve their indigenous culture and readily agreed to support three new Lepcha schools and fund the printing of Lepcha textbooks, manuscripts and other development projects for these special people. The Foundation also provided funds for the major renovation of a Lepcha Youth Hostel in 2008. It was in gratitude for this assistance that GFF founder Owen Glenn was given the honour of being made "Ren Lapun Owen Glenn."
Church Restoration
In Kurseong, a small congregation has worshipped at St John's parish for years. The church had become very run down but with the GFF's help it was restored and its parish priest treated to his lifelong dream of a trip to Rome.
Picnic Garden Community Centre, Kolkata
Owen Glenn along with his elder brother, Michael, had been altar boys at Christ the King Church. To assist his old parish, Owen made a contribution to a Community Hall at Picnic Garden where many parishioners had moved.
Anandapally Village, Kolkata
In March 2005, representing the GFF, Owen Glenn made his first return visit to India in 54 years. At this time, the Foundation gave donations to Carmelite nuns who were heavily involved in the welfare of the villagers of Anandapally. This enabled the purchase of computers and sewing machines for the Women's Welfare Centre. New pumps were also installed in each water tank (replacing the existing buckets), vastly improving water-gathering techniques in the village.
Veer Howrah Children's Project
For years, near the Howrah Railway Station dozens of runaway children could be found begging. Many suffered from malnutrition and the effects of alcohol and drug abuse and were often ill-treated by the police. In partnership with the Salvation Army, the GFF started a programme where the children were provided with a full meal each day, followed by an hour of schooling and religious instruction, aiming to provide them with the necessary tools to change their habits and circumstances. The GFF has since handed this project over to Barnardos, where this organisation has continued to work with these vulnerable children.
Hayden Hall, Darjeeling
Hayden Hall in Darjeeling was established by Canadian Jesuits in 1969 as a non-profit relief and development association to address the daily issues faced by the very poor, and to provide them with with opportunities and empowerment. The organisation sponsors basic housing, health programs (including paramedic traiinng in a number of villages), teaches income-generating skills, assists with rations and feeding school children and provides small savings schemes and loans. There is a strong focus on education and the GFF supported this by contributing to the upkeep of Girdang Primary School, run by the same administration, in the far reaches of the Darjeerling District.
Sister Declan of the St Joseph Cluny Order, India
| |  |
Chibbo Community Hall
Following the development of the first Model Village in Lower Chibbo, it was noted that a community hall and playground were also needed. The GFF offered to donate the funds required to build the hall, provided that the villagers secured the donation of the land on which the hall could be built.The GFF also committed to funding 50% of the costs of the playground if the villagers built it themselves.
The villagers were delighted to be able to secure land for both the playground and community hall by a donation. In May 2009, more than 150 volunteers joined together to begin construction but a cyclone that hit the area a month before destroyed the road leading to Chibbo, making it impossible to transport materials to the construction site. Again, hundreds of volunteers poured in to repair the roads and to carry the materials nearly an hour on foot to ensure that construction of the hall was not delayed. It took months for the roads to be repaired properly but, due to the community spirit in Chibbo, construction continued and the official opening of the Chibbo Community Hall took place in October 2010, officiated by GFF founder Owen Glenn.
Philippines
The Glenn Family Foundation has long supported religious orders/charities helping disadvantaged people and has provided a range of support for organisations active in the Phillipines.
Elsie Garches Village, Manilla
The Glenn Family Foundation made a donation to the Sisters of Charity of St Anne, who work as volunteers at Elsie Garchas Village, taking care of some 650 mentally and physically challenged people.
China/Macau
In Macau, the Glenn Family Foundation has had a close association with Caritas which now has 32 institutions, nearly all started by Friar Luis Ruiz Suarez, which care for the mentally and physically handicapped. The Foundation has provided equipment and hospital beds in support of Caritas activities. Friar Luis passed away in August, 2011, at the age of 97. His work in Macau will be carried on by his protege, Paul Pun Chi Ming. Friar Fernando S.J. will continue to work with the 130 Leper Centres and the HIV/AIDS and Eye Clinics in China. Friar Luis' life's work was inspirational to the GFF's founder Owen Glenn and the Foundation wholeheartedly supported these worthwhile causes.
The GFF has also supported the charitable work of Mother Mary Goisis in Macau. An Italian nun from the Conossian order, Mother Mary arrived in Hong Kong in 1936 where she began her charitable work. Two years later she was sent to Macau where she dedicated herself to caring for orphans and the poor and needy. She made a great contribution to education and nurtured the Macau Institute of Social Work. Mother Mary has been very appreciative of the support her work received through the years from the Glenn Family Foundation.
USA
In the USA the Glenn Family Foundation is a premier sponsor of Hanna's Dream, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping children who have been harmed through domestic violence, low self-esteem and child trafficking. The project was founded in 2008 by Hanna May Cini, a 5-year-old girl living in Montana. Hanna was a budding artist who believed that art could heal children by allowing them to express their innermost feelings in a safe and healthy environment. Hanna died in April 2009 in a car accident and never saw the fruits of her labour. Since her death Hanna's Dream has been kept alive by her mother, Robin Lyon Cini, who works to ensure that her daughter's dream is fulfilled by donating to organisations which work with children. Hanna's Dream supports the work of the Glenn Family Foundation in India and Fiji by providing art supplies to children assisted through the Foundation's projects.
Fiji
About 630 people live in the village of Solevu on Malololailai Island in Fiji. While visiting the local Ratu (chief) in 2008 on behalf of the GFF, Owen Glenn asked if there was anything the foundation could do to help the village. A list was drawn up of things requiring urgent attention including the school, kindergarten, new ablution blocks, the rugby field and netball court, water tanks and a generator. Owen's daughter, Suze Glenn, managed the project to its completion on behalf of the GFF.
New Zealand
The late Maori entertainer, Sir Howard Morrison, was a close personal friend of Owen Glenn. In 2005, the GFF supported Sir Howard's family to send their performing group to accompany Sir Howard to Samoa to perform at a festival.
In 2008, the Foundation also supported a Tribute Concert in Rotorua to Sir Howard Morrison in the To Sir with Love Concert by providing funds to enable entertainers from around New Zealand to attend.
Emergency Relief
When the devastating tsunami of September 2009 hit the Pacific, a Tsunami Relief Fund was set up in Samoa. Calling on Owen Glenn's extensive contacts in the logistics world, urgent shipping needs were met free of charge. This enabled a speedy reconstruction of fales (houses) in Samoa.