We have been taking part in Tearfund’s The Big Quiz Night for 5 years now!
We enjoy getting together as a church family for a good meal with lots of fun, a quiz, and the knowledge that others are doing the same all over the UK. Being part of Tearfund’s Big Quiz Night means we can do our part to help communities and churches worldwide end extreme poverty and injustice. Quizmasters this year included actress, Tamsin Greig, and England rugby star, Billy Vunipola. Competition was intense and the team ‘Slice of Pi’ won for the second year running by one single point!
The money raised will transform the lives of people like Zuleima, a mother of three from Venezuela which is a country struggling beneath the weight of a massive economic crisis. Zuleima would have to queue for up to two days to get into a supermarket – only to find there was no food left when she got in. She fled to Colombia where life was difficult at first with few job opportunities and then the pandemic hit. The refugee population faced a humanitarian crisis, with no way to meet their basic needs. The church changed everything. “The church opened their doors, and they helped me,” says Zuleima. “Not only giving me food and a place to live, but also taking care of my emotions, giving me words of faith.”
As well as providing support for refugees’ immediate needs, Tearfund’s local church partners have been setting up support groups that help people like Zuleima find new income opportunities. Zuleima has started a business, making items out of driftwood, and was able to take out a loan to purchase a table saw.
Susan Miller