The head of a Christian charity who received an MBE this year for making a lasting difference to vulnerable children and young people in Brazil will be speaking at Pembroke Dock on April 29.

Pembrokeshire Prayer for the Suffering Church (PPSC) is delighted to welcome Caroline Taylor MBE, Head of Operations of Happy Child International, to the next meeting, which will be held at Zion Free Church, Meyrick Street, Pembroke Dock at 7.30pm on Tuesday, April 29.

Caroline is a graduate in Spanish and Portuguese from Kings College, London. She has been involved with Happy Child since the beginning and from 1999 until 2004 lived in Brazil working hands-on with the children. In 2015 she took over as Head of Operations for the charity working closely with the existing Board of Directors to steer the work of the charity.

Happy Child’s vision is that “every child deserves to reach his or her potential,” - and the charity has been working to fulfil this remit for the last 32 years, lifting vulnerable young people and children out of poverty, protecting them from violence and supporting their families.

A charity registered with Fundraising Regulator, Happy Child has reached 12,500 children and given £500,000 to projects to date.

In 2003, residential care homes for street-connected children were established in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In 2007 operations were extended to Recife in north east Brazil, establishing a residential care home for street-connected boys and girls as the crisis of vulnerable children in this area continued to grow.

In 2015, in response to an acute crisis that was leading some of the vulnerable young into the sex trade, a residential care home was opened for teenage mums and their babies, some of whom were getting pregnant as young as 12 or 13 years old on the streets of Recife.

Sadly, in 2020, during the Covid 19 pandemic, the mums and babies home had to close. However, despite this interruption to its operations, the charity has been able to respond quickly to the national situation in Brazil and continues to offer vital help.

Currently, Happy Child works with three church-based organisations in Recife, delivering services to vulnerable children, young people and families from low-income communities.

The charity collaborates with these local partners to deliver educational support and skills training to marginalised children and young people, as well as providing health improvements, food, and opportunities for income generation.

Supporting communities to host seminars and workshops tackling issues around violence, Happy Child is committed to ensuring children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm and abuse and are able to live with dignity, respect and security.

Easter is all about new life. Every year Project Gathering works with young vulnerable mums who are bringing new life into the world, often in the most difficult of circumstances. All of the mums live in low income communities and are struggling to make ends meet.

In February, Caroline took a trip to Recife and visited the homes of a couple of these young mums with chairman John Doddrel. They were both moved with compassion as they experienced the levels of vulnerability the mums face every day.

This Easter, the charity’s goal is to raise £1,000 to buy 30 New Born Necessity Kits for new mums who are struggling to meet life’s everyday challenges. The kits provide items like a bath towel, a nappy changer, nappies, cot covers, baby oil, soap and more.

Visit www.happychild.org/easter-2025 to donate to this appeal and be a source of encouragement to the new mums.

Caroline will be sharing some of her experiences as she renews her acquaintance with PPSC at the end of the month, and regulars are looking forward to hearing updates. It will be her second visit to Pembrokeshire and is sure to be a blessing to both audience and speaker.

The meeting at Zion on Tuesday, April 29 starts at 7.30pm and is open to Christians of all backgrounds, so do spread the word and support this event. Refreshments will be served at the end of the meeting, around 9pm.