PILGRIM PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT PROGRAM (PPSP)

What is PPSP?

World Youth Day (WYD) is an international event open to young people of every nation, race and economic status. The WYD Office has implemented a program of support to enable young people of the Oceania region and young people from remote Indigenous communities in Australia to attend WYD in Sydney in July 2008 who otherwise could not afford it. 

Hosted in Oceania for the first time, WYD08 may be the only opportunity for young people in this region to attend WYD. This program offers an opportunity to many young people in Oceania and remote areas of Australia to take up the invitation from Pope Benedict XVI and attend WYD08 in Sydney. 

In response to this initiative schools, parishes, community groups and organisations are now being called to be part of this program. Each group/ organisation is asked to join the program to help bring as many young people as possible from the Oceanic Region and Remote Indigenous Communities within Australia to attend World Youth Day. 

The cost of registration to WYD08 for these young people is minimal. Funds are needed to transport the pilgrims to Sydney and to provide them with warm clothing and a sleeping bag. In broad terms this will be approximately $2000 per pilgrim. We are encouraging the pilgrims to fundraise their own registration fee and then WYD will find groups to fundraise the airfare.

World Youth Day (WYD) is an international event open to young people of every nation, race and economic status. The WYD Office has implemented a program of support to enable young people of the Oceania region and young people from remote Indigenous communities in Australia to attend WYD in Sydney in July 2008 who otherwise could not afford it. Hosted in Oceania for the first time, WYD08 may be the only opportunity for young people in this region to attend WYD. This program offers an opportunity to many young people in Oceania and remote areas of Australia to take up the invitation from Pope Benedict XVI and attend WYD08 in Sydney. In response to this initiative schools, parishes, community groups and organisations are now being called to be part of this program. Each group/ organisation is asked to join the program to help bring as many young people as possible from the Oceanic Region and Remote Indigenous Communities within Australia to attend World Youth Day. The cost of registration to WYD08 for these young people is minimal. Funds are needed to transport the pilgrims to Sydney and to provide them with warm clothing and a sleeping bag. In broad terms this will be approximately $2000 per pilgrim. We are encouraging the pilgrims to fundraise their own registration fee and then WYD will find groups to fundraise the airfare.

What is the aim of PPSP?

The aim of the program is to ensure that as many young people as possible from the Oceanic/remote Indigenous communities can attend WYD08. WYD is not just for the wealthy countries who can afford to come to WYD but for everyone. Without the support of PPSP thousands of young people from Oceania will not be able to attend WYD. 

It is very important for Oceania to feel part of WYD and to witness the beauty of the universal church. The richness of faith that Oceania will bring to Australia is very much needed. 

The Pilgrim Partner Support Program has been designed to link groups from Australia and New Zealand (host partners) with overseas groups (pilgrim partners) in partnerships of support and assistance for participation in WYD08. The relationships will be of mutual benefit. They will involve practical assistance, awareness raising and interaction between countries that may never before have been connected. 

Being a Pilgrim Partner will allow the WYD legacy to live on in your group well past July 20th 2008. It will be an opportunity to continue and further develop your group’s relationship with the partnered group in Oceania or in Indigenous Australia.

When will PPSP begin and end?

The program starts now and will continue until April 2008. All financial support would need to be finalised by the beginning of April 2008, to enable the smooth transfer of monies.

Who participates in PPSP?

The countries that we are actively trying to find support for are: American Samoa, Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati & Nauru, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Indigenous Australia.

Who can be a host partner?

We invite all groups in South Australia to be part of this program including parishes, schools, communities, movements, chaplaincies, universities and religious communities.

How do you become a host partner?

There are three ways of participating. Some groups may already have existing relationships with schools and parishes in Oceania or Indigenous Australia. If this is the case you can raise funds for those existing contacts but please pass on the details of your partnerships to Thérèse Nichols at the WYD08 office. 

If your group has no links with an Oceanic nation or Indigenous Community please contact Thérèse Nichols at the WYD08 office in Sydney who will find you a partner in Oceania or in an Indigenous community. 

If you would rather not be linked with a country but would like to still fundraise money for pilgrims you can directly give this money to the WYD08 office who will distribute the funds on your behalf to the communities in Oceania who are most in need.

Next steps?

• Step one
  
  Determine whether your community would like to be a host partner, and who will coordinate it for your group. Decide on your group’s target – How many pilgrims? How much? And decide on fundraising activities.
  
• Step two 
  
  Call Thérèse Nichols from the Sydney WYD Office to confirm which countries are in need of support or to inform her who you have decided to support. Her email address is therese.nichols@wyd2008.org
  
• Step three
  
  Make contact with the country you have decided to support.
  
• Step four
  
  Your group can begin fundraising money to support the pilgrims towards their airfare and registration fee.
  
• Step five
  
  Keep in constant communication with the Office for Youth and Young Adults and Thérèse Nichols (WYD08) regarding your progress and confirmation of the number of people you intend to bring over. It is up to your group and the host partner country to arrange the transfer of funds.

Determine whether your community would like to be a host partner, and who will coordinate it for your group. Decide on your group’s target – How many pilgrims? How much? And decide on fundraising activities.

Ideas for Fundraising Activities

Fundraising for PPSP is a tangible way in which you can actively support WYD08. Some suggestions for fundraising include but may not be limited to:

• Car Washes (remember to use a bucket!)
• Trivia Nights
• Movie Nights
• Walk-a-thons
• Mufti Days
• Chocolate Drive 
• Sausage Sizzle 
• P&F Social Night/Dinner 
• Gold coin donation 
• Cake stalls

Further Information

For further information on the Pilgrim Partnership Support Program please click here.