ST. SAVIOUR'S ORPHANAGE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 221, 22 October 1914, Page 4

ST. SAVIOUR'S ORPHANAGE.

THE NEED FOR A NEW BUILDING. No one who -was-out at St. Saviour's Orphanage yesterday, and listened to the speeches made, could not fail to be impressed with the: urgent need that there is fot a new building in which to house the children. Indeed, themmostt t cursory inspection of the building was sufficient to emphasise the need, without listening to a word on the subject. It is of the most remarkable description, and the epithet of "rabbit-war-ren," which one of the speakers bestowed upon it, was particularly appropriate. The upstairs portion ■of the house is practically abandoned, and the children are all "bedded down" somehow on the ground floor, which means that conditions must be very congested. The wonder is how Sister Rose manages to house her large family at all, in the limited space at her disposal. Those who are looking after the affairs of the* orphanage—the St. Saviour's Guild—- ; feel sadly disappointed that arrange-

ments for the re-building of the home

are in abeyance, but earnestly hope that the delay is only temporary. As Mrs Sandstein (chairwoman of the House. Committee) pointed out in her speech yesterday, new quarters must be found for the children, and that speedily. Otherwise the work would have to be abandoned. Of course the latter contingency is not to be considered seriously: to drop the work of providing a home for homeless little children of the Anglican faith must be a reproach which one is quite sure that the Diocese would never be content to shoulder. One feels sure that Synod will somehow succeed in finding a way out. The afternoon at the orphanage, apart from the problem which the visit represented, proved very pleasant, afternoon tea being served out of doors, the natural beauty of the surroundings compensating somewhat for the unx>repossessmg aspect of the building. Sister Rose's charges helped to wait on the visitors—those who were big enough, that is. The tiny ones, looking very homely with their rosy little faces and neat starched frocks, came in for a good deal of extra petting, and seemed to enjoy the afternoon just as much as anyone. They formed the best argument in favour of a new orphanage that could possibly have been brought forward, for who could face the idea of those helpless little children being left without a home?