idea march/april 2009
news
Respect climate commitments
CHRISTIAN WORKERS ON FILM. An award-winning film is drawing attention to the work of Alliance members Terry and Joan Thraves and their charity In Ministry to Children, set up to help street kids in the third world. The film, The Throwaway Children of Colombia, examines the situation of the “disposables”, the name given to Colombia's homeless children, many of whom have a life expectancy of just two years on the streets. Directed by Andrew Boyd, the documentary won the Best DVD prize from the Christian Broadcasting Council in November. In Ministry to Children was set up 14 years ago, and over the years has rescued scores of children from the streets. Working with Colombians, it has established feeding programmes to help the poorest families keep their children at home and in school, rather than abandoning them to fend for themselves. “The film follows boys who have been rescued, cared for, trained up and have gone on to make great things of their lives. Most of their friends who stayed on the streets disappeared or died,” said Boyd. “But this is also Terry and Joan's story – of how an ordinary couple in their retirement felt prompted by God to make a difference. They got stuck in – and the rest is history.” inministrytochildren.org
Supporting positive change Volunteers in North Staffordshire are learning to support and encourage local young people as the result of a new project launched by Youth for Christ. Called Eavesdrop, the initiative holds Approved Provider status from the Mentoring & Befriending Foundation and trains volunteers to be one-to-one mentors, meeting for an hour a week listening to young people and helping them develop positive change in their lives. Eavesdrop also runs Special, a six-week course for girls who have low self-esteem. The course runs in three local high schools and at the Lock, a drug and alcohol unit for young people in Stoke on Trent.
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“During the sessions we listen to songs with words describing being beautiful, ugly, having hope and feeling pain,” said Eavesdrop coordinator Connie Locker. “There is fingerprint painting, glitter, much laughter, singing and fun, during which the young people have a glimpse of just how beautiful they are and how fearfully and wonderfully they are made.” The work of Eavesdrop is supported financially by individuals, local churches, an Opportunities for Volunteering grant from the Department of Health and funding from Robbie Williams’ Give it Sum fund, which is managed by Comic Relief. yfc.co.uk
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The path to a global climate deal in 2009 seems to have taken a detour, says Alliance member agency Tearfund following UN climate talks in Poznan, Poland, in December. Despite a fortnight of talking, progress was painstakingly slow, even as climate change has already begun hitting poor people. Current science indicates that things will get much worse unless developed countries act urgently to slash emissions and help poor communities adapt to climate change. Director of Advocacy Paul Cook said, “Tearfund is concerned that developing countries do not have time for rich countries to prevaricate on decisions that could literally save the lives of millions of the poorest people around the world.” A delegation of Tearfund's partners from Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Honduras attended the conference to provide eyewitness accounts. These climate change experts are working at the grass roots with local church communities struggling to cope with the impacts of global warming. Meanwhile, the EU Council agreed on a new package of climate and energy laws that show an extremely low level of ambition. Wealthier countries must raise their game at the July G8 summit in Italy and at December climate talks in Copenhagen. Tearfund is urging Christians to raise their voice as a global church to demand a just deal for poor communities around the world. tearfund.org
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rel ational
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