UnitingWorld Update Issue 2, 2021

UnitingWorld

UPDATE ISSUE 2 2021

Hands up for applause: children in an inclusive education class use the AUSLAN signal for applause in Sri Lanka.

UnitingWorld is the international aid and partnerships agency of the Uniting Church in Australia. Together we work for a world where lives are whole and hopeful, free from poverty and injustice. Because every person matters.

DARSHI’S STORY

’m going to be a teacher when I finish school, "

I

DARSHI

We’ve less to fear tomorrow if we join hands today Darshi and her friends live on Sri Lanka’s west coast, in an area devastated by the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. Hard hit by the impact of the world’s longest running civil war, it’s a place where Tamil people have been digging deep to recreate a hopeful future for many years.

Even more challenging? These children all have disabilities – a major disadvantage in a culture where disability is seen as a punishment from the gods. As a result, kids like Darshi are often excluded from all parts of life – education, social interaction and employment opportunities.

Her dream is very much within reach. Some of her other classmates have graduated school and with the support of Deaf Link, found employment opportunities through church networks. They’ve joined hands to create not just a safety net, but a springboard to success.

Darshi, though, is bucking the trend.

People with disabilities are up to five times more likely than others to live in poverty. And as with all the communities with whom we work, there’s only one way forward in response: Together.

Our partner, the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka through Deaf Link, invited her to be part of an inclusive class at the local school, run by the church. The whole class uses sign language to communicate and are supported to achieve their full potential by teachers who understand their needs.

“My favourite is art and dance,” Darshi told us, ”I’m going to be a teacher when I finish school.”

Join hands with us! The skill and determination of our project participants + the expertise and love of our partner staff + your gifts and prayer + Australian Government funding = MORE IMPACT.

SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE! SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE

“It was just so encouraging and uplifting – one of the best programs I’ve seen for the Church in my entire life.” A ninety-year-old supporter who took part in Seven Days of Solidarity.

THANK YOU to everyone who got on board with us after Easter to celebrate our global neighbours. We’ve been so chuffed with the response to this brand-new initiative! We hope you enjoyed this fresh insight into the challenges and successes of our broader church family.

You can sign up to complete Seven Days of Solidarity at any time, and if you’ve not yet donated, you can still give online at www.sevendaysofsolidarity.com.au 2

UNITINGWORLD UPDATE

We were also grateful to everyone who gave or took something up for Lent, donating to projects that are helping our partners push back against the economic impact of COVID-19. If you’re still hoping to give, now’s the time! www.lentevent.com.au

Right now, your donation goes up to six times further building hope and beating poverty. How? 1. We’ve committed to contribute $1 for every $5 for which we’re eligible in funding from the Australian Government. Your donation helps us get access to the full amount available and lets us extend our programs to serve more people.

2. Your trust in us, demonstrated through your giving, encourages the Australian Government to allocate more funding to UnitingWorld in the future.

3. Your willingness to show your support for our global neighbours through giving sends a powerful signal to the Australian Government. This can impact policy decisions about international aid.

COVID-19

India Update We’re so grateful to all of you who’ve given amost $30,000 to date in response to our appeal for COVID-19 relief work in India.

The surge in cases happened so quickly, just as our partners were beginning to report that life felt ‘almost back to normal’. The impact has been shattering, but your quick, generous response has allowed us to continue to support life saving work in the Himalayas, Punjab and West Bengal.

Projects that previously focussed purely on education, livelihoods, clean water or leadership training have all re-oriented toward saving lives.

All of this is taking place even as family and colleagues of our project managers fall sick or die of COVID-19: Sharing critical pandemic information Helping women earn an income by making and distributing masks Providing food for people in snap lockdowns Supporting remote education for children The resilience of these men and women is astonishing. Thank you for supporting them in these incredibly challenging times.

Please keep praying for the people of india.

Pray for the leadership of the church and its people who are known and loved for serving in the places others overlook. You can make your gift to support our Indian partners here: www.unitingworld.org.au/indiacrisis

What did the Federal budget have for international aid?

Australia has made a good start in responding to COVID-19 in our region and overseas. The Australian Government’s previously announced COVID-19 commitments are on track, including $532.2m over three years for vaccine access across the Pacific, Timor-Leste and Southeast Asia.

A $37.1m two-year package for India has also been announced.

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to encourage our government to take these critical steps.

There’s much more to do.

While COVID-19 spikes across Asia, and both hunger and poverty are on the increase, the Australian Aid budget will actually fall by $142,000 to $4.335 billion in the coming year.

There are no expected increases for non-profit organisations like UnitingWorld, even though our partners are on the front line of COVID-19 response and humanitarian outreach in their communities.

Funding for health, water and sanitation projects has fallen by $9 million. Funding for disability projects was cut by 25% last year and has not been restored. Gender equality work remains at the same level.

What can you do?

We need your help to keep the needs and potential of our international neighbours on the agenda, especially because the pandemic will continue to hold back progress for years to come.

If you haven’t already, please sign the End Covid for All petition here and we’ll keep you in the loop with the campaign to support Australian Aid: www.unitingworld.org.au/ endcovidforall

ISSUE 2 2021

3

this

is how it feels...

How many Chickens does it take to break the chains of poverty?

Chickens are easily some of the most popular gift cards from our Everything in Common Gift Catalogue, a concrete symbol of the way lives can be transformed.

But how many chickens does it take to help a community break free from poverty?

In Gokwe South, Zimbabwe, we (roughly) know the answer. Through the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s Development Agency (MEDRA), you’ve been supporting projects with a few communities for several years: providing chicks, equipment, seeds; training groups in budgeting, bookkeeping and breeding of livestock; giving advice on how to market the products to get the best profit.

We’re delighted to let you know that the groups are now self-sufficient, and this month are transitioning away from MEDRA’s support.

“All six of our broiler (chicken) project groups have managed to survive the impact of COVID-19 and are fully operational again,” our partners report. “Two of these groups increased production from 50 to 100 broilers, meaning that families are self-sustaining as they buy groceries, use health services and pay school fees.”

MEDRA have also set up savings and lending groups, which encourage people to pool their income and provide for those in need through small, interest-free loans. All the groups have saved between $5 and $10 each month – and one group member managed to buy four goats from money borrowed from the group savings.

The outcome isn’t just about putting food on the table either. Women and people with disabilities have gained respect and positions of leadership in their communities, children have been able to go to school and people have supported others during hard times.

This is community resilience at its finest.

thank you Thank you to everyone who has helped this community – one chicken gift at a time – learn new skills and stand up strong.

NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR When I wrote to you in late February, India looked like it was turning the corner with a fall of COVID-19 cases.

But by the time you received my letter, India was experiencing one of the world’s most deadly, heartbreaking surges of disease, with case loads regularly hitting 300,000 a day. Our partners were telling us of bodies in the streets, frantic people trying to get medical help in hospitals without enough beds or oxygen. Even now, we grieve with them as their friends and family fall sick with COVID-19 and die.

At times like this, the personal nature of our work becomes very real. We’re not just a funding agency, at arms length from ‘people in need’. The staff of our partner churches

are our friends. As we plan projects, we have memories of shared meals, laughter and songs on juddering bus rides when visiting remote places together. We love them and stay awake at night wondering what more we could do to help.

For many years, we’ve done our best to share those stories with you too, in the hope that our work together would become more than ‘charity’ or an obligation to give.

And it has. So many of you have opened your hearts and have prayed and given with such faithfulness. I’m keenly aware of the emotional toll of continually responding to a world in need, and I’m so grateful that you’re with us. For me, and the UnitingWorld team, there’s great strength in knowing you’re here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @UnitingWorld UnitingWorld is an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Our partners and friends in India, befor e the pandemic turned the world upside down.

We are a global family united and buoyed by the love that conquers death, and this is God’s world. We are not alone. Thank you for joining hands with us, once again. With gratitude and hope,

Dr Sureka Goringe, National Director, UnitingWorld

This newsletter was printed using vegetable-based inks on paper that was sustainably sourced from plantation forests.

UnitingWorld PO Box A2266, Sydney South NSW 1235 ABN 47 817 183 926 Telephone 1800 998 122

info@unitingworld.org.au www.unitingworld.org.au