UnitingWorld
UPDATE ISSUE 3 2020
“Without
a vision,
the people will perish.� - Prov 29:18
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.
Pictured: Amid the unfolding crisis in South Sudan, Rev John Yor is clinging to a vision of a better future and striving to make it a reality for his nation.
SERVING IN SOUTH SUDAN
2020 Vision 2020 is a year none of us could have predicted. Two thirds of the way through, Rev John Yor is clinging to his vision of a better future despite an unfolding nightmare that threatens everything he has worked for. “I always wanted to serve my country, South Sudan, perhaps as an accountant or government official,” he says. “But God called me to the church, and I know this is where I’m meant to be.” South Sudan is in the grip of the worst humanitarian crisis in its history. Seven million people are at risk of starvation as drought, lockdowns from COVID-19 and increased violence choke food supplies. In the midst of despair about political leadership, the Church is consistently at the forefront of peace negotiations and providing practical care for the nation, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Rev John, now General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan with oversight of peacebuilding and humanitarian projects, has long had a vision for leadership. It comes, though, at an incredibly high personal price. Married to Liza, he’s the father of six children aged between 13-28, one of them adopted when her parents were both killed.
Rev John Yor and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan have been providing communities with critical information about how to stay safe.
But the family haven’t lived together for years – it’s simply too dangerous for Liza and the children to stay in Juba. Right now, John is living without running water or electricity in his home, and on the day we speak he has only two slices of bread saved for his dinner. He hopes the water tanker will replenish his supply in the next day or so, but conditions have been incredibly hard for weeks, and he is recovering from a bout of malaria. How does he persist when life is so difficult? For Rev John, it’s a matter of faith, hope and love.
“In my heart I hold the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes: For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under heaven.
A time to mourn, a time to laugh…a time for war and a time for peace,” he says. “I don’t know when peace will come to South Sudan, but I love my people and I will be here when it does.” Through your faithful giving, you’ve helped us support John and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan team as they train leaders for peace and to address the trauma of conflict. Now, our partners have turned to responding to the immediate threat of hunger and disease. They’re distributing soap, face masks, food packs and critical information about staying safe as they wait for lockdowns to be lifted so they can return to their leadership training. They need our support, too, for their own survival. It’s their vision and steadfast commitment to a better future for South Sudan that will ultimately lead to change.
THANK YOU so much. To all who’ve heard John’s story and been faithful in prayer and giving to keep this critical work strong, thank you. Please read more and make a donation at: www.unitingworld.org.au/southsudancrisis
WE’VE HAD
a move !
UnitingWorld has relocated our office just a short walk down the street to Pilgrim House, next to Pitt Street Uniting Church. We’re loving the new environment, even though most of us still aren’t back full time in the office due to COVID-19 restrictions. We made the move to cut overheads and we’re sharing the space with the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia. We’ll still get all your mail and calls, and when things are back to normal and you’re in Sydney sometime, do drop by to say hi at Level 3, 262 Pitt Street, Sydney!
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UNITINGWORLD UPDATE
The mural on the side of Pilgrim house (by artists Monk, Humphries and Taylor, 1984) was commissioned by Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon and Pitt St Uniting Church on the theme ‘Peace Justice and Unity.’
END COVID FOR ALL
Thank you!
Another way you can help Sign the pledge to #EndCovidForAll
YOUR SUPPORT IS CHANGING LIVES
As part of the Micah Australia coalition of faith-based organisations, we’ve joined the campaign to urge our government to provide vital support to vulnerable nations during the COVID-19 crisis. 70 million people are at risk of being plunged into extreme poverty and we all need to play our part.
In the lead up to the end of financial year, together you raised $430,000 to help our partners protect vulnerable people from COVID-19 and its impacts: hunger, poverty and increased risk of gender-based violence. Thanks to you, more people will experience the love of Jesus in their lives through the dedication of our overseas church partners.
Visit www.unitingworld.org.au/ endcovidforall to sign the pledge.
PROJECT UPDATE
BACK TO BALI With international borders still closed, and far fewer tourists visiting places like Bali, we spoke to our partners in Indonesia to find out what life is like in the grip of the pandemic. “People here are more worried about having no food and no jobs than about the pandemic,” says our Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator, Dr Debora Murthy. “While that’s understandable, cases in Indonesia are still growing – there are more than 3,000 cases in Bali alone, with almost 100,000 across Indonesia. The threat is very real and we’re doing everything we can to share information about stopping the spread, especially among people who rely on traditional markets, where community transmission is highest.” Our partners the Protestant Christian Church in Bali and their development agency MBM have been working hard to respond to food insecurity as well as safeguard against disease. Here is what your gifts have been achieving in their capable hands: •
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Food assistance for 8,062 vulnerable women, children and especially those living with HIV/AIDS COVID-19 prevention education for 2,237 families via brochures and social media 1,000 fruit and vegetable plants helped 31 communities supplement their dwindling food supplies Packages of masks, soap and vitamins to protect against disease for 806 families Hand washing videos sent directly to 61 children in targeted communities
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When Dewi’s small shop closed due to COVID-19, MBM provided training for her to make fabric masks to sell. The income helps support her family until her shop can reopen.
Quarantine support and care for 20 health workers serving COVID-19 patients in a local hospital Sewing training for 12 women to make fabric masks; 3,890 purchased by MBM to distribute Training for ten Bali church leaders so they can become COVID-19 volunteers in their communities Marketing support for six villages so they don’t have to physically travel to produce an income.
THANK YOU to everyone who has helped men, women and children stay safe and avoid hunger in Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and across the Pacific. You’re amazing!
ISSUE 3 2020
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CALL TO LOVE A GREAT WAY TO listen AND LEARN Don and Sylvia Wright, from Hervey Bay in Queensland, have been running Everything in Common gift stalls for UnitingWorld at Christmas for a few years now. It’s a simple concept: buy a card for a loved one that represents a ‘gift’ to help someone overcome poverty: a goat, clean water, school books... The Wrights send gift cards every year to their children who live overseas, and they love having the chance to put into practice the call to love their global neighbours through practical help and generosity. But they also get a kick out of learning from others.
“Everything in Common focuses on the needs of our partners in non-Western cultures, and we’ve learnt so much from hearing about them and how they meet their challenges,” the Wrights say. “But we also love the chance to chat with others in our congregation and hear about their
Don and Sylvia running a gift stall at their church, Hervey Bay Uniting (L-R: Elaine, Don, Fran, Gwen, Sylvia)
experiences travelling or supporting communities outside of Australia. We’ve developed some really strong friendships through running the stalls!” UnitingWorld supplies everything you need to run an Everything in Common gift stall, like cards and promotional posters. It’s easy and the funds you’ll raise have a big impact. Over the last five years, people like the Wrights have helped us inject more than $2 million into projects that provide clean water, education, small business start-ups and much more.
“Consider getting involved in running a stall as you’re able, or plan to help promote the gifts
in other ways if congregations are still unable to meet,” say the Wrights. “You can be part of talking with others about the needs of the wider world and experience just how effective accountable giving can be.”
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Give us a call on 1800 998 122 or email info@unitingworld.org.au to get your gift stall up and running from October through to Christmas.
NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR PEOPLE OF VISION Do you consider yourself a visionary? Maybe it sounds a bit lofty and idealistic, beyond your pay grade... And yet, people with vision are probably just those who can keep the big picture front of mind – the destination – amid the weeds of the journey. I see it all the time in the work of our partners, who keep their eyes fixed on their hopes for the future, their faith in God and their capacity to bring about change. Rev John in South Sudan is only one example of the way perspective shapes our daily action and behaviour. He’s not impatient for change. He believes, like Martin Luther King Jr, that the “moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” He’s in it for
the long haul, and he’s weathering the storm. I see the same vision among our partners right across the globe as they adapt to new realities born of the terrible, heart-rending impact of COVID-19. They’re down in the weeds discussing how to sell products without being able to travel to physical marketplaces; accessing available government grants and subsidies; re-training people to sew masks and distribute them. But their eyes are always fixed on the bigger picture: the promise of a better world for all, where God’s love is known and made known. That same perspective has always animated you too, and it gives the whole team and I here at UnitingWorld great encouragement. The last few months have been difficult, yet I’ve been blown away by your continuing love, dedication and generosity.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @UnitingWorld UnitingWorld is an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia.
Thank you. Let’s keep holding the vision high.
Dr Sureka Goringe, National Director, UnitingWorld
This newsletter was printed using vegetable-based inks on paper that was sustainability sourced from plantation forests. UnitingWorld PO Box A2266, Sydney South NSW 1235 info@unitingworld.org.au ABN 16 939 630 947 Telephone 1800 998 122 www.unitingworld.org.au