Commitment for Life
The work we do with the Cheltenham Area Christian Aid
Committee complements and reinforces the United Reformed Church in
Cheltenham's support to Commitment for Life. It is probably useful to remind
ourselves what the Commitment for Life programme is.
Commitment for Life is the URC's “corporate” world
church programme and it works with Christian Aid and the World Development
Movement to support particular development projects and campaigns. As the URC
website says:
“Commitment for Life
encourages all United Reformed and Local Ecumenical
Partnership churches to take action, pray and give for
people across the world. It works with both Christian Aid and The World
Development Movement. Last year we raised over £550,000 to help alleviate the
root causes of poverty. 75% goes to Christian Aid to be divided equally among
four partner countries, 10% to the World
Development Movement and 15% for administration, resources and grant
giving. It is the recommended way for all United Reformed Churches to give to
Christian Aid”
Money raised through Commitment for Life supports
Christian Aid partners
working in the four partners countries - Bangladesh, Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territory, Jamaica and Zimbabwe . The money is divided equally
between the four partner countries.
The URC in Cheltenham is one of the 40% of URC churches
supporting Commitment for Life. We have always had a focus on a single country
during any given year – over the years we have cycled through all four
partner countries, inviting speakers and running articles in In Touch.
A new booklet on Commitment for Life for 2010/11 has articles on some of the projects Christian Aid is supporting through local partners in each of the four countries. A quick summary of the work we are supporting in each partner country is given below:
· Christian
Aid in Bangladesh works with the extremely poor, women, children, marginalised
indigenous groups and communities vulnerable to natural disasters. Natural
disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity so our partners build
communities resilience to floods and cyclones and help them to adapt to the
changing climate. We also promote
women's empowerment by supporting programmes that
improve women's confidence, leadership skills and participation in
decision making.
· Christian
Aid in Jamaica helps the poorest people by tackling the things that keep them
poor: HIV, violence, unfair trade rules and
natural disasters. In inner-city communities, we assist vulnerable
young people to find work, and bring an end to gang violence. We help
communities protect themselves against the increasing threat of hurricanes.
· Zimbabwe
faces severe food shortages, a ruined economy and one of the world's highest
rates of HIV infection. The introduction of the US dollar means many have no
access to money and are often bartering for scarce goods rather than using
hard currency. Christian Aid has been responding to the ongoing humanitarian
situation by helping more than 1.3 million people with emergency support, HIV
support and training in conservation agriculture. Our work also includes
high-level conflict mitigation and peace promotion.
· Christian
Aid in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory – our most recent focus
partner country. In the past decade, Palestinian
poverty levels have trebled and violence on both sides has escalated
due to the ongoing conflict and Israeli occupation. We are working with more
than 25 Israeli and Palestinian organisations to protect
human rights, access to services and resources, and to build a peace
based on justice for all.
Contributions
from Dr Andrew Veal
URCiC Emergency Fund
. The Emergency Fund, managed by the Church Council,
was set up so the church could respond to Emergency Appeals and donations can
be made at any time so that funds are available for donations when there is a
disaster.
Christian
Aid Week 2011
The
collectors coordinated by St Andrews raised £317 from their house-to-house
collection this year - the total was down a lot, mainly reflecting the
decreased coverage (due to fewer collectors) and to some degree the current
economic climate.
Joan
Sampson (Cheltenham's Christian Aid Coordinator) reports that the total for
Cheltenham is also down this year:
"Thank
you all so much for your hard work and dedication.
We have done very well, but the result does reflect the economic
situation again. We have raised about £30,000.00. This is a fantastic result
but is about £4000 down on last year. The economic situation is not going to
improve in a hurry. So where does that leave the poorest in the world ? And
what can we in Cheltenham do about it? There is obviously no easy answer. But
I would encourage you all to think and pray about it."
Commitment
for Life
Gill Hillman from URC HQ has sent a letter to thank the
URC in Cheltenham for our donations of £4852.20 to Commitment for Life in
2010. She has written to all three Cheltenham Churches and wishes to convey
her thanks to all the congregations.
Zimbabwe
Project Details
It
has been found that European Funding designated for Third World Relief is best
channelled by using known relief agencies that are already working on the
ground in designated areas. One of the accepted relief agencies is Christian
Aid.
One
of the areas where Christian Aid has been working
is among poor farmers in Matabeleland in the south of Zimbabwe. Aid is
given directly in this area through Christian Aid Partners, not through the
Zimbabwean Government agencies.
So
what exactly is the challenge we have accepted? We have agreed to raise,
before July 2013, an additional £5000. That's the hard bit! But the good news
is that for every £5000 we raise, the European Commission will add £45000.00
No,
I have not got my decimal points in the wrong place, this is the actual
situation. The European Commission will add 9 fold funding.
Andrew
Veal