Page 18 - pc_Issue7_Fall2018
P. 18

Connection
PRESBYTERIAN
 18
Urgent Needs Mount in Many African Countries
FALL 2018
presbyterian.ca
   By Karen Bokma, PWS&D Communications Coordinator
An unprecedented number of people across the African continent are in need due to natural disasters and vio- lent conflicts. While we may not hear about these crises in the mainstream media, they are no less real. So many are being affected by disasters not of their own making.
Ongoing violent conflict in both Sudan and South Sudan has caused widespread trauma and left many without the necessities for survival. In Darfur alone, over one million peo- ple remain internally displaced due to violent clashes between armed groups and the government that have been going on for years. PWS&D has committed funds to an ACT Al- liance project, providing relief in the form of water, sanitation, shelter and education to around 450,000 people in need.
The Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the grip of violence as well, and families have had no choice but to leave their homes and possessions behind in search of safety.
Kapinga Abeti was separated from her husband and three of her children after a militia group attacked their home in Kasai. Now displaced, she and her other children are shelter- ing in a church and receiving food packages of flour, beans, oil and salt, which is helping to keep them alive.
In parts of Somalia, environmental disasters are taking a toll. Above-av- erage rainfall has caused flash floods in some areas, while drought per- sists in others. Forced to leave their homes, hundreds of thousands of families are facing malnutrition and disease, and are in desperate need of food, drinking water, sanitation ser- vices and shelter.
Since rains failed for the second consecutive year in Somalia, Barwaqa Mohamed Ahmed has been able to feed her children only one meal a day. Par t of a community of pastoralists, Barwaqa and her family move with the seasons—taking their livestock to fresh water and green pastures wher- ever they can find them.
Two years of consecutive drought means having to travel farther and farther in order to feed and water their animals. Seeds planted in dry
Mothers wait to have their children screened for malnutrition in Somalia. Children will receive therapeutic food treatments if diagnosed as malnourished. PHOTO CREDIT: WILL SWANSON
PRESBYTERIAN WORLD SERVICE & DEVELOPMENT
 ground have not grown without rain to nourish them.
Through a PWS&D-supported program to screen young children for malnutrition, Barwaqa learned that two of her three children are mal- nourished. They are now receiving fortified peanut paste and nutrient- enriched food to help regain their strength and weight, ensuring they grow properly.
With the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and ACT Alliance, PWS&D is responding to meet the immediate
needs of the hungry and displaced. In partnership with these ecumenical networks, PWS&D is able to respond in parts of the world where we do not have existing partnerships. Contri- butions to the project also go much further, as matching funds are ac- cessed whenever possible as par t of our response.
To contribute to the relief response, visit WeRespond.ca/ donate and mark your donation “Africa Relief.”
Kapinga Abeti’s village in DRC was at- tacked by militia and she was forced to flee from her home. She and her chil- dren are receiving food packages that are helping them survive. PHOTO CREDIT: MCC/MULANDA JUMA
  Join in the
Ride for Refuge!
Team Lightning Bolt from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Markham raised over $2,300 at the Ride for Refuge in Toronto in 2017.
Tell the Canadian Government “I Care”
    By Anna Muir, PWS&D Communications Assistant
Where there’s a wheel there’s a way—by riding your bike, you can help create lasting change for fami- lies living in vulnerable communities across the globe.
On Saturday, September 29, join PWS&D in the Ride for Refuge—a cycling and walking fundraiser with locations across Canada—in sup- port of mothers and babies strug- gling to access medical care in poor regions of Malawi and Afghanistan.
Par ticipants, choosing to either
walk5kmorcycle10,25or50km, will raise funds and awareness for PWS&D’s maternal, newborn and child health project. Your participa- tion will help sustain vital work—by training doctors and nurses, providing medical equipment and building up health facilities in remote communi- ties—this project is saving lives and delivering brighter, healthier futures.
With support from the Government of Canada, dollars raised for this pro- ject are matched 4:1, making your support go even further. There is still time to register! Visit WeRespond.ca/ rideforrefuge.
By Karen Bokma, PWS&D Communications Coordinator
Many Canadians who donate to help people around the world cite their thankfulness for living in Canada as one reason they give back. Help- ing global neighbours is important to them personally—and they want their country to do the same.
Recognizing the vital role that Ca- nadian aid plays in making the world a better place, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, along with its members, are launching I Care—a campaign that urges Canadians to let the govern- ment know that they support ending global hunger and extreme poverty.
International aid has played an im- portant role in addressing poverty, and significant progress has been made. Globally, extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1990. In the past 25 years, the number of hungry people globally has decreased by almost 100 million. Maternal deaths have declined by 45 per cent world- wide.
Yet, more needs to be done. One in 10 people are still undernourished. Eight hundred women still die every day from pregnancy and childbirth complications. Many continue to struggle with extreme poverty.
While aid is not the only tool nec- essary to end global poverty, it is a central piece to achieving poverty reduction. Canadian aid provides im- mediate assistance in times of crises and invests in opportunities for peo- ple living in poverty to improve their livelihoods and realize their human rights.
In the past, Canada has been a leader in responding to the needs of people in the developing world. However, Canada’s aid as a percent- age of its national income has been slowly declining. The decline comes despite continuing massive needs in the world.
A previous Foodgrains Bank post- card campaign—called Good Soil— generated around 25,000 postcards to the prime minister, sharing that signers believe Canada should be contributing more of its overall aid budget to global agricultural devel- opment to help small-scale farmers. Many Presbyterians participated in that campaign.
Through the newly launched I Care postcard campaign, Canadians are encouraged to sign a postcard ad- dressed to the prime minister, let- ting him know that they care about Canada’s role in ending global hun- ger and poverty and that they sup-
Copies of the I Care postcard are avail- able from PWS&D.
In 2017, Canada contributed 0.26% of its Gross National Income to help- ing the world’s poor—that’s $0.26 for every $100 of income.
port Canada contributing generously toward these goals.
For more information and to order postcards, visit WeRespond.ca/i-care.






















































   16   17   18   19   20