CHRISTIAN AID IRELAND Summer 2013
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Number 42
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LAND GRABBING
Robbing the world's poor
INDIA FLOODS
Our partners are responding
Highlights from the IF campaign in Ireland
Christian Aid Ireland
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Christian Aid Ireland is the official relief and development agency of the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Moravian Church, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Salvation Army, and the Irish Council of Churches.
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It is a member of ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together), the worldwide ecumenical network for emergency relief.
This issue of the Christian Aid Ireland Summer 2013 magazine comes with a short readership survey. We hope you can spare a few minutes to complete the survey and help us learn more about you, our reader, and what you would like to read about in the magazine.
Christian Aid is a signatory to the Dóchas Code of Conduct on Images & Messages. More details can be found on www.dochas.ie Please send any feedback about images in this publication to ahorsman@christian-aid.org
Rosamond Bennett Chief Executive, Christian Aid Ireland Belfast Office: Linden House, Beechill Business Park, 96 Beechill Road, Belfast BT8 7QN Tel: (028) 9064 8133 Email: Belfast@christian-aid.org Contacts: Deborah Doherty, Head of Church & Community Adrian Horsman, Head of Communications & Media
We value your opinion. Your responses will help us improve the content of the magazine and produce the best magazine for you. Let us know us know what you think of how the magazine is covering news and stories of Christian Aid’s work in Ireland and overseas. Would you like to see more stories and photos or less? We would also like to know if our readers get news about our work by visiting our website, receiving the monthly email newsletter, or following Christian Aid Ireland on Facebook and Twitter. Please complete the questionnaire and send it back to us. You can also complete the survey online at www.christianaid.ie/feedback or email your feedback to the magazine editor, Adrian Horsman at ahorsman@christian-aid.org.
JOINING THE CHRISTIAN AID IRELAND TEAM
Dublin Office: 16-17 Clanwilliam Terrace Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 611 0801 Fax: (01) 661 0949 Email: Dublin@christian-aid.org
We are delighted to introduce two new members to the Christian Aid Ireland team
Sarah O’Boyle,
Ciara Loughney,
Head of Programme Development
Humanitarian Programme Advisor - Ireland
Contact: Peter Byrne, Church and Community Manager (Dublin)
Cork Office: Hill View Bandon, Cork Tel: (023) 88 41468 Email: Cork@christian-aid.org Contact: Andrew Coleman, South West Co-ordinator NI Company no. NI059154 NI Charity no. XR94639 RoI Company no. 426928 RoI Charity no. CHY 6998
Christian Aid is a Christian organisation that insists the world can and must be swiftly changed to one where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We work globally for profound change that eradicates the causes of poverty, striving to achieve equality, dignity and freedom for all, regardless of faith or nationality. We are part of a wider movement for social justice. We provide urgent, practical and effective assistance where need is great, tackling the effects of poverty as well as its root causes.
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Christian Aid Ireland
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CONTENTS EDITORIAL Summer Magazine 2013
As I write this, it is grey and raining, typical summer weather and very similar to the weather on Saturday 15th June when we held our Big IF event in Botanic Gardens. It could easily have been a washout if it had not been for the determination and enthusiasm of all those who participated and attended. It was fantastic to see people of all ages and from all around the UK and Ireland turn up to add their voice to the campaign against hunger. It was not a protest, as was reported by the press, but an opportunity to make our voice heard by G8 leaders. On Sunday we heard Archbishop John Sentamu speak at our joint service in Enniskillen. He was truly inspirational – his sermon was powerful and poignant and he made sure that everyone was involved and engaged. I am very proud of what the IF coalition has achieved and I am particularly proud of the role played by Christian Aid and our own Dave Thomas, who chaired the coalition. Thank you to everyone for your support for the Big IF – it would not have been successful without you. I also want to thank you for your hard work and support during Christian Aid Week this year. This was my first Christian Aid Week as CEO and it was everything I thought it would be – hectic, motivating, demanding and ultimately fulfilling. I feel that we are truly blessed to have such dedicated and committed supporters. So I hope you all get a chance to relax and recharge your batteries over the summer. It will be a busy time for me as I make two overseas visits, one to Ghana with the new President of the Methodist Church, Rev Dr Heather Morris and her husband Neil and one to Rwanda where I will meet up with the new Presbyterian Moderator, Rev Dr Rob Craig and his wife Karen. I look forward to telling you about our experiences in the next issue of the magazine. In the meantime enjoy the summer whatever the weather may bring.
13 NEWS ■ 5 MESSAGES OF PEACE
From Ireland to the West Bank
■ 6 CHRISTIAN AID WEEK
Going from door to door ■ 8 THE G8 IN IRELAND
Making the world's leaders hear our voice
EMERGENCIES ■ 12 INDIA FLOODS APPEAL
Thousands devastated ■ 13 SYRIA UPDATE
Refugees need our help
■ 14 LAND GRABBING
Robbing the world's poor ■ 16 THE BRAZIL NUT
Bearing fruit for the future
Rosamond Bennett
REGULARS
■ Cover The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu breaks bread during the IF campaign service at St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, which he then shared with the congregation. Credit: Neil Harrison
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FEATURES
God bless.
Chief Executive Christian Aid Ireland
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■ 17 FUNDRAISING
Marathon running and walking to Limerick ■ 19 DIARY DATES
How you can get involved
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NEWS MEETING WITH THE ELDERS Christian Aid and Trócaire staff met with the Elders, in advance of a round table discussion on the issue of produce from illegal Israeli settlements. The Elders, a group of independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights, held their 2013 meeting in Dublin last May.
Pictured from left: Ferdinand Henrique Cardos (former president of Brazil), Justin Kilcullen (Trócaire), Garry Walshe (Trócaire), Jimmy Carter (former US president), Rosamond Bennett (Christian Aid), Tánaiste Eamonn Gilmore TD, Sorley McCaughey (Christian Aid) and Mary Robinson (former president of Ireland).
TAX CARTOON COMPETITION WINNER Bairbre Smith from Booterstown, Co. Dublin, receives an original cartoon by renowned Irish Times cartoonist Martyn Turner from Christian Aid’s Peter Byrne. Bairbre was the winner of the Tax Cartoon Competition last year.
Pictured: Bishop Nathan of Makurdi Diocese and Jane East, Christian Aid Country Manager, Nigeria.
BISHOP NATHAN TO VISIT IRELAND Bishop Nathan Inyom, Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Nigeria which has benefitted from the Derry & Raphoe Nets Work fundraising project will visit Ireland in October 2013. During his visit, Bishop Inyom will address delegates at the Derry and Raphoe annual synod, bringing greetings and messages of appreciation from his local diocese to Ireland. Since its launch, the Derry & Raphoe Diocese 2013 Nets Work campaign has raised £40,996 and �29,831 to help the Diocese of Makurdi in Benue, Nigeria to purchase and distribute mosquito nets to people who are vulnerable to malaria in their community – especially pregnant women and children. Go to www.derryandraphoe.org to watch a video featuring Bishop Nathan speaking about how the Nets Work project is helping the fight against malaria. 4
Christian Aid Ireland
CHRISTIAN AID SUPPORTERS AT PRESIDENTIAL GARDEN PARTY On Thursday 4 July, President Michael D Higgins and Sabina Higgins welcomed visitors to Áras an Uachtaráin to acknowledge and celebrate the work of dedicated citizens working for international solidarity and global justice. Twelve Christian Aid supporters from across Ireland attended, and were met by by the President and his wife in the formal rooms of the Áras. Speaking to his guests, the President emphasised the great value of all the work done by Irish citizens to promote peace, bring food security, and pursue global justice.
MESSAGES OF PEACE
FROM STUDENTS IN LONDONDERRY TO THE WEST BANK
The work of PHRI was featured in the Christian Aid Christmas Appeal 2012. One of those stories was the story of Waleed who is from the West Bank. Waleed was born severely deaf but due to restricted access to healthcare, he did not get the medical care he needed. Waleed’s life was transformed after he received a hearing aid from volunteer Israeli doctors working with PHRI. PHRI runs a number of programmes including weekly mobile health clinics to towns and villages in the West Bank and coordinating the safe passage of ambulances in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They also support healthcare permit applications for Palestinian patients and provide healthcare services for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Israel. John Harkin, Vice Principal of Oakgrove Integrated College, said: ‘This appeal struck me because it was based on respect for the humanity of others, regardless of the barriers which people see in the Middle East. Our own efforts at school are to promote reconciliation in a divided community, to learn by engaging with each other that stereotypes are untrue.’
YOUNG PEOPLE KEEN TO MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN ‘Bionn ceann caol ar an óige’, they say. ‘You cannot put an old head on the young’.
and the desire to make things fair for everyone.
I have found that often the young people not only recognise injustice but are also angered by My experience of visiting primary it. They want things to be fair for and secondary schools across the everyone. They realise that they country in the last few months has are not that much different from taught me differently. people like Ivana the 10 year girl we met from Bolivia during No matter where I have been, Christian Aid Week and are keen from Cork to Donegal whether to get involved in making change rural or urban, private or public, happen. I have found that ‘the young’ know injustice when they see it. Michael Briggs, Christian Aid I have been encouraged by the Youth and Campaigns Officer questions of why this happens
Waleed & his mother looking at messages of good wishes from children in Northern Ireland. Tulkarem, May 2013. Photo: Christian Aid/Amy Merone
Laura Browne (18) wrote: “It makes me feel awful knowing that there is so much hate in the world. I am from a city with conflict and I know the effect it can have on people. I wish you all the best.”
Caitlin O’Hagan (16) wrote: “Thank you for what you are doing. You are an inspiration in the world. Please know we are thinking of you and wish you well.” Amy Merone (Christian Aid) took the messages with her to the West Bank last May and showed them to Waleed, the boy featured in the Christmas Appeal, and his mother. Amy said: ‘It is really very inspiring to know that the pupils at Oakgrove Integrated College felt so moved by the stories of individuals being supported by PHRI and by the work that the organisation is doing. I am sure it will mean a lot to PHRI to know that people in Ireland are thinking about them and support their work.’ Photos: Christian Aid/Michael Briggs
Students at Oakgrove Integrated College, Derry, have written messages of peace and solidarity to people in the West Bank and Gaza. They were responding to learning how Christian Aid partner Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) is working to protect the right to healthcare for people in the occupied Palestine territories.
Athy Model School, Kildare
Christian Aid Ireland
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Whitechurch National School, Rathfarnham, Dublin
THANK YOU FOR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK We would like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all who got involved and made Christian Aid Week 2013 a great success. Thank you for your time, effort and enthusiasm. Whichever way you got involved – door-to-door collecting, coffee mornings, church services, signing prayer and action cards or other fundraising events – your support is making a huge difference in the fight to end poverty in the world’s poorest communities. At the time of writing, there is a slight increase of income from Christian Aid Week 2012 and that is an amazing achievement given the current economic circumstances. Our staff, board members and volunteers had the opportunity to speak in 45 churches across Ireland around Christian Aid Week. Speaking engagements are valuable opportunities to thank church congregations for their support and to inspire, encourage and equip volunteers. If you would like a Christian Aid speaker at any time of the year, for any event, please contact the Belfast (028 9064 8133), Cork (023 8841 468) or Dublin (01 611 0801) offices.
Elsie and David Nesbitt Rev David and Mrs Elsie Nesbitt from Ballybay, Co Monaghan, with Christian Aid's Rosamond Bennett at the recent Presidential Garden Party. Over thirty years ago David and Elsie began the Ballybay Christian Aid Week events which have kept going after Rev David retired. This year, the Christian Aid Coffee Morning, which is supported by the local Ballybay community, raised over �8,000.
Here are just a few of the many inspirational events and people who got involved in Christian Aid Week 2013.
Bangor, Co Down Some of the team serving coffee after evening service at Bangor West Presbyterian Church
Durrus, Co Cork Lilly Jackson (4) helping Helen Maries with her house-to-house collection in East Belfast. Collecting from Roger Hamill.
Hilda Attridge, Frances O’Neill and Dianna Thorpe at the Christian Aid Week coffee morning at Ryan’s Gateway Restaurant in Durrus, Cork.
HILLSBOROUGH THANK YOU PICNIC
Downshire Brass delivered an entertaining programme of music at the picnic. The ‘Thank You’ picnic in Hillsborough Fort was a wonderful day out for those of our Christian Aid Week collectors who were able to attend. Downshire Brass entertained everyone with a varied and entertaining programme of music whilst Alice, Laura and Hannah kept the young ones amused with games and face painting. It was a lovely day out for our Christian Aid staff, supporters, friends and family, with food and fun for all ages. Sausages were provided free of charge by the Good Little Company, Downpatrick,
Fun for all ages! Rose Thomas, daughter of Christian Aid’s Dave Thomas.
and the rolls provided by Kirk’s Bakery, Belfast, whilst our three chefs, Simon, Craig and Brian ensured that the hot dogs kept coming! We are really appreciative of those companies who sponsored us and helped keep costs to a minimum. The Thanksgiving Service in Hillsborough Parish Church after the Picnic was led by Rev Mike Dornan and our Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett, who spoke of her recent visit to Christian Aid’s partners in India. We are grateful to Hillsborough Parish for once again welcoming us and to Ross Morrow who accompanied us on the organ during the service.
Two of our many valuable Belfast office volunteers, Marian and Derick Woods.
Photographs by Dave Bradshaw
Our three chefs, Simon Newell, Craig Blaney from the Good Little Company and Brian McKibben kept the hotdogs coming.
Rev Dr Colin McClure, one of our board members, chatting with supporters. Christian Aid Ireland
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COVER STORY
CAMPAIGN
Photo credit: Neil Harrison
David Thomas, Chairman of the IF Campaign in Northern Ireland, outlines some of the key moments and achievements of the IF campaign. David Thomas, Chair of the IF Campaign in Northern Ireland and Christian Aid’s Education & Campaigns Coordinator interviews Rev Suzanne Matale, General Secretary of Christian Aid partner the Zambian Council of Churches at the IF campaign service at St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen.
In January 2013 the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign was launched in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. Around 150 people gathered at Queen’s University in Belfast and formed a human IF in support of the campaign. We said at the time that the G8 could mark the beginning of the end for the global hunger crisis. Over the following six months tens of thousands of people signed up and millions engaged with the issues online, through social media and by emailing politicians. The IF campaign certainly got people talking and thinking about the underlying causes of hunger. In March the UK government announced that it would meet the target of giving 0.7% of national income in aid. This was promised over 40 years ago, and seeing it finally being honoured was a cause for celebration. However, Christian Aid has always said that aid alone is not enough. Governments must tackle the root causes of poverty if we are to see real, long-term, sustainable change. David Cameron announced that he would hold both a Hunger Summit and a Trade, Tax and Transparency Summit before the G8 and that tax would be a key issue at the G8 summit itself. The IF campaign can take some of the credit for ensuring hunger and tax dodging were taken so seriously and given such a priority. ‘The Lough Erne Declaration’, the final agreed communication from the G8, is momentous in many ways. The G8 acknowledged that tax authorities should automatically share information with other tax authorities, though unfortunately not make this public, and that companies ought to report how much tax they pay and where.
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Christian Aid Ireland
‘Working together with different agencies was a very positive experience. We worked well together in Northern Ireland as ultimately we are all working towards a better world without poverty. Together we were able to have a greater impact. We were able to show that the desire for justice and an end to poverty is something that is shared by many people regardless of age, background or religion.’ The automatic information exchange and country-by-country reporting have been key policy asks of Christian Aid’s tax campaign since 2008. This endorsement of the policy we were campaigning for is very significant. It is also worth noting that the Lough Erne Declaration mentions Land Grabs, which has never before been on the agenda of the G8, but was something else that the IF campaign was lobbying on. The Lough Erne Declaration is a statement of intent that can be built on. The G8 leaders agreed on what should happen, but did not outline how, when or who would take the next steps forward. The outcome of the G8 Summit was just the beginning – the first steps towards a global agreement to tackle tax dodging and hunger. There’s more work to be done to hold our politicians to account and ensure they achieve these ambitions. While the IF campaign is coming to an end, the fight to end hunger continues.
THE BIG IF CONCERT BELFAST On Saturday 15 June, thousands of supporters braved rain and winds to come for the BIG IF campaign concert in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens two days before the G8 summit began.
Belfast Community Gospel Choir The event was organised by Christian Aid along with other members of the IF campaign in Northern Ireland. The aim was to send a message to the G8 leaders that people were expecting them to take urgent action on the root causes of hunger such as tax dodging. The week leading up to the BIG IF concert was one of the warmest this year, however the morning of the event the rain came and didn’t stop until the event had finished! That did not dampen the spirits of the 3,000-strong crowd who enjoyed some of Northern Ireland's best music and entertainment acts including the Ulster Orchestra, Belfast Community Gospel Choir, Duke Special, Two Door Cinema Club, dance troupe Prodijig and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Jordan O’Keefe. The event was hosted by former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon. As well as an extremely entertaining show the crowd heard about the impact of hunger around the world from speakers from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and India. Christian Aid’s partner Rev Suzanne Matale the General Secretary of the Zambian Council of Churches, gave a powerful testimony of the impact of tax dodging on poor communities in Zambia and a stirring call to action.
Two Door Cinema Club
The media coverage generated by the event was excellent and ensured that the G8 leaders knew that the people of Ireland were watching them and helped to keep the issues of hunger and tax dodging high on the agenda of the summit.
Big IF Belfast presenter Zoe Salmon joins Christian Aid staff from London playing the role of tax dodging businessmen at the pop-up shady tax haven at the Big IF Belfast event at Botanic Gardens.
Christian Aid staff Sarah, Caroline and Helen take a break to join in on the fun
Christian Aid Ireland
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CAMPAIGNS
IF CAMPAIGN STORMONT BRIEFING On May 17 David Thomas, Northern Ireland IF campaign chairman, spoke to supporters, church leaders and local politicians at the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont seeking their support for the policy asks the IF campaign was calling for at the G8 Summit.
Also at the Stormont briefing were (from left) Rt Rev Roy Patton (former Moderator Presbyterian Church in Ireland), Rev Kenneth Lindsay (former President Irish Methodist Church), Rosamond Bennett (CEO Christian Aid Ireland) and Rev Scott Peddie (Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church).
Politicians in attendance included the chair of the All Party Group for International development Conall McDevitt MLA (SDLP), vicechair Jim Wells MLA (DUP), Junior Minister Jennifer McCann MLA (SF), Fermanagh MLA Tom Elliott MLA (UUP), Chris Lyttle MLA (Alliance) and Steven Agnew MLA (Green).
ST MACARTIN’S SERVICE
SHARING BREAD The congregation at the IF campaign service in St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, share bread to show that there is enough food for everyone in the world and no one should go hungry. 10 Christian Aid Ireland
CHURCH LEADERS Rev Kenneth Lindsay (Former Methodist President), Bishop Liam MacDaid (Catholic Bishop of Clogher), Rt Rev Rob Craig (Presbyterian Moderator), Bishop John McDowell (Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher) pronounce the blessing at the IF campaign service at St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen.
The Priests Fr. Eugene O’Hagan, Fr. Martin O’Hagan and Fr. David Delargy, better known as The Priests, singing at the IF campaign service at St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen. Photos: Neil Harrison.
‘TAX DODGERS ARE ROBBING GOD’, SAYS ARCHBISHOP JOHN SENTAMU
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, told a congregation of over 800 that tax dodgers ‘are not only robbing people but God himself who calls us all to love mercy, do justice and walk humbly before him’. Dr Sentamu was speaking at the IF campaign service in St Macartin’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Enniskillen. The service, which was organised by Christian Aid, Tearfund and Trócaire on Sunday 16 June, was also screened live in St Michael’s Catholic Church across the road. The congregation at the Enniskillen service was welcomed by four local clergy: the Rev Kenneth Hall (Church of Ireland), Rev David Cupples (Presbyterian), Canon Peter O’Reilly (Catholic) and former Methodist President Rev Ken Lindsay, who was standing in for Rev Sam McGuffin who was at the Methodist Conference.
The Very Rev Kenneth Hall, Dean of St Macartin’s Cathedral, helps the Archbishop of York Dr. John Sentamu share bread at the IF campaign service. Photo: Neil Harrison
The Archbishop, Dr Sentamu, finished his sermon by breaking and sharing bread with the congregation as a symbolic action to show that there is enough food in the world for everyone if it was shared equally. At the end of the service the blessing was pronounced by senior church leaders from across the four largest church denominations, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher John McDowell, the Presbyterian Moderator Rev Rob Craig, the Catholic Bishop of Clogher Liam MacDaid and the former Methodist President Rev Ken Lindsay. Music at the service was by the world renowned The Priests, St Macartin’s Organist and Choir, and the Ulster Orchestra. Pupils from eight local post-primary schools in Enniskillen said prayers.
1.4 MILLION PETITION HAND IN AT G8 On Monday 18 June, the first day of the G8 summit, a delegation of IF campaigners, including Christian Aid's Senior UK Political Advisor Sol Oyuela, met David Cameron at the Lough Erne resort. They gave him a 1.4 million-strong petition calling on the G8 to end hunger and tax dodging. The delegation included two pupils from local schools in Enniskillen.
Photo: IF campaign
IF FLOTILLA ARRIVES IN ENNISKILLEN A Flotilla of Viking longships carrying eight campaigners dressed as the G8 leaders sailed across Lough Erne to the media centre at the Killyhevlin Hotel to get the attention of the world’s media with the IF campaign message. The sails of the boat carried the message ‘End Tax Dodging’. Christian Aid Ireland
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EMERGENGY APPEAL It has been estimated that more than 11,000 people are still missing following flooding and landslides in northern India.
INDIA FLOODS APPEAL Heavy and incessant rains that began on Friday 14 June and lasted 48 hours washed away homes, damaged roads and caused bridges to collapse. More than 800 people lost their lives. Many thousands of people are now homeless. The early monsoon rains which are believed to be the heaviest in 80 years, have affected up to 1 million lives in the worst affected districts of Uttarakhand state. Christian Aid partners are responding right now. Following the devastation caused by landslides and flooding, they are reaching 3,900 households (23,400 people) in the worst hit areas.
Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), is helping 1,200 households (7,200 people) with food, blankets, shelter, first-aid kits and medicine. Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSS) is meeting the needs of 2,500 households (15,000 people) with items such as blankets, cooking utensils, solar lanterns and mosquito nets. Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development (SEEDS) is providing tents alongside blankets, cooking utensils, solar lanterns and mosquito nets to 200 households (1,200 people). We urgently need your support to help our local partners continue to provide desperately needed food, shelter, clean water and medical supplies.
PLEASE DONATE
Please help us provide much needed support to families affected by the floods.
Photo: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui, courtesy Trust.org – AlertNet.
Food distribution in Rudraprayag district. CASA staff distribute food to those affected by the flooding in Northern India. Photo: Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).
HOW TO DONATE €25/£21
Could provide a month’s emergency food for three families
€47/£40
Could buy essentials for a family whose home has been washed away, including a tarpaulin and blankets, medicine, cooking equipment, buckets, candles and a torch
By Post: Christian Aid, 96 Beechill Road Belfast BT8 7QN Christian Aid, 16-17 Clanwilliam Tce Dublin 2 (Please do not send cash by post)
By telephone: Belfast (028) 9064 8133
€115/£100
Could help towards the cost of repairing a damaged house
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Dublin (01) 611 0801
Online: christianaid.ie/indiafloods
EMERGENCY UPDATE
SYRIA APPEAL UPDATE The conflict in Syria has affected over 6 million Syrians, more than 1.6 million of whom have fled the country as refugees. According to UN figures, more than 800 Syrian refugees arrive in northern Iraq every day. Lebanon is now home to over 500,000 refugees. Inside Syria more than 4 million people have been forced to flee their homes to seek refuge in other areas of the country. Christian Aid appreciates all those who have responded to our Syria Appeal – the individuals, churches and to those who generously gave to the Presbyterian Moderator’s Appeal. Funds received from the appeal funds are helping Christian Aid and ACT Alliance partners respond to the growing refugee crisis in northern Iraq and Lebanon, as well as inside Syria itself.
SYRIA Our ACT Alliance partner organisation, IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities), is working with Syrian churches, as well as Islamic and secular organisations, to reach the widest number of people. IOCC is providing emergency essentials such as food rations, bedding, and hygiene kits. It is also helping to put roofs over the heads of refugee families by providing rent subsidies and shelter improvements.
April 2013, Arbat, northern Iraq. Syrian refugees at a makeshift refugee camp in Arbat, outside Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq, who are being supported by Christian Aid partner REACH.
IOCC is also supporting people caught up in the conflict with cash-for-work schemes; providing remedial classes for children where possible; and pre- and post-natal care, as well as emergency nutrition and breastfeeding education through mother support groups.
LEBANON
They are also working with community health workers to provide psychosocial workshops to help people – especially children – to cope with trauma.
Lebanon is now home to more than 500,000 refugees. Christian Aid partner Association Najdeh has helped more than 2,500 refugees by providing them with food baskets containing essentials such as tea, sugar, salt and rice, and nutritious items like milk, cheese and beans to ensure that children especially are not malnourished at this critical time. They have also given nonfood items such as mattresses, blankets and sheets, clothes, hygiene kits and kitchen utensils.
Photo Credit: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian
Association Najdeh have identified a further 5,000 in urgent need of support – with your help we can start providing it.
IRAQ Christian Aid partner REACH is supporting 1,500 families around Sulaimaniya and Erbil in the north of Iraq. REACH is providing food supplies containing essentials such as rice, oil, beans, lentils and salt. They are also providing hygiene kits containing first aid equipment, soap, shampoo, water purifiers and sanitary products - essential for enabling people to keep clean and healthy, and maintain a sense of personal dignity. Raja’a (20), with her 6-week-old daughter Nagham. Raja’a arrived in Lebanon as a refugee in October 2012. She received natal care from the IOCC and she and her daughter are doing well.
Christian Aid Ireland
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OVERSEAS
LAND GRABBING
Credit: Christian Aid/Isabel Ortigosa
IS ROBBING THE WORLD’S POOR
Misael Payares (64) has 6 children. Despite the threats he and his community have suffered, he has fought tirelessly to protect their land in Las Pavas, Colombia. In 2009, armed police forcibly removed 123 families (around 600 people) in his community off their ancestral land, telling them it now belonged to a palm oil company. In April 2011, the families returned to Las Pavas and, in May 2011, their eviction was ruled invalid and illegal. They now have the right to their land, but not yet the papers to prove it. Christian Aid partner PDPMM (the Development and Peace Programme of Magdelena Medio) is providing much needed legal advice to the community to get legal ownership to land they are entitled so that they can never be forced off again.
Land is a safety net for many communities in developing countries who have nothing to fall back on in hard times. But, as Karol Balfe reports, the recent increase in land grabbing is having an awful effect on the world's poor.
Between 2000 and 2010, a total of 203 million hectares of land deals were under consideration or negotiation worldwide. This land is equivalent to over 23 times the size of the island of Ireland. Many more deals are not reported.
The dispossession and marginalisation of the rural poor are nothing new. However the recent surge of large scale acquisition of land – or land grabbing – in developing countries is increasing at an unprecedented scale and having disastrous consequences on the world's poorest people.
In countries as diverse as Angola, Colombia and Sierra Leone, this is the reality for countless men, women and children. Their homes, jobs and livelihoods are taken from them – often violently and with the collusion of the military or paramilitary groups. This deeply disturbing rush for land across the globe is mostly being driven by the demands of wealthy Western nations: more specifically, by the increasing demand for food, fuel and other commodities.
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‘It’s not gifts or handouts we’re asking for, it’s justice,’ Misael says. ‘We don’t need the companies or anyone else to give us anything. If we have our land we can raise our children.’
In other cases land grabbing is politically driven. In the West Bank illegal Israeli settlements take up Palestinian land and water resources, farmers are separated from their land and their movements are restricted. While governments fail to act, civil society movements and human rights defenders around the world are resisting, and in some cases at great personal risk. They are working with communities to help rebuild lives devastated by land grabbing.
While the G8 summit in 2013 did promise to increase transparency around land deals, much more needs to be done. The Irish government and the European Parliament must end the use of food to fuel tanks. The impact of this European Union biofuel policy has had a disastrous impact on the enjoyment of the right to food in a number of developing countries. New development goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals will be set later this year in New York. Without adequate political focus on the obscenity of land grabbing any new targets to tackle poverty will not be realised.
Credit: Kieran Clancy Photography
One Christian Aid partner helped 123 families in Las Pavas, Colombia, who had been forced off their land at gunpoint, win the legal right to return to their land. In Angola, as a result of eight years of campaigning by SOS Habitat, the government has finally built new homes in Zango, Luanda for a community that was evicted.
Across the globe land grabs are undermining development efforts – particularly for women. Governments have failed to effectively control what is happening or to provide a sufficient political response.
Last June 4-5, Christian Aid, in partnership with the Centre for Peace and Development and the Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society (University of Limerick), held a two-day seminar, The Politics of land grabbing: strategies of resistance. It addressed the impact of land acquisitions on local communities in developing countries. The seminar heard from academics and activists from Angola, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe; as well as from Ireland, the UK and Netherlands. Christian Aid Ireland
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FEATURES This harvest, as we celebrate God’s bountiful creation, please stand with us alongside communities in Brazil whose most important harvest is under massive threat.
BEAR FRUIT FOR THE FUTURE THIS HARVEST
Bebé Albenize is well known locally for her knowledge about where and how to harvest Brazil nuts. She knows the old paths through the forest to where the Brazil nut trees grow, sometimes a day’s hike away from the villages, and knows the locations of even the furthest and most lonely trees. Photo: Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross
Most of us see Brazil nuts as nothing more than a snack. But for Bebé Albenize and her community, the Abuí, Brazil nuts are not just an occasional treat – they are an essential part of their diet. To the Abuí Brazil nuts are also their only source of income for buying medicines, clothes and the foods they cannot grow or gather in the forest. Brazil nuts are gathered from wild trees in the Amazon forest. They cannot be cultivated; they do not survive without the complex forest ecosystem and are dependent on particular types of bees, orchids and rodents that live in the forest.
The rainforest and the Brazil nut trees in it are under threat from mining, logging and industrial fishing companies. This in turn threatens the future of forest communities like Bebé’s, who live in poverty. Local Christian Aid partner, Pro-Indigenous Commission of São Paulo (CPI), is helping the community to get legal collective titles to their lands in order to help them protect their lands and the forest. CPI has also funded a research project that will help the community get funding from the Brazilian government for a nut processing plant. This will in turn help the community earn more from their harvest. Please stand with Bebé’s community this harvest. Help us support the work of CPI so they can continue to help the Abuí protect their livelihood. Together we can support Bebé’s community protect their way of life and continue to bear fruit for the future.
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Harvest resources for churches, children and young people are available online at christianaid.ie/harvest You can also order printed harvest resources by email dublin@christian-aid.org or belfast@christian-aid.org or telephone 01 611 0801 or 028 9064 8133.
Photos: Christian Aid/Deborah Doherty
FUNDRAISING
GREAT GREENWAY CYCLE 2013 Half way there – Left to right: Roger Doherty, Kay Mole, Kirsty Madden, Peter Berrill, Caroline Coleman, Andrew Coleman and Patrick Madden.
Christian Aid’s inaugural Great Greenway Cycle brought together people from Athlone, Roscommon, Cork and Belfast and at the end of the 30km cycle, strangers had become firm friends. Left to right: Roger Doherty, Andrew Coleman, Mark Mulvihill and John Wilson.
There are no strangers, only friends you have not met yet. Cyclists set off for the Christian Aid Great Greenway Cycle
W.B. Yeats
The weather was wonderful and the scenery breath-taking as we set off rom Newport to Achill, writes Andrew Coleman. It was tempting to stop along the route just to savour the beautiful west of Ireland coastline or to wonder at the depth of colour in the fields of bluebells and buttercups.
It wasn’t a race but there was some competitive banter among the cyclists and those who arrived first at Achill found the ice cream shop where the ‘pokes’ were served in green cones.
By their own admission, the participants were not all seasoned cyclists. However the Greenway follows the path of the old railway line and is mainly flat, and thus not too challenging. As we cycled with the group, having great banter along the way, the time flew by. Everyone was surprised how quickly they arrived at the halfway point of the Mulranny Hotel and enjoyed a wellearned cup of tea looking over Clew Bay.
Would you like to join us and say “On Your Bike to Poverty”? Then sign up for our cycle events – the Strangford Sportive on October 5 2013 at Delamont Country Park, Killyleagh, County Down and the 2014 Great Greenway Cycle in County Mayo. To register email eventsireland@christian-aid.org or call (028) 9064 8133 or (01) 611 0801.
Christian Aid Ireland
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FUNDRAISING
Early one morning at the end of June, Adrian Horsman, Christian Aid’s Head of Media, set off on a 200 mile walk from St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast to St Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick.
WALKING FROM BELFAST TO LIMERICK
After nine solid days of walking on his own, enduring blisters, aching legs, wet weather and getting a bit lost along the way, Adrian was finally greeted at St Mary’s by the Dean of Limerick Very Revd Sandra Pragnell and other Christian Aid supporters.
‘…FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE I MET IN AFRICA…’
‘But Christian Aid Ireland is fighting back against this awful poverty,’ he added. ‘This includes getting children into school and clean water into their villages, as well as help for our partners working in refugee camps.’
‘I was inspired to walk by all those children I met in Africa carrying water for miles every day on foot’, said Adrian. ‘I was also thinking of those refugees who flee for their lives, with only those belongings they can carry’.
‘Of course, the big difference between my walk and theirs is that I could have hopped on a bus at any stage. They don’t have that choice.’
You can make a donation towards Adrian’s walk by contacting Christian Aid in Dublin or Belfast. Adrian Horsman saying farewell at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, with Ann McIntyre and Canon Campbell Dixon.
BELFAST CITY MARATHON
..and being greeted 9 days later at St Mary’s by Dean Sandra Pragnell.
‘Go on Mum! Rebecca McCleary encourages her Mum, Rhiannon in the final stages of her completion of the Belfast City Marathon. Very well done to Rhiannon who also raised £273.75 (incl. Gift Aid) for Christian Aid.
BELFAST ONE WORLD RUN
Giving poverty the run around – Christian Aid’s Joanna Donaldson and her husband, Neil run in the Belfast One World Run last May. 18 Christian Aid Ireland
GO! Runners taking off at the Belfast One World Run last May. To date almost £8,000 has been raised from the One World Run for the four charities involved, including Christian Aid Ireland. Photos by: Karishma Kusurkar
DIARY DATES Belfast Laganside Walk
DIARY DATE
1
ST
Sunday 1 September 2013, 2pm - 5pm
SEPT
Where: Lagan Valley Regional Park, Belfast Location: The Visitor’s Centre adjacent to Lock-Keeper’s Cottage Registration: 2.00-3.00pm at the Ramada Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast 2. The Christian Aid Laganside Walk is suitable for walkers of all ages and capabilities, including toddlers in buggies. The route is also wheelchair friendly. There is free parking at Cooke/Inst. Rugby Club car park, Milltown Road, Belfast. Registration fees are £5 per adult, £10 per family. All funds raised will go towards supporting the work of Christian Aid partners in some of the world’s poorest communities. To find out more, please contact Ann McIntyre on (028) 9064 8133 or email amcintyre@christian-aid.org You can also register online at christianaid.ie/walking
Sheep’s Head Hike
DIARY DATE
Saturday 7 September 2013, 11am
7TH SEPT
Where: Sheep’s Head Way, West Cork Join the hundreds of walkers expected at our annual Christian Aid Sheep’s Head Hike. This year’s hike has two routes, including a family-friendly 5km route as well as the usual more challenging 10km route. There will be rest stops along the way and refreshments at the end of the hike. Meeting point is the Community Hall, Kilcrohane Village, Cork at 11.00am. To find out more, please contact Andrew Coleman on (023) 884 1468 or email cork@christian-aid.org You can also register online at christianaid.ie/trekking
DIARY DATE
DIARY DATE
5TH OCT
28TH OCT
Strangford Sportive Cycle Saturday 5 October 2013
Dublin City Marathon Monday 28 October 2013 To register: dublinmarathon.ie www.christianaid.ie/running
See backpage for event details Christian Aid Ireland
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STRANGFORD SPORTIVE
Saturday 5 October 2013 Delamont Country Park, Killyleagh
g and n i l c y c y? Love povert d n e o want t cle the Cy ortive p S d r fo Strang stian Aid and i for Chr your bike’ say ‘on verty. to po
Register today at: christianaid.ie/cycling Email: eventsireland@christian-aid.org Call: 028 9064 8133 or 01 611 0801 Event sponsored by: Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928
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The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid July 2013. Photo: Christian Aid.