Alliance News Issue 4 2019

ALLIANCE

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NEWS

www.adtlanka.org

I S S U E

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// ‘GOD LOVES YOU’ // the friends I made at this camp ended up becoming my brothers. They are no longer friends but family to me.�

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Sanctuary House Hosts Senior Citizens

Beauticians Qualify Through REACT

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Pg 02 Persecuted churches encouraged through SSTS

Discerning Politics

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GET IN TOUCH

DCT Training for Youth in the South

P.O. Box 113, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka

‘WE’ The Church

00945511358

Training in Human Rights Documentation

@

twitter.com/nceasl twitter.com/ADTSriLanka

Security Training for the Church TTI Graduation

IN-BRIEF

info@nceasl.org

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facebook.com/NCEASL facebook.com/ADT.Sri.Lanka

Beauticians Qualify Through REACT The ADT initiated career guidance and skills development courses for school leavers and unskilled youth. Recently the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ3) Certification was awarded for 13 students who studied a Beautification Course under the REACT project in Batticaloa.

Sanctuary House Hosts Senior Citizens As in the past, the Sanctuary House (SH) hosted senior citizens to commemorate World Elder’s Day. In October, SH hosted 125 elders from the Kepungoda Senior Citizens’ Society as well as the Negombo Divisional secretariat staff and over 240 Senior Citizen’s Society representatives from the entire Negombo district.

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Alliance News Issue 4 2019. For private circulation only.

LEGAL AID

Feature story Kids’ camp

The NCEASL's national kid's camp took place from the 2nd to the 4th of December 2019.

It saw the participation of over 100 children supported by the Evangel Care Scholarship Scheme and those who have faced persecution in their hometowns. Ranging from ages 8 to 18, the camp hosted pastor's kids coming from over ten districts across the island.

While hailing from different parts of the country, the participants share an experience that, in most cases, / / ‘ GOD LOVES is easily ignored. Persecution has an immense impact on the Y O U ’ // life of a child. Most children remain silent victims of marginalization. Being bullied for their faith, enduring abject poverty, possible neglect, and having to assume the responsibilities of an adult, have entrenched their childhood in a world of struggle and conflict. The theme for kid’s camp for the year 2019 was 'God loves you'. By spending time in God's word, building a culture of inclusion, and fostering long-term friendships, we hoped to leave them with a renewed understanding of God's love, plan, and purpose for their lives.

2019

These three days featured a series of interactive sessions for all age groups ranging from primary education, intermediary group, to a young- adult group for senior campers. Centered on the overall theme of God's love, sessions were structured to cater to the needs of each relevant age group. The use of various media from puppet shows, and illustrations, to group activities and games, helped us bring God's word to life. Campers were also taught the importance of God's word and were encouraged to memorize bible verses and take them to heart.

While younger participants expressed themselves creatively, senior campers openly discussed the issues they faced as pastor's children. Years of suffering and repressed anger lead to animosity between children and their parents. The speaker shared his personal experience and encouraged the kids to share their stories with someone else. The chance to talk about their struggles freely, without judgment or expectation proved to be a healing experience for many lives.

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Alliance News Issue 4 2019. For private circulation only.

As the days progressed, the sessions focused on the importance of building meaningful friendships and support systems, while pursuing God's plan and purpose for their lives. It was evident that many campers were touched as they came up to testify on how God had completely transformed their lives.

This is what they had to say about their experience: “Hearing the senior group volunteer share his testimony, I was inspired. I used to have a fear, and I felt stuck. What the volunteer shared about how I can move forward in life really helped. ”

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“ The friends I made at this camp ended up becoming my brothers. They are no longer friends but family to me.”

“ Every time I come to camp, I end up learning something. I have been coming since I was very small. I never leave without learning.

This time also I learned so much through the sessions and the games as well. Through the games time, I learned what it's like to live like Christ. We have leadership skills within us, and through the games that we played these skills were brought out. This camp molded the leadership skills in me.”

As the camp came to a close, the goodbyes proved to be more difficult than expected. Many children shared their experience of how the annual camp had come to shape their lives over the years. As we say goodbye to yet another year, we are confident in the work God has done and are excited to see what else He has in store for these kids.

Apart from these sessions, the camp was filled with memories to last a lifetime. Through the games and outdoor activities, campers were able to make connections across age groups and ethnicities.

Each activity was a chance to form new friendships and strengthen old ones. The highly anticipated talent show featured many participants showing off their skills

Alliance News Issue 4 2019. For private circulation only.

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NEWS IN BRIEF DCT Training for Youth in the South Twenty Youth from Galle and Hambantota participated at a training workshop on Digital Citizenship from the 17th 19th October at the Sanctuary House. The participants were trained based on the Digital Citizenship Toolkit designed by the NCEASL

‘WE’ The Church WE the Church was spearheaded by a group of young volunteer leaders, representing different churches together with the Youth Wing team. A night of worship and prayer for the Nation was held on the 2nd of November. It brought together more than 100 youth from over 20 different churches.

Training in Human Rights Documentation Twenty three grassroots activists and community workers from Batticaloa trained on the importance of ethics behind human rights documentation and were encouraged to engage in documenting violations against their religious communities

Security Training for the Church A training of trainers seminar aimed at creating awareness on church security measures was held for 40 participants from several churches. This was held on 30th September and 1st October at the Kollupitiya Methodist Church.

TTI Graduation 154 students, serving in rural ministries successfully completed The Timothy Initiative (TTI) course and graduated in October from the training institute in Galle.

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Alliance News Issue 4 2019. For private circulation only.

Persecuted churches encouraged through SSTS The NCEASL held a Standing Strong Through the Storm seminar for 50 pastors and those doing ministry that have faced persecution in recent times. They represent churches from Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Madampe, Mundalama, Katana, Nittambuwa, Urupola and Kegalle.

Discerning Politics The NCEASL’s Youth Wing conducted a program on discerning politics. 50 youth from different churches participated in the event which addressed views on the current political climate and how Christian youth can approach it

Alliance News Issue 4 2019. For private circulation only.

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PROJECTS AT A GLANCE MISSIONS AND EVANGELISM

RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT

154 students graduated from the Timothy Training Institute in

Initiated livelihoods together with RLC for 15 persons from St.

Galle

Anthony's church Colombo, 13 persons from St. Sebastian's

Standing Strong Through the Storm (SSTS) programmes

Church Negombo and 23 persons from Batticaloa

were held for 45 participants from Hambantota and 50

Provided educational support for children of families affected by

representatives from churches in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa,

the Easter attack - Batticaloa: 26, Colombo: 28 Negombo: 27

Gampaha, Warakapola and Ratnapura

A total of 600 children are members in 9 children's

Ministry programme held for 75 pastors and leaders from

circles of 9 villages in Vavuniya

Warakapola 25 pastors representing 23 Pastors' Fellowships

264 children received support via the sponsorship scheme in

attended the Pastors' Chairmen meeting

Vavuniya

76 scholarships awarded to pastors' children living in

Hosted an educational excursion to Sigiriya for 364 children

war-affected areas

from Vavuniya

10 church planters received support

Conducted training on child participation for 27 persons

52 people came together to pray at the ‘Prayer for the Nation’

Mapped out children in vulnerable situations for 31 persons

event held during the build up to the Presidential Election

Conducted training on office administration and coordination for

Held a Truth Centered Transformation (TCT) training in Mullativu

31 persons

for 37 pastors and leaders from 4 churches in Kurunegala

Formed 12 Self Help Groups in Vavuniya with the participation of

Facilitated a youth camp for 80 youth from the Kingdom of God

201 mothers

church, Mattakkuliya

Hosted an awards Ceremony for Duty Bearers

100 pastors from Batticaloa together with their families attended

Conducted a Causal Analysis training on VCDC members village

the Pastors Conference in Batticaloa

child development committee

195 participants attended a family gathering for pastors in

Conducted Basic Child rights training for 2 Children's Circles

Mullaitivu

Held a training for Emerging Entrepreneurs on Christian business

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION

Hosted a leprosy awareness programme and skin clinic for 60

40 church leaders attended training on Church Security

Held 18 Leprosy awareness programmes which included 4 school

ethics for 12 participants plantation workers in Ragala

7 church leaders appointed to develop a manual on Church

awareness programmes and 2 medical camps

Security

A vocational training programme was held in Nuwara Eliya for

Awarded small grants to Youth who attended the Digital

80 participants

Citizenship workshops in Kandy, Batticaloa, and Galle to train

More than 350 individuals were benefited through leprosy

their community in what they learned.

mission programmes.

Conducted a seminar on Church Security for 24 Chairmen from

49 participants from Vavuniya attended 'Orange the World', an

Pastors Fellowships

initiative to mobilize communities against Gender-Based

Held a workshop on Digital Citizenship for 20 youth from the

Violence.

Southern Province

Held a leprosy awareness programme for 12 community leaders

Commenced Phase II of Act Now initiative with a core group of

from Vavuniya

14 youth in Kandy. Act now also convened a meeting for 29

SCORE project

youth from Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Monaragala.

Opened a new resource center at Seruwila benefiting over 550

Held a training workshop on human rights documentation in

families in the community

Chilaw for approx. 30 participants.

Renovated a multipurpose hall for the use of the community in

Organized a Kid's Camp for 105 pastors' children

Samagipura, Trincomalee

Partnered with ADT on Easter Sunday Emergency related work

Hosted a Peace Festival in Seruwila, Trincomalee connecting

Supported 45 teachers every month

Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities

Supported 6 youth through the youth education scholarship

Installed a drinking water supply system in Trincomalee for

Supported 218 kids through the children's scholarship

over 400 families, 175 school children, and 110 youths.

Provided emergency assistance to Pastor Ranasinghe, Pastor Dinesh Kumar, Pastor Saman Kumara, and Pastor Ayesha Processed 10 Livelihood applications Produced a trilingual Digital Citizenship toolkit Produced a trilingual Comic Book on Digital Citizenship Produced 15 informational videos in Sinhala, Tamil, and English on penal code, discrimination, disinformation, hate speech, and Digital Citizenship Launched an Online photo exhibition on MinorMatters website Produced a report on monitoring the media for October to December.