ALLIANCE
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NEWS
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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
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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.