Alliance News July - December 2012

JULY-DEC 2012

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE OF SRI LANKA

‘LEAD WHERE YOU ARE’ The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) is committed to providing the necessary skills and attributes required for the development of Pastors’ ministries and churches in Sri Lanka. For several years NCEASL has been co-sponsoring the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) in Sri Lanka challenging and inspiring the core leadership of every church to bring forth Christcentred leaders. As leadership is critical to Church vitality, the GLS enabled all participants to train on pursuing their God given mission, vision, use of resources and training tools to grow their local churches and organisations.

This year NCEASL facilitated the Global Leadership Summit to be held in Jaffna and it was immensely successful. More than 450 participants from the Jaffna,Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, and Kilinochchi Districts were present. They consisted of full time ministry workers (Pastors), part time ministry workers, owners of business establishments, leaders (youth, women, elders and Sunday

school teachers), volunteers (ministry supporters) and Christian NGO and INGO workers. The key speakers Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes and Wayne Cordeiro collectively focused on developing the required leadership skills and attitudes to uplift and bring church leaders to the forefront .

Most Pastors and Christian workers in the Northern Province were significantly affected by the war and they still cope with great losses; hence they are discouraged to continue in their ministry. With the aim of giving a boost to their vision and leadership, the GLS encouraged the participants to ‘Lead Where You Are’. The President of the Pastors’ Fellowship in Jaffna, Pastor Robert of the Church of the Assembly of God, stated that the Global Leadership Summit was the biggest conference to be held in Jaffna after 30 years of conflict. The Government Agent of Jaffna congratulated NCEASL for initiating this summit and impacting the Tamil speaking communities in the North.

Top and bottom show pictures from the Global Leadership Summit- the biggest conference to be held in Jaffna after 30 years of conflict.

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This programme aimed at empowering 40 women both housewives and young adults through self-employment.

Velankulam and several surrounding villages in Vavuniya were significantly affected by the ethnic conflict.

Even though the families strive to restart their lives, the bread winners find it difficult to provide for the increasing needs of the family. Most often the income of one person is not adequate to purchase their bare necessities. The housewives too could contribute towards the family income if they are given self-employment opportunities to work from their homes whilst not neglecting the household chores and looking after their young children.

However, with limited facilities and very basic skills these women were at a loss how to get about getting an additional income for their families.

Rebuilding war shattered communities is a key initiative of Alliance Development Trust (ADT). Through its Community Development Education (CDE) programme, ADT conducted a two day training programme on food preservation for the women of Velankulam village. This programme aimed at empowering 40 women both housewives and young adults through self-employment.

A live demonstration on how to make jams, chutneys and pickles was conducted for the participants. They were further instructed on how they could use resources that grow in their own village and home gardens. The programme was conducted by Guru Nithi Kanagaratnam, an Agriculture Specialist.

Young adults and housewives receive training in food preservation techniques

Preserve or Perish?

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The second half of the calendar year was particularly busy with SSTS, Scholarship programmes, School of Church Planting (SCP) and Timothy Training Initiative (TTI).

Mission’s Impossible Mission...Made Possible

It was a full year of activity for the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka’s (NCEASL) Missions Desk for the year 2012. All NCEASL Missions’ Officers poured themselves into their programmes with enthusiasm and excitement with the intention of making them worthwhile and meaningful to eager participants.

The second half of the calendar year was particularly busy with SSTS, Scholarship programmes, School of Church Planting (SCP) and Timothy Training Initiative(TTI).

Youth leaders, worship leaders, Sunday school leaders, cell leaders, board members, elders and Pastors attended SSTS programmes held in Mullaitivu, Kalutara, Mannar and Avissawella. Mullaitivu and Mannar are two districts striving to restart their lives after the war. The SSTS held at Mullaitivu was the fifth seminar for this year and in Kalutara and Mannar it was the third and fourth SSTS seminars held for this year. The facilitators at these seminars were from Colombo Theological Seminary, Lanka

Bible College and NCEASL representatives.

Sixty children of persecuted and war affected Pastors and those facing poverty from Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi were provided with scholarship assistance in the areas of educational needs, food, clothing, shelter, medication and transportation and whatever else that was needed to continue the childrens’ education.

Forty Theological students from AOGBC, CTS and LBC were supported with scholarships.

A SCP programme was held in December for 38 pastors who received theological book packs.

A TTI was held in December to educate rural church planters to give them the knowlege to initiate 15-25 more potential church planters back in their home towns.

The seminar addressed the training of trainers (TOT) and vision casting. Key Pastors from all districts attended this seminar.

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Christian Missionaries in the past set an example as care givers working through hospitals, schools and among the destitute. The Church is recognised as the best equipped institution to provide the necessary care and guidance to communities that face very sensitive issues. The Church with its Christian approach is also seen as an ideal institution to spread the message of awareness and prevention among HIV and AIDS vulnerable communities. Alliance Development Trust’s ‘Project Positive’ conducted a regional training programme from the 29th of October to the 2nd November at Sanctuary House

General Secretary: Godfrey Yogarajah

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to empower pastors and other volunteers who work with such communities. Discussions were based on the role of the Church in spreading the message of awareness and prevention of HIV and AIDS. The 35 participants also received training which helped them identify and improve their skills needed for this task. Rev. Hannu Happonen, the FIDA country coordinator for Kenya who is also an HIV and AIDS activist and theologian, was the main resource person at this programme.

Church Carers’ training in progress

Address: P.O. Box 113, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka Website: www.nceasl.org www.adtlanka.org

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Editor In Chief: Roshini Wickremesinhe Telephone: 00945511358 Email: communications@nceasl.org

Most Pastors in the North and the East serve under adverse conditions. Travelling seems to be one of the greatest difficulties they face as infrastructure in these areas were substantially damaged during the war. Most people have to walk long distances or ride bicycles as there is no regulated public transportation system in place.

This makes a Pastor’s task of visiting his flock and conducting prayer cells and Bible studies very difficult as they do not have any mode of transportation to travel other than to walk miles to reach their congregation.

Vavuniya, Killinochchi and Mullaitivu. The bicycles are a blessing to all the beneficiary Pastors who walked great distances in the scorching sun taking the love of God where it is most needed. “Most of the congregation in my church live in remote areas and cannot afford to come to church. Some of them cannot travel as they are disabled and crippled” said Pastor Rebecca who herself was affected by the war. She personally visits the homes of her flock and prays and shares the Gospel with them. “I know God protected me from the war. My life is His gift to me and I must use it to spread His Glory!” she said. ----

In view of this issue, NCEASL’s RLC commission gifted 50 bicycles this August 2012 to deserving Pastors, both male and female, living in the northern regions of Top and bottom: Recipients with their new bicycles

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Change Makers Feel on ‘Top of the World’

The rock fortress Sigiriya is a World heritage site which we as Sri Lankans are quite proud of. Due to its architectural and historical value, schools encourage their students to visit this ancient palace. Most schools organise field trips to Sigiriya so that the less affluent students will not miss out on the opportunity to experience this rich heritage.

With the aim of providing the same opportunity to 56 children from rural villages in Vavuniya, Alliance Development Trust’s regional office in Vavuniya organised an excursion to historical sites in Sigiriya and Dambulla. Members from six Change Makers clubs in Vavuniya together with students from selected schools in Vavuniya who had passed their Grade 5 scholarship examination were thrilled over their visit. “We had only seen pictures of Sigiriya in our school books. Today we climbed to the summit of the fortress. We are very happy because this is our first visit!” the children exclaimed.

Change Makers of Vavuniya District enjoying an educational trip to Sigiriya

The main aim of this visit was to strengthen the relationship between Change Makers clubs in the Vavuniya region. As these Change Makers clubs are actively involved in the development of their village, the chance they received to meet other clubs will encourage and inspire them in their future projects.

This trip was also an excellent opportunity for ADT to establish relationships with the children’s parents and teachers. The eight adults who joined on the trip too were quite thankful for this opportunity as it was their first time to Sigiriya and Dambulla.

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Children who live in the homes affected by HIV and AIDS face many financial and emotional difficulties. As innocent victims of these deadly viruses, they carry a burden too heavy for their young shoulders. Since their parents too struggle with many financial difficulties, these children miss out on many fun activities and outings. The social stigma against People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) adds further pressure upon these children and they thus undergo these difficulties in silence.

In order to provide such children with relief from their worries, Project Positive organised a trip on the 2nd of

November to the Guruge Nature Park for 25 underprivileged children. As an educational excursion this trip had more than fun to offer to the kids. The children gained much knowledge through the exhibits on wild life, nature, history and village life.They also received an opportunity to make new friends and to spend some time with other kids who were like themselves.

The children were all provided with gift vouchers for shoes. Four Christian volunteers assisted the project officers in ensuring that the children had a safe trip.

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Undernourished children received nutrition packs in the North and the East

The severe lack of livelihoods, proper income and shelter have greatly attributed to malnourishment among children in most households in the North and East. It was evident that children born in camps during the war in these areas were lower in weight for their age. Most of these children often attend school without a morning meal; neither do they receive a proper meal at home. In order to provide adequate nourishment for children who live amidst poverty in the North and East, the Alliance Development Trust (ADT) launched a nutrition programme. A total of 463 pre-school children under the age of 5 years are provided with a cooked meal, 5 days of the week Monday through Friday. They receive milk, boiled green gram, chick peas and cowpea. The parents are extremely cooperative and help with the preparation of food. “We cook these meals willingly as we see the benefit of this programme for our children” commented a mother. The teachers note that the children’s attendance has greatly improved whilst records show an overall 10% increase of weight gain in one month.

ADT also provides nutrition packs for undernourished children who are identified by Government midwives. The packs contain dry rations such as dhal, chick peas, soya meat, sprats, green gram, cowpea, samaposha and Anchor milk. These two nutrition programmes are carried out by ADT for 6 consecutive months in the North and East.

“We are extremely thankful to ADT for providing nutrition packs for our children, something which we are unable to provide for them” stated a grateful parent.

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Pre-school children under the age of 5 years receive cooked meals 5 days of the week

They receive milk, boiled green gram, chick peas and cowpea. ..