Tear Times Autumn 2012

teartimes Autumn 2012

In bed hungry every night How would you feel if it was your child?

Tearfund’s ten-year vision Progress report pull-out

Working in a war zone Why Tearfund’s staying put in Afghanistan

Be part of a miracle | www.tearfund.org

welcome

Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund

A

few weeks ago, I learnt the sad news that Motilal from Shivnagar in Nepal has died. He had stomach cancer and passed away after a short illness. You may remember reading about him in Tear Times or through email updates from Nepal, if you receive them. I had the privilege of visiting Shivnagar last year and meeting Motilal and his beloved wife.

I distinctly recall the gasp of surprise our translator, Gobinda, gave when he told me Motilal’s age: ‘Oh my goodness, he’s 75!’

Motilal had spent 65 years as a slave.

Shackled, beaten and denied an education.

While freedom tasted sweet, it couldn’t give him back the many decades he’d lost.

Remembering Motilal from Shivnagar, Nepal.

But Motilal wasn’t bitter. There was such a sense of joy about him. And that’s because, just a few years ago, he found Jesus.

And ever since he’d been telling his former slave friends how to find true freedom in Christ. Many of them responded. Along with the church in Shivnagar and Tearfund partner Sagoal, I would like you to join in prayer for Motilal’s family, particularly his wife, Punsi.

Thanks to individuals like you praying, giving and campaigning, people like Motilal now have hope. And, through the church and Tearfund’s partners, practical help in every circumstance. Please read and enjoy this Tear Times – and remember dear, precious Motilal, now with his loving Father.

Peter Shaw, Editor editor@tearfund.org

Tearfund We are Christians passionate about the local church bringing justice and transforming lives – overcoming global poverty. And so our ten-year vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.

We can support you if you want to encourage your church and others to get involved with Tearfund. And if you have any questions, we’d be delighted to talk to you.

Editor: Peter Shaw News Editor: Mark Lang Design: Premm Design Print: The Artisan Press Copyright © Tearfund 2012. All rights reserved.

Permission is granted for the reproduction of text from this publication for Tearfund promotional use only. For all other uses, please contact us.

Cover image: Aidan sleeping on Francis's mat in Wigweng village, Uganda.

Cally Spittle/Tearfund

2

autumn 2012 teartimes

CONTENTS 4

News – Mali in crisis, and updates from across the world

8

Who would Jesus feed? – An agonising choice in Uganda, with a simple solution

15

Pull-out centre section: Tearfund's vision five years on – a story of perseverance versus poverty

13

Food, glorious food? – The outrage of a hungry world with enough for everyone

15

Wondrous gifts – Brighten up your Christmas with Tearfund’s festive resources

18

Called to Kabul – Gripping account of why Tearfund is staying put in Afghanistan

20

Church vs consumerism – Mark Powley on why we must seek after true wealth

23

Five years on and the local church is taking ground – Matthew Frost on progress so far towards Tearfund's vision

‘There was so much joy.’

Mark Powley, church leader

8 20

Cally Spittle/Tearfund

The people of Wigweng village, Uganda, are standing together to beat hunger. teartimes autumn 2012

3

NEWS

REUTERS/Adama Diarra

People load onto a truck carrying residents fleeing south from the insurgency in northern Mali at the trading town of Mopti.

Mali faces long term food crisis

C

oncern is growing that the people of Mali face a long term humanitarian disaster as a result of internal conflict.

More than 400,000 Malians have fled their homes and livelihoods to escape Islamist rebels who now control an area the size of France in the north of the country.

The conflict between the Islamists and the Malian government is worsening the impact of the country’s food crisis, where 4.6 million people are at risk of severe shortages, including 1.6 million in the rebel-controlled north.

Insecurity there means many aid agencies, including Tearfund partners, are unable to ‘Stories from partners talk of people access areas experiencing food shortages, and local people cannot get supplies struggling for food and to meet at markets. other basic needs.’

Many of those who have fled the fighting internally are now trying to survive further ‘Martin Jennings, Tearfund’s Head of West south in Mali in host communities and and Central Africa Region temporary camps, putting further pressure The most dominant and fundamentalist group on scarce food resources and worsening the in the rebellion is called Ansar Dine which is overall hunger crisis. Five Tearfund partners imposing its extreme interpretation of Sharia in Mali are assessing how they can respond law, such as banning the teaching of certain to the unfolding situation. subjects in the school national curriculum.

Martin Jennings, Tearfund’s Head of West UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has and Central Africa Region, said, ‘Stories from described the crisis as ‘deeply troubling’, as partners talk of people struggling for food 250,000 Malians have fled to neighbouring and to meet other basic needs. As the food Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, while an situation deteriorates in northern Mali, and additional 167,000 people are estimated to it will, more and more will choose to leave. have moved to other parts of Mali.

The numbers are very significant.’

4

summer 2012 teartimes

West Africa update Thank you for your overwhelming response

G

However Mali’s food crisis has been exacerbated by conflict (see page 4).

Janet Whalley, Tearfund’s West Africa Food Crisis Programme Officer, said, ‘We’re delighted with the support for our emergency appeal and the life-saving work it’s enabling us to do at this critical time. However, the outlook for the region remains extremely uncertain.’

The next harvests are due in the coming weeks and their success will be critical.

Forecasts suggest the rains will be normal in Chad, eastern Niger and Burkina Faso but they’ll arrive late in central and western Mali.

So far Chad has seen decent rains, causing flooding in some parts, and the harvest outlook is improving, while the rainy season has started well in northern Burkina Faso. In Niger, the authorities are also dealing with a cholera epidemic in the Tillaberi region.

‘We are delighted with the support for our emergency appeal.’

Richard Hanson/Tearfund

enerous support for Tearfund’s West Africa food crisis appeal is enabling our partners to step-up their help for vulnerable communities across the region.

Some 18 million people in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger are suffering food shortages due to drought-induced poor harvests, rising food prices, conflict, climatic changes and chronic poverty.

Tearfund partners are providing help in several ways. In southern Niger, 25,000 people are benefiting from food distributions, while in the north, 2,000 people have been able to buy grain at reduced prices or have taken part in cash-for-work schemes. In Chad, grain banks, goat breeding and market gardening have helped more than 13,000 people.

Food distributions and subsidised grain sales have bolstered about 20,000 people in Burkina Faso, while in Mali there has been work to increase market gardening and stop the spread of Saharan sand dunes.

People queuing for millet from a Tearfund partner run grain bank in Issakitchi village, Niger. teartimes autumn 2012

5

news

Church impact in Nepal praised

A

n amazing job’ is a Welsh Baptist leader’s assessment of the work of the church in Nepal. Simeon Baker, Director of Mission at the Baptist Union of

Hywel Meredydd Davies/Tearfund

‘

Simeon Baker praying with villagers in Nepal.

Wales, joined two other pastors to see the impact of Tearfund’s work in the country.

They met people living with HIV who revealed the dignity, hope and practical training they’d been given through a Tearfund partner. The team experienced medical clinics, agricultural schemes, sanitation projects and small business enterprises, ‘where the church was not only sharing good news, but being good news’ in the words of Simeon.

They visited a remote village where the church had initiated a bridge-building project and begun introducing electricity, resulting in a surge in church attendance. ‘Sometimes the gospel has to be seen in action before it can be believed,’ reflected Simeon. ‘In a predominantly Hindu culture, the church in Nepal is doing an amazing job at reaching people beyond the church.’

Legacy of love brings hope to Malawi

A

rtist Rosemary Horne made sure her lifelong commitment to children living in poverty would continue by leaving a gift in her will to Tearfund.

For many years, Rosemary gave the profits from the sale of her watercolours to Tearfund’s work with vulnerable children. Her generosity continued through legacies from both herself and her husband, Roger, which enable Tearfund partner Ministry of Hope to help children living with HIV in Malawi.

Mr and Mrs Mkaka are grandparents to Daniel, an orphan who was nursed back to health by the Ministry of Hope's Lilongwe Crisis Nursery.

‘We thank Mr and Mrs Horne from deep in our hearts,’ they said. ‘Without them, we would be living in abject poverty with no hope.’

If you would like to know more about how you can leave a gift in your will to Tearfund, please contact Clare Norman at Above: One of Rosemary's watercolours which she sold legacies@tearfund.org or call 0845 355 8355. to support Tearfund. Inset: Rosemary and Roger Horne.

6

autumn 2012 teartimes

Young Joel’s £6,000 run for Tearfund

Martin Saunders

H Joel, aged six, raised thousands for Tearfund.

Engagement in poverty and justice issues for UK church leaders travelling to see Tearfund’s overseas work Life-changing transformation in Ethiopia achieved by self-help groups run by Tearfund’s church-based partners

PRAYER PULSE Prayer is the heartbeat of Tearfund

Thousands of people in Assam state, India, forced from their homes after the worst flooding in years Tearfund’s Unearth the truth campaign, lobbying the EU for anti-corruption legislation to govern extractive industries

Latest prayer news at www.tearfund.org/pray teartimes autumn 2012

You could fundraise like Joel.

Find out more and be inspired by others at www.tearfund.org/maketime

♥

PRAYING FOR

Tearfund partner the Boaz Trust, Manchester, seeking extra funding for its work with asylum seekers

GIVING THANKS FOR

Generosity of giving to Tearfund’s West Africa food crisis appeal so we can help thousands more across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger

e may only be six, but Joel Saunders has become an internet fundraising sensation for Tearfund. After seeing a Tearfund video, Joel was so struck by the injustice of world poverty that he decided to do a sponsored run.

With help from his dad, Martin, Joel started an online fundraising push that went viral and won the backing of comic actor James Corden.

In late June, Joel, sporting a Tearfund t-shirt, ran two miles – raising nearly £6,000.

Martin says, ‘Joel watched wide-eyed as people all over the world caught hold of his vision. We’re humbled to think of the amazing difference that will be made to the lives of children living in poverty, through the work of Tearfund.’

Andrew McCracken, Tearfund’s UK Director, says, ‘We are overwhelmed with Joel’s support – he’s been a challenge and inspiration to all of us at Tearfund. We’d like to thank the Saunders family for all they are doing.’

‘Joel watched wide-eyed as people all over the world caught hold of his vision.’

Singer Andy tours for Tearfund Campaigner, lover of justice and Christian singer-songwriter Andy Flannagan is touring the UK. Showcasing songs from his brilliant new album, Drowning in the shallow, and sharing his passion for Tearfund, Andy will perform a series of shows in October and November. For dates and venues, visit www.andyflan.com/gigs

7

harvest

Who would Jesus feed?

A hungry world, a starving village or a little boy going to bed every night with an aching, empty stomach? Is that the choice we’re faced with, or is there a bigger, but simpler, solution that goes beyond handouts? On a visit to rural Uganda, Aidan and his dad, Steve, think they’ve found the answer...

Words: Steve Adams Photos: Cally Spittle/Tearfund t’s early 2012. I’m sitting with Aidan, my eight-year-old son, sweltering in the heat of an African afternoon. We’re talking with Jimmy and his son, Francis, who’s two, in Wigweng village, Uganda.

The village’s 300 residents and Pastor Luciano Ogweng have welcomed us like long-lost brothers. I brought Aidan with

I 8

me for the experience, and they’re fascinated by him – they’ve never seen a white child before.

Hollywood, Jesus and hunger If you don’t look too closely, Wigweng village is picturesque. A filmmaker friend tells me it has the thatched mud homes

autumn 2012 teartimes

‘I never have to listen to my children cry as I put them to bed.’

Steve Adams

that Hollywood spends millions recreating in studios. A horrible irony.

‘When the rains do not come, we fear for our lives,’ Jimmy tells us. ‘We have to make bricks from mud to sell for food. My children do not get enough food because it’s running out – and we are still in the dry season.’

Faced with such desperate hunger, I wondered what Jesus would do, right here and now, as Jimmy talked. Would he strike a rock and bring forth water to grow crops?

teartimes autumn 2012

Multiply their week’s worth of stored maize into a year’s worth? (But wouldn’t he have to come back and do it every year?)

It is a tough question. But as the central motivation for everything we do at Tearfund, it’s something we must keep asking. That’s because we don’t think you can deal with physical hunger without dealing with the hunger of the soul. So here I am, wondering what Jesus would do, as Aidan and I pray with Jimmy and Francis.

9

harvest Called to do great things Two days later, the answer hit me. In John 14:12, Jesus tells his disciples they will do even greater things than him. You’ll do what I’ve done, he announces, but even more.

Presumably, the disciples expected this command to come with a dose of Messiah power to use when they needed it. After all, how could they heal people? Surely, only Jesus can.

But Jesus had planted in them something precious: potential. That’s why, instead of a super power, he left a Counsellor – an adviser – to help the disciples learn for themselves. With more than 40 years of experience, we’ve seen that easy answers, quick fixes like handouts, can sometimes pause poverty. They rarely end it, and often make things worse.

We’ve discovered that what’s needed to end hunger is waiting within all people. God put potential in every human heart. And at Tearfund we’re working with thousands of local village churches to bring knowledge and understanding. The power of God. So people

can start doing the great things Jesus calls us to do by unlocking their potential.

Never walk away Aidan worked this out in minutes. He spent a morning planting seeds with Jimmy, Francis and their family. Afterwards, he asked me how we could help them.

So I told him how Tearfund works. Aidan thought about it, then said, ‘If we buy them a sack of grain, it won’t last long. But if they learn how to grow enough crops, they will live longer. And if they join together as a community, they can share the crops with people who don’t have much food.’

In those sentences, Aidan captured the heart of something we at Tearfund have been pioneering – and which has, over the past five years, had amazing success in poor communities.

It’s called church and community mobilisation. It means we have to be in it for the long haul. To be deeply committed.

To never walk away. But that’s exactly what

‘I wondered what Jesus would do, as Aidan and I prayed with Jimmy and Francis.’

Steve Adams Steve and Aidan praying with Jimmy in Wigweng village, Uganda.

10

autumn 2012 teartimes

‘We’ve discovered that what’s needed to end poverty is waiting within all people.’

Steve Adams

Through our partner Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Tearfund are supporting Wigweng to overcome poverty for good.

In 50 communities across Uganda running church and community mobilisation, the number of people going to bed hungry has been cut in half.

Tearfund is all about: lasting solutions.

Helping people unlock the potential which God has put in them.

We do this by offering training, advice and support – helping communities identify and address the problems that are holding back progress, using the resources they already have. And the support and prayer you provide is vital, as we take this message to the poorest places on earth.

Bedtime blessings Since we’ve come back from Uganda, Aidan and I have prayed each bedtime for the friends we made, particularly Francis.

I never have to listen to my children cry as teartimes autumn 2012

I put them to bed, like Jimmy does. I see Aidan sleeping comfy on his mattress, not lying awkwardly on a straw mat like Francis.

But I also know God is changing things. In 50 communities across Uganda, where we’ve been running church and community mobilisation for just two years, the number of people going to bed hungry has been cut in half. Now, we’re about to begin the process in Wigweng. And that’s just the beginning.

If you care about where you invest your money, Aidan and I can recommend church and community mobilisation. Because it unlocks the potential that God has put in rich and poor alike.

What you can do Supporting communities through Tearfund, you can tear poverty out of villages like Wigweng. It starts with you tearing out the form in the middle of these pages now.

11

GEORGE FORGOT TO PUT THE BINS OUT AGAIN You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends And we’ve got some great friends here at Tearfund. We love Ecotricity and our other partners, whose policies align closely with our own. Ecotricity are such good friends that they make a donation every time one of our friends switches to their services. AND until the 23rd of October they’ll double every donation - that means a whopping £80 for every new sign up! Now there’s something worth remembering. Don’t be like George and forget the household chores: switch providers today.

To find out more and sign up, go to www.tearfund.org/friends or call 0845 355 8355.

TEARFUND’S VISION: Five years of progress — thanks to you

- A story of perseverance versus poverty by Peter Shaw

Tearfund’s ten-year vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.

You joined us on this journey in 2006, the first steps towards our vision of Jesus moving among the world’s poorest people through his church.

Less than two years later, the worst economic crisis in our generation shook the world. But still

you persisted. You gave. You prayed. You spoke out as if your lives depended on it. Across the world, millions of lives did depend on it.

We want to give you a small snapshot of the amazing progress so far. The story starts in a small rural village in southern Malawi: Fombe...

Page 2

MAK IN G PRO GR ESS: Why we’ve left Fombe

‘Fombe is developing without the need for our regular assistance.’

Cathy James was part of the team that founded Eagles Relief and Development, a Tearfund partner in the Chikwawa district, southern Malawi. Eagles was set up to support desperately poor villages in the area following the devastating famine in 2002. Fombe village was among the hardest hit.

‘There is a momentum of change in the village, planted in the heart of its people.’ says Cuthbert from Eagles. ‘Fombe is developing without the need for our regular assistance.

‘Malnutrition in Fombe was severe, particularly among the under-fives,’ says Cathy. ‘The vast majority of children were seriously malnourished. Most people ate less than one meal a day. They were digging in the dirt for grubs and roots to eat.

‘They understand how to seek and achieve the goals needed to support the community to thrive. That stems from their understanding and commitment to Jesus, and each other. All of this has been achieved through the church. They no longer need us as much as they did.’

‘The few crops they grew were often stolen by people from nearby starving villages.

Families were desperate. There were no toilets in the whole community. The villagers wore ragged clothes and they were very passive and dependent. I remember someone telling me: “There is no hope for Fombe. They are just useless.” So we started to pray and act.’

When I visited Fombe in 2009, I was shocked too. It was my first Tearfund trip and my first real encounter with poverty overseas. But, to my surprise, the place was buzzing with activity.

A group of 20 villagers sat under a tree in the centre of the community, telling their stories and singing songs about living with HIV. They were free from stigma and encouraged to seek treatment.

Yet, just a few years on, Fombe no longer needed our day-to-day work. We keep monitoring developments in the village through Eagles, but they have decided to concentrate on offering support to more needy communities in the area.

I saw an ‘ideal toilet exhibition’, a series of latrines for people to choose from, a humble (but hygienic) hole in the ground with a clay lid, to a toilet block complete with brick walls and

Page 3

a thatched roof. And in the centre, the amazing Pastor Harry fashioning hundreds of bricks to build his community while building the church through love and support.

The Sunday service was humming with vibrant praise to God and people giving out of the little they had to support those in need. This was all as a result of church and community mobilisation – our vision in action.

THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES RESISTING POVERTY Some might say, ‘That’s just one village, one church doing what it should do.’ But we’ve spent time recording how many churches have picked up and run with Tearfund’s vision. Our very best measure shows that about 67,000 churches worldwide are doing the same, including 7,000 here in the UK. Thanks to you. That’s tens of thousands of local congregations refusing to let poverty blight their communities, like in Fombe. And that’s just the communities we can measure.

In the same way, we believe that 15 million people have benefited from the work of local churches and communities, working to reduce poverty and build resilience – sustainably and holistically. All thanks to your support for Tearfund over the past five years.

should we try to. And we don’t want to spend so much time counting that we neglect the tremendously important work we’re carrying out on your behalf. Because, while you can’t count the movement of the kingdom of God, you can count on it.

A PICTURE OF PROGRESS SO FAR

Over the page is a picture illustrating the progress we’ve made over the past five years.

Please display it somewhere prominent, pin it to your church noticeboard, use it to give thanks for what we’ve all achieved over the first five years.

Above all, let it inspire you to commit to pressing on towards the vision over the next few years.

We wanted to share these statistics to inspire you and show how enormously thankful we are to you, and pass on the gratitude of millions of people who are starting to experience life to the full through your generosity. These are the best figures we have but we are under no illusion that these are just a snapshot.

While you can see the fruit in people’s lives, you can’t measure what goes on in people’s hearts or their commitment to Jesus. Nor

In the last part of this booklet, we will show you why changing unjust laws and promoting fair policies is absolutely key to achieving the ten-year vision. We’ll also show you how we have responded tirelessly to some of the worst disasters affecting poor communities in the past five years.

Tearfund’s Te T ear a fu un ndd’s ’ ten-year ten en-yea -yyea ear vision vissiion vi n is is to ssee e 5 ee 50 0 million m llllio mi ion io n people peop pe oppllee released rel elea eeaase sedd from from o maatteeri m r al al and and nd sspiritual p ri pi ritu tu ual poverty pov over erty er ty tthrough h ou hr o gh g a worldwide wor o ld ldwi wide wi de network net e wo w rk of of material 10 1 100,000 00, 00 00 00 lo llocal occaal ch chur churches. urrch urch hes es.. Fi Five ivvee years yeeaars r on... on. n......

FOR LLIVES FOR IVES TTRANSFORMED RANSFORMED OOVER VER FFIVE IVE YYEARS EARS

THANK YOU

CHANGED

Policies and practices changed at local, national and international levels, resulting in transformation in the lives of poor and vulnerable people

LIVES TRANSFORMED

People living in communities that can demonstrate longer-term positive changes to their livelihoods, health, relationships and natural environment

Churches living out faith in Jesus in every aspect of life, recognising that people are more than their hunger or despair – they are made in God’s image

People who can face the future positively, with hope, following natural or man-made disasters – equipped with basic commodities, resources and skills

PEOPLE SUPPORTED FOLLOWING DISASTERS

15 MILLION 100 POLICIES 6 MILLION

CHURCHES HAVE BEEN ENVISIONED

67,000

Page 6

FIGHTIN G CO RRUP TI ON Bringing justice

Travelling home from Fombe across Blantyre, we were stopped by a roadblock as a motorcade of Mercedes passed by. I asked who was being transported, and the answer sent a chill: ‘Mugabe.’ It was a reminder that local progress can easily be wiped out by corrupt governments. Just last year, Bingu wa Mutharika, then President of Malawi, started acting solely out of self-interest, prompting people to draw comparisons with Zimbabwe under Mugabe.

In response in March this year, Malawian church leaders from all denominations sent out an ultimatum to the president, demanding his resignation within 60 days and free elections to follow.

CHURCHES CALL FOR JUSTICE It was an amazing demonstration of the church standing up to injustice. Before the ultimatum expired President Mutharika died of a a heart attack. Malawi’s new president, Joyce Banda, has rejected the excesses of her predecessor,

electing instead to sell the presidential jet and fleet of luxury cars.

But the warning from Malawi is clear: progress at local level can only thrive through just laws at all levels. That’s why we are excited to report that over the past five years, our work in conjunction with our partners, allies and coalitions has led to over 100 unjust practices being changed or fair policies being implemented. These changes have resulted in improved lives and freedom from unjust laws for millions of people at local, national and international level in conjunction with our partners and allies .

You prayed and responded to God’s call to speak out against injustice. In 2009, during Tearfund’s Make life flow water and sanitation campaign, the Department for International Development received 100,000 letters and cards about water and sanitation, more than for anything else.

Thank you for standing up for justice.

Page 7

FI VE YEA RS O F D ET ER MI N ATI ON Against disaster Across the world, the past five years have seen a catalogue of natural and man-made disasters which have hit the poorest hardest. Still fresh in all our minds, the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti in early 2010 killed 316,000 people, injured 300,000 and left 1,000,000 homeless.

Thanks to partners already in Haiti and through funds set aside for emergencies, Tearfund was able to mobilise quickly — concentrating particularly on rural communities which very few other agencies were able to reach.

Thanks to you generously giving £3 million, we were able to clear roads, provide jobs and reopen schools. We’re still there, and we’ll be there as long as it takes.

We believe some 6 million people devastated by disasters – such as those in Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and South Sudan – have been reached by Tearfund and our partners. Your outpouring of prayer and provision has enabled us to be at the forefront of disaster response over the last five years.

Pressing on...

So thank you on behalf of the 21 million people who have been reached with practical support in the name of Jesus since 2006, 15 million through church and community mobilisation and 6 million through disaster response. And the many millions more released from unjust laws.

With less than five years to go, we’re asking you to stick with us, and hold firm to that vision. We believe we are currently on track to exceed the target of working through a network of 100,000 churches. But we need to run the race to the finish. There can be no slowing down.

That’s because we can’t predict where disasters will take place. We cannot be sure how far and wide the spread of church and community mobilisation will be. But we can be certain that together we can release millions more people from poverty, for good. We will change unjust laws at all levels. And help thousands more communities to thrive, not just survive.

Thank you for being, and staying, part of a miracle.

Page 8

REPORT BACK ON PROGRESS 2011-2012 We are now in the first year of the final five years of Tearfund’s ten-year vision. Thank you for continuing to bless Tearfund. Despite the difficult economic environment, this year we received our largest-ever income.

We are particularly grateful for the amazing response to our South Sudan and West Africa crisis appeals. Income from gifts in wills has been a particular blessing this year, and we thank God for people who chose to leave a legacy to Tearfund.

Despite these encouraging results, the economic environment we are all facing is tough. This has affected the giving to our general activities. We are encouraging our supporters to give regularly to Tearfund and, internally, we continue to focus on making sure we are efficient in all our operations – making sure we spend your money wisely.

2%

2011-2012 IN FIGURES

18% 45%

INCOME 2011-2012 General donations Government grants Emergency appeals Other income TOTAL INCOME

£31.7m £24.1m £12.8m £1.7m £70.3m

34%

9% 6% 4%

EXPENDITURE 2011-2012 33%

CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE — Developing communities — Responding to disasters — Changing unjust policies & practices — Envisioning the local church FUNDRAISING & GOVERNANCE TOTAL EXPENDITURE

£58.9m £21.3m £31m £2.4m £4.2m £6.1m £65m

48%

Photos from this centre section are all individuals and partners from across the world supported by Tearfund over the past five years.

Page 1 Richard Hanson/Tearfund, page 2 Marcus Perkins/Tearfund, page 3 Richard Hanson/Tearfund, pages 4 & 5 Richard Hanson/Tearfund (both), page 6 Layton Thompson/Tearfund (top), Jim Loring/Tearfund (bottom), page 7 Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund

campaigns Locusts for lunch: what villagers are forced to eat in Kaiwa Ganwo village, Niger, because of food shortages.

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD? ’

There is enough food in the world today to feed everyone.

Yet nearly 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night.

That’s an outrage we won’t allow to continue. Will you join us?

Words: Laura Selman Photos: Richard Hanson/Tearfund epending on whom you ask, the UK's favourite meal is either fish and chips, chicken tikka masala or the classic Sunday roast. Whichever one is your dish of choice, you’ve got to marvel at the variety of foods and flavours most of us can enjoy.

In many of the countries where Tearfund’s partners work, the idea of a ‘favourite food’ is a luxury people rarely experience. If you were one of the 925 million people around the world who’ll go to bed hungry tonight, the only thing that would matter would be if your family ate at all.

Take Burkina Faso, West Africa, where hunger is blighting the lives of 2.85 million people.

Farmer Ouedraogo Yacouba has had to abandon his land after his harvest failed and

D

teartimes autumn 2012

seek work in a local gold mine. His wife and family have resorted to eating leaves to try to quash their hunger pangs.

Hunger is blighting the lives of 2.85 million in Burkina Faso.

Bringing global change Yet when we come together with prayer, dedication and political will, we know we can bring change on a global scale. Since 1990, we’ve ensured 2 billion more people can access cleaner water.

The number of people living in extreme poverty is declining in every part of the world.

Hunger is one of the world’s most solvable 13

campaigns problems and it’s time to challenge the assumption that hunger and poverty go hand in hand.

The psalmist’s invitation to all people is to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8). Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never go thirsty’ (John 6:35). Yet it will be hard for those words to take on their full meaning in the hearts of people whose stomachs ache from lack of food.

‘Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.’ John 6:35 Tackling hunger in 2013 Next year offers us the opportunity to tackle our broken food system. The UK will chair the G8, and world leaders will be coming here to debate a new set of development goals.

This is an opening for us, as church, to remind world leaders that we care about development and are looking to see them deliver on their promises to help communities adapt to climate change.

It’s a chance to ensure that small farmers like Ouedraogo are able to grow enough nutritious food. It’s also an opportunity to take steps that will enable citizens in poor countries to hold their governments and international companies to account for their role in fighting hunger.

As we pray, speak out and act on the injustice of hunger, we can expect to be joined by a chorus of other voices. Tearfund has been talking with friends at Christian Aid, CAFOD, Oxfam and elsewhere because 2013 is a

Nine-month-old Karima, who is severely malnourished, being weighed at a medical health centre in Soukoukoutan, Niger.

chance for us all to stand up for a fairer food system.

There will be things to do where you are, with your family and church, and resources to help you. It all starts in January 2013, so here’s how you can get ready: PRAY: for the UK government. Ask God to prepare decision makers to tackle the root causes of hunger at every opportunity next year, especially when they chair the G8.

THINK: about how you, your friends, family and church would like to get involved.

GO: to www.tearfund.org/campaigns and find out the latest plans and dates for your 2013 diary.

Three key reasons why people go hungry: Increased floods and droughts caused by climate change push already vulnerable communities such as Ouedraogo’s village, Konbindo, beyond their limits.

Since 2008, the price of basic staples, including rice, maize and wheat, has been rising to record levels, forcing many poor people to spend more than 80 per cent of their income on food.

Resources which could tackle hunger or support farmers are going missing because deals done in secret can’t be tracked by citizens.

14

autumn 2012 teartimes

christmas resources

Wondrous gifts Brighten up your Christmas with Tearfund With everything from films and children's activities to fairly traded gifts and Christmas cards, you can celebrate the birth of Jesus and demonstrate your faith in action this Christmas…

Cally Spittle/Tearfund

Words: Ruth Labaki

‘I believe you must be thankful because God can provide and answers your needs.’

Lucy Apollot with the four grandchildren she looks after – Canna and Noah, aged two, Hilda, aged seven, and David, aged 11 – outside their home in Ogongora village, Uganda.

With love from Uganda Bring the Christmas message alive in your church n a small village in the heart of Uganda, one grandmother knows what it means to struggle. Ever since her husband and children died, Lucy has taken care of her four grandchildren. Despite her age, she farms daily to provide for her young family and works as a labourer for money.

Normal life is a challenge – Lucy and the children share one meal of cassava a day,

I

teartimes autumn 2012

and this usually comes from neighbours or the church. In the dry season, even this is scarce.

‘The children do go to bed hungry,’ says Lucy. ‘When we go to bed without food, I always thank God because he calls us to thank him even at times of trouble – I believe you must be thankful because God can provide and answers your needs.’

15

christmas resources

Free resources for your church Lucy’s moving story and the work being done in Ogongora are all featured in Tearfund’s free Christmas resources – where you will see how the local church is answering the call to lead the way, and how a new chapter of transformation is unfolding in the village.

Order the pack today using the form opposite and be part of their incredible journey of faith, hope and love.

You can download a short film online which takes you right to the heart of Ogongora village. You’ll meet Lucy and see the steps the local church is taking to change her future and her grandchildren’s for good.

You can also download extra resources, such as a poster, children’s colouring sheets and a film activity. Visit www.tearfund.org/ christmas to see what’s available and be part of a story of transformation and hope today.

‘I ask the church to unite as the body of Christ, to help one another to come out of poverty.’

16

Brenda Wilkinson

Lucy’s prayers answered Lucy’s faith gave her strength, but she dreamed of a better future. ‘I believe the church, if it joins together, will be able to end this poverty,’ she says. ‘I ask the church to unite as the body of Christ, to help one another to come out of poverty, and then, after they have that transformation, they can work with their community to help it change for the better.’

At last Lucy’s prayers are being answered.

Poverty had reigned unchallenged in Ogongora village for generations. But all that was about to change. Tearfund has begun working through her local church, envisioning and empowering it to care for the physical and spiritual needs around it.

Through training and mentoring, the church is helping the people of Ogongora reach their God-given potential. Lucy now owns a small business selling fish. It’s still early days, but the relief and peace she now feels for the future are overwhelming.

Mohanna appreciates the love and support she receives from Haven of Hope, a Created supplier in India.

Get Created Quality Christmas presents that bring quality of life inding the right Christmas gift can be hard work – especially when, in tough times, money needs to go further, work harder and do as much good as possible. Choosing a present from Created this Christmas can make that happen.

Created is a central part of Tearfund – working with businesses and organisations around the world who share our values of generating employment and income in poor communities.

These beautiful, high-quality gifts are available to buy, each one with a unique story to tell...

F

Here are some stories of the amazing artisans behind the wondrous gifts in the Created catalogue: Intricate needlework The Haven of Hope handicraft centre, India, is a place of training, employment and hope for more than 130 women and teenage girls, focusing on embroidery, cross-stitch, tailoring, cutting, patchwork and machine work.

Mohanna is one of them. She came to Haven of Hope in 1994 from a poor background and with little education. The training and employment opportunities she has received have changed her life. She has also been blessed by the love, support and prayer of her fellow workers. autumn 2012 teartimes

Fiona Weatherhead/Tearfund

Mario Rietveld/Manos Amigas

Thanks to Created supplier Manos Amigas, Noemi now gets a fair price for her miniature Nativity scenes.

The future's brighter for Guyani thanks to her job with Gospel House Handicrafts, a Created supplier in Sri Lanka.

Traditional toys This beautiful wooden jigsaw (below) is from Gospel House Handicrafts in Sri Lanka. Guyani is one of the puzzle sanders. Her job involves taking apart every uniquely cut puzzle and sanding and cleaning each piece. The work with Gospel House has enabled her family to develop their house from a small shack to a stable brick-built home for the future.

Created offers beautiful, high-quality gifts, each one with a unique story to tell.

Teeny Nativity Noemi, from Peru, makes intricate miniature Nativity scenes. She and her family design, mould and skilfully paint the tiny figures.

Before she worked for Created’s partner Manos Amigas, she found herself exploited and her ideas stolen by other commercial buyers who refused to pay for her work.

Now she is able to get a fair price and support herself and her family.

With Created gifts, the artisans get a sustainable income, and those who buy and receive their crafts play a part in transforming communities lifted out of poverty. It’s the perfect recipe for a great Christmas present! You can order gifts and Christmas cards through the Created catalogue enclosed with Tear Times or from the website www.createdgifts.org

teartimes autumn 2012

17

REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

afghanistan

Car bombs are a regular feature of life in Afghanistan. Despite the dangers, Tearfund is reaching out to its people.

CALLED TO KABUL: why Tearfund is staying put in Afghanistan Joel Hafvenstein gives a gripping account of his time working in Afghanistan as Tearfund’s Programme Director. He captures the commitment of his team and the incredible impact of prayer in this war-torn country.

Words: Joel Hafvenstein ‘

ango one, now departing Kilo Golf for Zulu Echo twelve. Over.’ Radio control responds calmly that they have my location. I sit back in the battered Toyota Corolla and wonder which route we’ll take to the office today.

My code name ‘Tango one’ is essential to my survival. I live and work in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The radio centre tracks the location of everyone in my team. When I leave my house, I radio in; when I arrive at my office, I radio in.

We vary our route every day to reduce the risk of kidnapping. A red alert will sound immediately if anyone goes missing.

T

18

Joel Hafvenstein

Sounds intense? It is. But I am here because I love this country.

It’s stunningly beautiful – a mountainous landscape with multi-coloured crags and vibrant green valleys. The Afghan people are gentle and welcoming. Their appreciation of natural beauty is beyond anything I have experienced before. Unbelievable though it sounds, it’s not uncommon to see tough mercenaries wearing a delicate flower behind their ear.

In this country of beauty and destruction, there is room to do so much good – that’s why I’m here. autumn 2012 teartimes

Committed through prayer Tearfund has served for years in Kandahar, the epicentre of the Taliban. It is extremely unstable when I first take over as Programme Director. Everyone is asking, ‘Should we be staying?’

Yet the foundation of our team is prayer.

Despite the fear and uncertainty, the team believe that as long as God is calling them to this country, they should remain.

I’m shocked. Tearfund and our partner organisations are among the few NGOs still operating in Kandahar, and my assumption has been that the team know something no one else does. But on my first day I find out the truth. The reason why we have not left this violent city is that we believe God has called us to serve here.

My reaction? I’m scared. I tell God, ‘Unless I hear the same call, we’re out of there.’

Shortly after, I travel to the drought-ravaged north of Afghanistan. The situation is painful.

But I spend an amazing evening praying with our partner organisations.

That night I wake to rain hammering down on the roof. Lying there, I feel an odd certainty that this is the answer to my prayer.

We are called to be the rain in Afghanistan.

It’s the only time it rains in the north that summer.

We stay in Afghanistan, in a country torn by war. We stay in Kandahar. We take precautions and aren’t foolish – we diligently carry out radio checks, anti-kidnap measures and risk assessments. But we stay, believing that God has called us and we will be committed to his call – whatever it takes.

‘We stay in Kandahar because God has called us to be there.’

A decision worth millions Our work includes distributing seed and goats to people who have fled to Kandahar – families who have lost everything and now find themselves living in a city with gunfights and suicide bombers. teartimes autumn 2012

The displaced communities have no choice but to remain, and our decision to stay speaks volumes to the people we’re working with.

One elder from a displaced community tells us, ‘We know that God is with Tearfund because you have stayed here and helped us and no one has touched you.’ While we don’t believe God has promised us physical safety, we’re thankful for every day we’re able to serve people – and that they recognise the reason why we’ve stayed.

It breaks my heart to see kids dying of diarrhoea, with no access to clean water. But in response we bring in the biosand water filter. It’s the first of its kind in Afghanistan.

When we train people to make it locally, the uptake and results are amazing.

One village leader is bowled over by the difference the filter makes. ‘My stomach and kidney problems have gone,’ he says. ‘I wish you’d come 40 years earlier because of the difference it’s made in my life.’

‘It breaks my heart to see kids dying of diarrhoea, with no access to clean water.’

We believe in offering support that will build up resilience and give communities the ability to cope. Wherever possible, we hunt for the resources we need to make sure the right support is given. We don’t settle for second best.

Life in Afghanistan is not easy but, despite the pain and suffering, I hold on to Habakkuk 3:17–18: ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.’

Rocket-propelled grenades come dangerously close to the Tearfund office. But we choose to stay on. The result? Thousands have access to clean water and droughtresistant crops. I will never regret our commitment to stay.

19

Q&A with church leader Mark Powley Mark Powley is Associate Rector of St George’s Church in Leeds.

He’s a founder of Breathe, a Christian network for simpler living, and his book, Consumer detox, encourages Christians to break free from consumerism. Mark is married to Ailsa and they have four children. Here he offers insight into how, when it comes to God’s church, we are all connected.

Interview: Isobel Peaty

Church vs consumerism Why we must seek after true wealth You recently travelled to Uganda with Tearfund. What led you to go on that trip?

I’d long been thinking about speaking for Tearfund. St George’s had just begun to support them and find a way to relate to issues of poverty. When the opportunity came up for me to go, as part of equipping speakers for Tearfund, it just seemed ideal.

What’s stayed with you about the church’s work in the community you visited?

I was struck by how we’re all part of the same thing. How we all have things that can benefit each other. I saw the complexity of poverty and riches – how poor people can be rich and rich people can be poor. There was so much joy and thankfulness. Thankfulness is dulled in our consumer culture. It’s not that it’s bad to have things, but we have lost our sense of gratitude.

This community had seen a massive move of God. Because of Tearfund’s work, the church had found its purpose – people had started to turn to Christ. They’d helped some of the lads in the community. When I told them we had the same problem with disempowered youths at home, they couldn’t believe it – that we could be so wealthy and still have kids sitting around and getting up to no good. It proved the 20

point they’d been learning: it doesn’t matter what resources you’ve got – if you can’t see them, it doesn’t help.

‘Thankfulness is dulled in our consumer culture.’

Tearfund works through the local church in poor communities. Did anything strike you about how effective this is?

We saw pastors being trained on the job, learning how to fully live the gospel, beginning to ask, ‘What does this community need?’

Tearfund is training pastors, helping people face real-life issues, so the church has caught a wave of a community revival. Churches are coming alive, communities are being blessed – you could feel it.

Your book, Consumer detox, is about finding liberating patterns of living in a consumer culture. Did your time with people so materially poor influence your thinking about that more?

It confirmed that in a village where there is community, people do have a greater openness to God. I felt I was there, in a sense, autumn 2012 teartimes

'I saw the complexity of poverty and riches – how poor people can be rich and rich people can be poor.'

Jamie Fyleman/Tearfund

Church leader Mark Powley recently visited Tearfund partners in Uganda.

to warn them to learn from us – true wealth is not spending your life at home watching telly or ignoring your neighbours. There are consumer traps that I hope Africa will avoid and consumer blessings that I hope Africa will access.

the worst elements of consumerism, because prayer is all about thankfulness.

What are the main things you really want to convey to UK churches when you talk to them?

We’re richer together. If you want to get in with Consumerism has such a grip on our society, God’s riches, get in with what God’s doing. And and the problems of poverty are so huge. it’s about understanding that it truly is better How can Christians avoid paralysis in the face to give than to receive. of all the suffering and poverty in the world?

We need to avoid the extremes of guilt and excuses. We often excuse ourselves too easily.

Most people know how they should live; they just never get together with others and say, ‘Come on, let’s do this.’ Sometimes, idealism is the enemy of taking practical steps, so for me the metaphor is always a journey – one step, then another. The Bible’s clear: we’re made to live thankfully. The church is vital in resisting

Do you have hope for the future?

Ha! I have absolute and total hope. Every time the church shows compassion, or a church from the rich West reaches out and gets blessed by a church in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s a sign that God’s kingdom is coming. I can’t bring it: God has promised to bring it. It doesn’t rest on me: it rests on God. That’s why I have total hope.

Book a speaker Tearfund has a dedicated team of inspirational church speakers located across the UK. If you’d like a Tearfund speaker for an event, a conference or a regular Sunday service, please call 0845 521 0021 or email churches@tearfund.org

teartimes autumn 2012

21

IN O J

G I B

E H T

D

E R

M A

WE HAVE A DREAM, THAT ONE DAY ALL GOD’S PEOPLE WILL RISE UP AND END POVERTY FOR GOOD. On 29 September, we will unite with thousands of other Christians at the National Day of Prayer and Worship 2012.

TEARFUND WILL BE THERE. WILL YOU? 29 September 2012. Wembley Stadium.

Please don’t miss out.

Visit www.tearfund.org/nationalprayer to book today.

‘Prayer is our greatest weapon against poverty and injustice.’ Matthew Frost, Tearfund Chief Executive

*'23 77 $GYHUW ),1$/ $: LQGG

reflection

Layton Thompson/Tearfund

Children in Ogongora village, Uganda, where the church is transforming lives through Tearfund's partner Pentecostal Assemblies of God. Clive Mear/Tearfund

Five years on and the local church is taking ground When we launched Tearfund’s ten-year vision in 2007, we knew we were going against the grain. By putting local churches at the centre, we were defying the trends and expectations of how to tackle extreme poverty. But we knew that even if it wasn’t the easy thing, it was the right thing.

Words: Matthew Frost, Chief Executive

T

he reason why we were so determined to anchor our vision on local churches is that church is the movement of Jesus on earth. By studying scripture, particularly the life and teachings of Jesus, and by following his prompting, we felt compelled to choose the local church. Because churches are the most extraordinary agents for change in the world.

We had evidence five years ago that this was true. Now there can be little doubt – see the pull-out section for all the evidence you need.

If anything, local churches have far exceeded our expectations of how much they can transform communities. When I visited Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Uganda, I was amazed by how mobilising churches was holistic, empowering, low-cost and – above all – effective. It works. And because it works, it spreads.

Umoja, a booklet Tearfund produced that sets out church and community mobilisation, has gone off the scale. It’s been passed on to so many countries and communities, been translated into so many languages, that it’s hard to keep count. But that’s a great place to be. People are excited because it’s simple and successful. teartimes autumn 2012

Similar grassroots people-empowering projects are also taking off beyond our expectations. There are now 11,000 self-help groups in Ethiopia, providing income and livelihoods to nearly 1 million people – and still growing. At a cost of around 50p per person, it’s proved highly effective.

But we still have a long way to go. If you haven’t already, please consider making a regular monthly commitment to our work.

We need dedicated people to support us, month in, month out. In return, you’ll see for yourself how individual lives are being transformed. See the tear-out form between pages 8 and 9 for full details.

Get in touch with us! www.tearfund.org Email: enquiries@tearfund.org Tel: 0845 355 8355 100 Church Road, Teddington, TW11 8QE Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland)

Challenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow, G4 0AD T y^ Catherine, Capel Cildwrn, Llangefni, Ynys Môn, LL77 7NN 241 Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 1AF

23

‘Every night, we put Francis to bed hungry,’ says Jimmy from Wigweng, Uganda. £10 each month means another person can stop going to bed hungry – not just today but for the rest of their lives.

Read the story of our visit to Uganda and find out how you can help beat hunger, month in, month out, on page 8. www.tearfund.org/endhunger

Photo: Cally Spittle/Tearfund Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland) 30068-(0912)