Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017

Empowering and inspiring children and young peopleThanks to your support, Bore Place can work with children and young people of all ages and abilities to explore complex global issues such as injustice, poverty and sustainability and how each person can make a difference in our interconnected and interdependent world.

The Commonwork team at Bore Place Organic Diary Farm in Edenbridge, Kent educates, empowers and inspires visitors to be global citizens. Bore Place works with schools, teachers and young people to understand how the world and those living in it are all interconnected and interdependent.

The team offers an experiential learning programme which explores global issues such as injustice, conflict, poverty, peace building and sustainability. Young people learn from hands-on activities that promote confidence, critical thinking, independence and skills.

Schools that visit get a chance to experience a working organic farm while learning about where food comes from, purchasing power and how what we eat and buy is connected to global issues such as poverty and justice. The teacher training, assemblies and residentials at Bore Place work to embed justice and sustainability into school life.

Hands-on, work-related and therapeutic sessions are offered to vulnerable young people aged 16 and over with personal and mental health issues. The aim is to give them a real opportunity to engage in education and develop skills so they can transition more confidently to the next stage of their lives.

As well as its work with schools, teachers and young people, Bore Place also has an ongoing relationship with a variety of community groups. For example, people with physical disabilities and special needs visit the farm weekly to gain skills and independence while enjoying all that nature has to offer. Bore Place also runs a series of weekend and holiday activities for young people with additional needs and their families. This means children and young people can develop skills, confidence and self-esteem in fun and engaging ways, while parents can have some respite, benefiting from parent support and reconnecting in a new environment.

Photos: James Clarke UK Registered Charity Number 275151

Children learning where our food comes from.

At Bore Place, young people grow in confidence and independence.

Young people learning about the environment and our impact on it.

Empowering and inspiring the next generation.

www.boreplace.com

Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017

Monitoring deforestation in ArgentinaDeforestation is having a dramatic impact on Argentina. Fragile forests are being cleared to raise cattle and grow soybeans. This isn’t just a concern to environmentalists, but also to indigenous people who are being forcibly removed from the land. But thanks to your support, things are changing.Andrew and Maria Leake are Church Mission Society (CMS) mission partners based in Chaco province. Through research and monitoring of deforestation, they have been able to raise awareness of the harmful impact that deforestation is having on the environment and indigenous people.

Andrew founded the charity Land4Life in 2005. Land4life stands alongside the local churches as they seek to care for creation and stand up for their land ownership rights. Together they highlight the theological implications of caring for creation and lobby the country’s decision makers on the harmful effects of environmental degradation on communities.

New centre teaches people about deforestation In addition to raising awareness, Andrew and Maria have recently begun developing a centre to support Christian leaders and environmental professionals to link their faith and the environment. The centre aims to reduce Christians’ contributions to climate change by raising awareness, education and practical conservation work. This is a joint venture between Land4Life and the Anglican Diocese of Northern Argentina.

Deforestation rates fallAccording to a recent report released by Greenpeace Argentina, the area affected by deforestation in northern Argentina has reduced by 50%. Although this is good news for the environment and for indigenous people, Andrew is

cautious: ‘we must ensure that corporate interests do not push back on legislative progress already made.’

Andrew continues to research the effects of deforestation and seeks to empower Christian leaders in protecting both God’s creation and God’s people.

Photos: La Caldera CMS UK Registered Charity Number 1131655 Company number 6985330

Andrew discusses the need to consult indigenous people and farmers on forest conservation with a government Minister.

The La Caldera retreat centre raises awareness of climate change and conservation issues in Northern Argentina.

churchmissionsociety.org

Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017

Feeding families in Burkina FasoLife is hard in drought-ridden Burkina Faso, with many families experiencing hunger on a daily basis. But thanks to your support over the past two years, lives are being transformed. Nine out of 10 people in Burkina Faso rely on farming both as their main source of income but also for the food that they eat. Due to almost four decades of drought, dwindling water supplies have caused widespread suffering and hardship. The project you’ve been supporting has helped 45 villages to overcome these terrible conditions and to thrive.

Pauline faced an uphill struggle to feed her family. After her husband died, she was left to provide for her children on her own. This would be a difficult task for anyone, but even more so for a women living in rural Burkina Faso. Women rely on their husbands as the main breadwinners. Without this income, Pauline and her children faced a bleak future.

However, thanks to Christian Aid’s partner Office de Développement Eglises Evangéliques (ODE), Pauline now has a plot to grow rice, and she’s received seeds, tools and training. Pauline says that she no longer buys all of her food in the market because her family are able to eat the rice that they’ve grown. Last season was the first time Pauline had grown rice, but she still harvested an amazing 250kg!

‘I sincerely thank all of you who support the project,’ Pauline says. ‘May God reward your kindness. May you be able to continue to help other people in difficult situations.’

And with your help, that is exactly what we’ll do! By supporting this year’s Poverty and Hope Appeal, you will enable Christian Aid partners in Burkina Faso to help even more people to respond to challenging weather conditions.

Thank you so much for enabling more people in Burkina Faso to thrive, not just survive.

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Christian Aid and the Diocese of Rochester and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Photo: Christian Aid UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525. christianaid.org.uk

Thank you for giving and praying for this life changing work. And don’t forget, every £1 you raise will be matched with £10 more by the EU. So you have 10 times as many reasons to give!

Please pray with us:

• Pray for Burkina Faso, where severe droughts have made it very difficult for communities to grow enough food.

• Pray for the safety of Christian Aid partners and farmers who survive off the land, particularly in the face of ongoing security issues across the country.

• Pray for a bountiful harvest and that local people will be blessed.

Pauline with her bumper crop of rice.

Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017

Making the voices of the poor heardWith a legacy of civil war and corruption, and as one of the poorest countries in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is known for all the wrong reasons. But a project in Maniema province is helping millions of people in relentless poverty to make their voices heard.To pull a country out of such deep-rooted poverty takes more than easy solutions. Real and lasting change can only come about when the authorities work for the people, and when the people’s voice is heard. Where local communities and authorities are not working together, a climate of fear and lack of dialogue mean the needs of citizens are not met. The spiral of ineffective government and increasing poverty continues.

Christian Aid is working with The Episcopal Justice and Peace Committee in the east of the DRC, an area where communities have lived in constant fear of fighting and human rights abuses. Although the area has seen extensive mining by companies extracting a range of precious metals and minerals, local communities have got little back. In fact, they find their livelihoods and environment damaged as a result of this destructive work.

In the past, the lack of communication between local communities and leaders has meant that laws or projects do not always help the communities in the right way, or miss out on meeting the biggest needs.

This project will make sure that ordinary people are listened to by their representatives and that their hopes and challenges are reflected in policy and budgets. It will also help provincial leaders to feel valued, rather than resented.

Petronelle Luvengo has experienced the change this approach can bring from a similar project elsewhere in the country. In her community, three out of four people are jobless and many young people turn to crime, with little chance of finding stable employment. These people have now been included in a community project to find solutions to their challenges, including engaging local authorities to make sure they are aware of the problems faced by the community.

Petronelle says ‘it’s easier [to deal] with short-term solutions like water issues but with this, we need to engage decision makers and make sustainable change.’

Although the project has only been running for a year, we’ve already seen remarkable results.

In Kailu Territory, for example, where water is very scarce, the local committee was able to successfully lobby the government to pay for the maintenance of drinking water sources. This simply could not have happened without the training and guidance of our partner. Thanks to our partner’s

work to facilitate meetings between local people and their government, thousands of people now have access to safe drinking water.

Petronelle works with other members of her community to find solutions to issues such as unemployment.

Thank you for giving and praying for this life changing work. And don’t forget, every £1 you raise will be matched with £10 more by the EU. So you have 10 times as many reasons to give!

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Christian Aid and the Diocese of Rochester and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Photo: Christian Aid UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525. christianaid.org.uk

Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017

Photos: USPG/Leah Gordon USPG Registered charity number 234518 www.uspg.org.uk

Empowering women at risk in DelhiVulnerable women in India’s capital city are being supported to change their lives for the better.

Despite reform and improvement of education in India, large parts of the population are bound by repressive culture. One such norm is the secondary status of women – which is true across the boundaries of language, culture and geography – resulting in oppression, discrimination and violence.

The Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS) have been working in East Delhi to help empower women. Their approach has been adopted as best practice for other organisations to emulate.

The helpline for violence against womenDuring 2016, a round-the-clock women’s helpline set up by DBS received calls from women in distress all across East Delhi. The helpline received nearly 2,000 calls in the first nine months of the year. The government has really appreciated the helpline and has even offered support to cases requiring legal help in order to seek resolution.

The helpline seeks to refer cases of violence against women to a women’s council, called Mahila Panchayat. This council was set up by the Delhi Commission for Women to support women experiencing abuse and injustice.

The greatest number of these cases involved harassments made by husbands or in-laws, including demands for dowrys. In most cases, resolution was gained through counselling and the issue of a warning against such behaviour. In more serious cases, the helpline staff helped to lodge complaints with the police.

Mahila Panchayat meetingsThe Mahila Panchayat provides legal aid for the protection of women and is a partnership between DBS and Delhi’s state government. Two Mahila Panchayat operate in the Seemapuri

and Mandoli slums. The councils hear cases, offer advice and hold counselling sessions. During 2016, the councils sought resolution to cases across a range of issues, such as divorce, dowry demands and property disputes.

Rita and RameshRita and Ramesh, a girl and boy from east Delhi, eloped to get married. Following a search by family members, they were found at a relative’s house. The families involved began to fight, but due to social stigma and perceived shame they didn’t involve the police.

After a time, Ramesh’s parents began to pressurise Rita for a dowry, and she became subject to domestic violence. The situation began to deteriorate to an extent where the entire neighbourhood knew of the situation. Rita was advised by community members to contact the women’s helpline.

Fortunately, the helpline intervened and, following counselling, asked Rita and Ramesh to live together peacefully. Ramesh’s parents were warned not to pressurise or threaten Rita with violence for a dowry, and that they would begin legal action should they be found doing so in future. Ramesh’s parents gave a written promise that they wouldn’t threaten Rita nor seek a dowry.

Across East Delhi, DBS is standing up for vulnerable women, helping them to live with dignity and thrive.

USPG and Delhi Brotherhood Society United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is an Anglican Mission Agency working in partnership with local churches across the globe, with a vision for everyone to experience life in all its fullness.

Its partner DBS help people realise their potential and create their own destiny. Based at a monastery in Delhi, DBS is active in social development. While DBS is a Christian organisation, the women’s councils it supports (such as Mahila Panchayat) are run by community members of all faith backgrounds.

DBS reaches out to disadvantaged people within the communities they serve and are deeply grateful to Rochester Diocese and the Poverty and Hope appeal for your partnership and generous support.

Asha is a member of the women’s council. She supports women experiencing abuse.