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Project Updates

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Campaigns, Community Health & Infant Nutrition (Timor Leste), News
August 24, 2023

Act2 is a major transformational change project focused on shaping the future of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA). As part of the Act2 Project, every Uniting Church member, council and community is being invited to take part.

We’ve contributed our perspective through a written submission, and in an online forum where we were joined by international partners. Rev Dr Cliff Bird from the United Church in the Solomon Islands (UCSI) was a panellist in the forum and shared some generous feedback about what partnership with the UCA has meant to UCSI.

“Our understanding of mission has evolved since we entered into partnership with the Uniting Church in Australia. It has been broadened and enriched as it has moved from a narrowly spiritualistic understanding to a more holistic understanding,” he said. “We now share a greater focus on practical concerns like ending poverty and violence against women and taking faithful action on climate change. These were not seen as core business of the church, but now they are part of our life and understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.”

Rev Dr Bird also pointed to how the partnership has strengthened UCSI as an institution. “Our decision-making processes have improved along with our ability to look inwardly. It has resulted in us becoming more accountable and transparent and create more rigorous policies and procedures. We’re so grateful to be able to share knowledge and expertise, stories and resources back and forth with our partners in Australia as elsewhere.”

In our written submission to Act2, we highlighted some strengths of the UCA and major challenges as we see it. We also provided some ideas for change and how we and our international partners could help:

“As Christianity becomes a minority faith in an increasingly diverse and secular Australia, we have much to learn from our partner churches who come from multifaith contexts, and who fight poverty and injustice with dogged determination without diluting their identity as Christians or being reticent about sharing God’s desire to know and love all people.”

You can read our full submission here.
You can watch the recording of the online International Partnerships and Ecumenical Relationships forum here or read a reflection/summary of the discussions here.

If you’re reading this, you care about the mission of the Uniting Church – please contribute your thoughts and ideas to the Act2 project. Discerning the shape of the UCA in future needs all the wisdom we can gather.

Find out more about the Act2 Project and how you can engage at www.act2uca.com.

 

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News, Pray, Remote Area Education (India)
June 21, 2023

Project overview 

In 2015, UnitingWorld supported our partner church, Church of North India, Diocese of Eastern Himalayas, to build a small school in a remote mountain village in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, enabling boys and girls from neighbouring hills to access good and affordable education.  

The area is steep jungle-covered terrain, with families mostly eking out a subsistence livelihood. To get to school, children previously had  to walk up to four hours through jungle tracks. The dropout rate was very high, especially amongst girls. Young people were at high risk of human trafficking as they sought livelihoods in low-skill jobs. 

We now support this school to fund post-graduate training for their teachers, to enable the school become accreditated for government subsidies. We also contribute towards operating costs, so that they can provide affordable, high quality education for children living in this remote region who cannot afford high fees. 

Training for the teaching staff is progressing well and most staff members have now successfully completed their teacher training degree. Students are excelling in academic as well as extracurricular activities and are actively participating in inter-school events and competitions held in Kalimpong. 

In addition to a global pandemic, challenges this school community face include a staggering remoteness, lack of access to health services and facilities and an systemic poverty. Floods and landslides regulalry disrupt transport, and the staff are sacrificing their own career opportunities to stay and teach at this school. 

Together, we are helping our partners address these issues by strengthening the school and local services. 

Since this project started, attendance at the school has increased from 117 to 193. Thirteen teachers have been employed and classes have increased to Grade 12. 

Current year 

Getting students back to school after the pandemic has been a challenge but there are currently: 

  • 162 students from Grade 5 to 12 
  • 25 new students took admissions in Class XI (Grade 11) 
  • 16 new students joined the school for classes V-IX   
  • The school received 100% pass results in West Bengal Higher Secondary Examinations and 10 students passed with first division in the examinations. 

We also helped develop a Diocese-wide child protection policy that applies to churches, youth groups, Sunday schools and schools. School staff have all participated in workshops, enhancing the school’s understanding of child protection, disability inclusion, education and project management. 

UnitingWorld National Director Dr Sureka Goringe and International Program Manager Shreshtha Kumar visited the school in April 2023 to meet the school staff, management committee members as well Diocesan officials to discuss the key priorities for the project.  

The meeting with the School Management Committee (SMC) highlighted several achievements of the school, however, the teachers /staff members also made UW aware of the salary related challenges that pose barriers to staff retention. UW has brought these matters to the attention of the school Principal and these aspects are being taken into consideration in the annual planning process. 

2023-24 plans  

The next financial year brings a new phase of the project. During UnitingWorld’s visit, the discussion with students’ guardians/parents highlighted some interesting priorities for the school to consider. Community insights will be important to consider in the planning for the coming year.
Some of these insights included:  

  • More opportunities for extracurricular activities (music, sports, dance etc) to expand children’s career horizons. 
  • More education on substance abuse prevention  
  • Parents also requested more emphasis on career counselling sessions to prevent children from getting into daily wage work.  
  • Improved spoken English and computer literacy skills for students to improve their career/employment options. 
  • Some parents emphasised the need for more awareness on gender equality messaging, so that girls don’t feel the social pressure to marry early, and are able to pursue their goals and aspirations after gaining quality education.  

Prayer Requests 

  • The Diocese has been without a Bishop for some time. A new Bishop is likely to be elected soon, however in the absence of a Church leader most administrative burden has been managed by the Secretary and Treasurer of the Diocese. Please pray for a smooth transition and a spirit of unity in the Diocese.  
  • The pandemic and climate change issues have increased precarity for farming families in the region. The tea gardens are becoming unprofitable with climate change, and this has further aggravated poverty and unemployment for the tea garden workers. 
  • These socio-economic factors are pushing many families to migrate for work, and this has resulted in an increased risk of trafficking over the last couple of years.  
  • The school’s principal, Deena, and the Diocese project manager Sanjay, as they work together to support the Diocese, staff, students and their families.  

Thank you once again for your partnership in this life-giving mission! 

Mardi Lumsden, Donor Relations Manager
MardiL@unitingworld.org.au  

UnitingWorld 

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Campaigns, News, Women's Empowerment and Peace Building (Maluku, Indonesia)
June 20, 2023

In response to a growing food crisis in Maluku, our church partners are mobilising all the resources at their disposal to improve food security and tackle poverty.

We’ve been supporting the Protestant Church of Maluku (GPM) and their development agency to expand their initiative of planting community kitchen gardens to address growing poverty and food insecurity.

Three new community kitchen gardens have been planted in 2023, using the land of local congregations and individuals in the church.

“That the church is driving this is also an encouragement for the people,” says Rev Jeny Mahupale, who has made her own family land available for the project.

“We’re still in an early trial with different vegetables like spinach but the results are good so far with fruits like rambutan and pineapple.”

The General Secretary of the GPM Synod, Pastor S. Sapulette, describes the initiative as a “planting movement” and hopes Rev Jeny and the church’s leadership will inspire others to join.

“This is a movement that was born from reflecting on the struggles of our congregations and the reality we face together as a nation,” said Pastor Sapulette.

He hopes that more congregations can be empowered and trained by Rev Jeny and her team to make their land available for economically productive crops to help tackle the food crisis.

Please pray for the work of our partners in the Protestant Church of Maluku and for an end to the food crisis there.

Thank you for enabling us to support our partners to expand this project through your donations.

We are gathering more stories from this project to share over the next few months.

Photos: Rev Jeny and the team at the community kitchen garden.

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Blogs, Campaigns, Women's Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation (Bali, Indonesia)
May 29, 2023

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, significant progress had been made to alleviate poverty.

In the first two decades of the millennium, global poverty rates had been cut by more than half and there was good reason to be optimistic about the future. 

The optimism spurred world nations to come together in 2015 and agree to work towards an ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals. Number one on the list: eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. 

The pandemic plus rising inflation and the impacts of the invasion of Ukraine have set progress back as much as nine years in many low-income countries. 

Despite the United Nations declaring a “Decade of Action” to accelerate progress and get back on track, efforts to end poverty are not yet advancing at the speed or scale required to meet the goal.  

Where do we Christians fit in to this and what can we do?

At the turn of the millennium, Christians were at the forefront of anti-poverty movements like Make Poverty History, Jubilee 2000 and Micah Challenge (now Micah Australia).

In Australia, activism has continued through the years, with Christian groups lobbying successive Australian governments to increase funding commitments to sustainable development across the globe.  

The position of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) has been that Australia should commit to the internationally-agreed target of contributing 0.7 per cent of our Gross National Income (GNI) to sustainable development initiatives by 2030. 

After a long period of the deepest cuts to the aid budget in Australia’s history, the Albanese government has restored a modest increase, as well as partial indexation to ensure it grows over coming years.  

There’s hope again!  

But of course, it isn’t just about governments. It’s about all of us.  

We in the UCA, through UnitingWorld, are blessed to be a part of a powerful network of people and organisations working together to make sustainable progress to end poverty in our world. 

The lives and work of our overseas partners constantly show us what is possible even while faced with huge challenges.  

Take our partners in Bali.  

Imagine a tiny group of Christians, living amongst staunch Hindus. They make up less than two percent of the population and live on the cultural margins, with little power or influence. But led by the Gospel to bring good news to the poor, they set themselves to weaving a web of relationships.  

They win the trust of the poorest in their community by listening to them. They bring together village elders and government representatives. They reach out to their international church partners for support. Then, slowly but surely, they become the catalytic center of a movement of social transformation. 

Because of their hard work, people blindsided by COVID-19 have the chance to start again with new livelihoods. Women, young people and people with disability are able to have their say in how their village uses government grants. Families get access to health services and children go to school. And, best of all, the communities become more resilient and more able to deal with setbacks and disasters. 

This is the story of our partner, the Protestant Christian Church in Bali. Through them, we have the great privilege to be a part of their incredible community development work to end poverty in rural villages.  

Every day, our overseas partners are impacting the lives of people and helping communities overcome poverty in real and lasting ways. 

It’s a joy to be able to support them in it.   

The movement to end poverty is formidable, but smaller than the need requires. 

So everyone is invited, and everyone has a role to play. 

Together we can end poverty. 

Photos: After he had to leave his job to look after his elderly mother, Komang was struggling to make ends meet and was losing hope for a better life for his family. Supported by UnitingWorld, the Protestant Christian Church in Bali helped him start a small chicken-breeding business that has given him an entire new future. 

You can help us make a powerful impact this tax time

We’re fundraising to resource the critical work of our church partners in the Pacific, Asia and Africa; giving people the tools and opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty. 

Right now, your donation will be combined with funding with the Australian Government to make up to six times the impact ending poverty! 

Donate today at www.unitingworld.org.au/endpoverty 

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Blogs, Campaigns, Women's Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation (Bali, Indonesia)
May 17, 2023

Here at UnitingWorld, we believe the most effective way to help people overcome poverty for good is sustainable development in partnership with local communities.

Our partner church’s project to end poverty in rural Bali is a great example of the lives that we can change, and how by working together we make a bigger impact to end poverty.

It’s a program that helped thousands of families keep their heads above water during the pandemic and that is now helping people like Komang, his wife, Desak, and their three children escape intergenerational poverty.

Komang comes from a low-caste farming family. Growing up far from the tourist circuit and its employment opportunities, he never had the chance to pursue an education but was fortunate to secure a job as a driver for the provincial government.

When his father died of COVID-19, he had to leave his job to look after his elderly mother at home (pictured). He worked as a day labourer for fishermen nearby and tried building back the family vegetable farm, hoping to make a life of it. He worked hard to provide for his family and hoped to give them opportunities he didn’t have.

But in the quiet village economy, Komang was only just managing to make ends meet. When the economic downturn hit, he started to despair that he wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for his children to go to school or have proper health care.

He couldn’t see it, but a whole network of people was working together and was ready to help him find a path to a more secure, hopeful future.  

Komang heard about the Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM), the development agency of our partner, the Protestant Church in Bali, from the elders of his village who were hosting a meeting to connect the community with MBM staff.

“We received information from the village that there would be a visit from MBM, who could help with our low income,” said Komang. “So, we attended a meeting together with twelve other families from our community. They listened to our struggles with the economy, job-losses, high cost of living… and explained how they can help.”

Komang told them his biggest challenges were learning how to grow a new business and finding money to start. Our partners said they could help with both.

UnitingWorld supporters helped resource our partners to provide Komang with technical help to launch a chicken-breeding venture and cash to buy the things he needed to get started.

Working hard to make the most of the opportunity, Komang turned 100 chickens into a thriving small business! He can now afford to send his children to school and buy the essentials they need.

“The dream that I have always hoped for is that our family can change for the better, to do more prosperous work so that we can have a decent life and without lacking anything.

The role of the MBM staff means a lot to our success. From the beginning until now, they accompanied us in providing help and and group training with others who were given the same support. This way we can each make improvements, sharing the experiences of raising chickens.” 

We talk a lot about the importance of partnership at UnitingWorld, because we really do believe that when we work together — churches, local communities and leaders, people like Komang, and you and me— we unlock the most effective route out of poverty.

And when partnership is at its best, all parts are able to give and to receive and to celebrate the incomparable joy of each life made more abundant.

 

You can make a powerful impact this tax time 

We’re fundraising to resource the critical work of our church partners in the Pacific, Asia and Africa; giving people the tools and opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty. We hope to raise $500,000 to continue this life-changing work.

Right now, your donation will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to make up to six times the impact ending poverty! 

Find out more and donate at www.unitingworld.org.au/endpoverty 

 

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, we’re making a huge difference together; lifting families out of poverty and helping people improve their lives.

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Campaigns, News, Social Empowerment for Excluded Castes (India)
March 27, 2023

Imagine living in a rural village of about 250 people. It’s been your home since birth, and each day follows the simple but tough life of subsistence farming. Access to health services, education, and employment opportunities is severely limited, so, like everyone here, you make a living off the land and strive to give your children the opportunities that you didn’t have.

But for four to five months of every year, the dry season and erratic rainfall make it impossible to grow your crops. When the seasonal drought hits and there isn’t enough water for farming, you and every working-aged person along with your families must migrate far away from home to try to find work to survive. The village becomes practically deserted, leaving only the elderly. Think of what this instability does to your children’s education and the development of your community!

This was the case for a village in Sarenga, West Bengal before our partners the Church of North India (CNI) through the Diocese of Durgapur asked how they could help.

The villagers’ request was a simple one: find a way to put in place a sustainable source of crop irrigation that doesn’t dry up when the rain stops and the local streams become empty.

Thanks to the generosity of UnitingWorld supporters, our partners were able to purchase and install two submersible pumps that can channel large volumes of water across long distances. The new sources of irrigation mean that the community can continue farming throughout the year and not have to travel away and work for others to earn a living. Summer in Sarenga this year has the usual erratic rainfall and dryness. But due to this project, we know that there is now an entire village of people who no longer have to uproot their lives for months at a time and who are hard at work contributing to their families and community.

UnitingWorld’s Program Manager Shreshtha Kumar visited the village this year and was blown away by the complete turnaround described by the people.

It’s so heart-warming to see how the village has become a self-sufficient community. The people can now rely on far better food security and the whole life of the village is benefitting.

Our partners are also helping the community to access high-quality education through their study centre and self-help groups, teaching skills to people to help them develop extra sources of income and pathways to career opportunities.

This is how our partners are making incredible change in 26 rural villages across Sarenga and Ranibandh provinces as well as in two urban slums in Durgapur. These communities are extremely poor and marginalised but are on the way to having more sustainable, healthy and hopeful futures thanks to the love and support of our partners.

This project is such an inspiring example of the life-changing work that UnitingWorld and our supporters get to be a part of, and it’s a testament to our belief that just a few small interventions—guided by communities themselves—can lead to radically positive and long-term change for so many people.

As part of Lent Event, we’re fundraising to support this work that is changing lives and transforming communities in India and beyond. Will you help us reach our goal? Your gift will go a very long way to helping so many people and communities lead lives of dignity and hope.

Durgapur Sewing Centre for Adolescent Girls and Married Women

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, we’re making a huge difference together; lifting families out of poverty and helping people improve their lives.

 

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News, Social Empowerment for Excluded Castes (India)
March 21, 2023

“I want to become a basketball champion when I grow up!” said Lakshmi* when asked about her aspirations for future.

Like Lakshmi, many adolescent girls living in the Durgapur slum community want to pursue careers that defy gender norms and stereotypes. She attends a study centre that is part of the Community Development Program run by our partner, the Diocese of Durgapur. The study centre provides the girls with a safe space to learn, connect, practice extracurricular activities, and share their goals and aspirations for the future with their mentors.

Places like these are so valuable in India, allowing those who are traditionally excluded from opportunities to grow and develop into adulthood. Religious and caste discrimination is one of the leading causes of poverty and social exclusion in India, and this project exists to empower marginalised and economically disadvantaged communities by improving access to quality education, health services, livelihoods and government entitlements.

Looking at the unique needs of adolescents and youth, the project is now looking to expand its scope to include health, education, and career counselling to improve opportunities and prospects for young people.

This happens thanks to our generous supporters! The sale of Everything in Common ‘schoolbooks’ cards enables this project to grow and these girls to pursue their dreams.

Beyond the study centres, we’re supporting the Diocese of Durgapur to offer skills training to marginalised women and farmers so they can build sustainable incomes close to where they live, as well as providing communities with access to and information about a range of government services and schemes.

Thanks to UnitingWorld supporters, our partners are helping communities to become empowered, organised, educated and healthy, involved in local governance and capable of accessing government services and schemes. The project impacted the lives of more than 4,000 people in the last financial year.

*Name changed for privacy

If you want to support the study centres in Durgapur and give the gift of a brighter future for girls like Lakshmi, you can buy the ‘schoolbooks’ e-card or print-at-home card here or make a donation here.

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Empowering People with Disabilities (Sri Lanka), Pray
February 27, 2023

Rev. Samuel Gnanarajah
Deaf Link, Methodist Church Sri Lanka (MCSL)

 

All mighty Heavenly Father,

People with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and vulnerable minorities in Sri Lankan society.

They are less likely to have access to education, health care facilities, economic and social status than those without disabilities.

Our prayer is that the ‘self-help’ groups we’ve formed will become independent and include themselves in wider society confidently.

Our prayer is always for children with special needs, for their education, livelihood and inclusion with other children.

God of life, we are sorry for looking down and treating people with disabilities as objects for charity instead of considering them as fuller humans who need our empathy and understanding.

Our prayer to have a fruitful life together towards an inclusive community in our country.

Lord, Deaf Link is on an incredible journey to embrace the PWD’S and uphold their dignity. Guide us throughout our pilgrimage.

God of the disabled, give us the vision to see that all people have gifts and abilities to share as part of our community of faith.

We pray in the name of the one who always saw the best in people, Jesus Christ, our lord,

Amen.

 

UnitingWorld supports our partner Deaf Link to provide occupational training to women with disabilities and provide access to education for children with disabilities. This enables people with disabilities, through work and study, to be accepted, equal and valued members of society. Find out more

 

 

Pray in solidarity with our partners

As part of Lent Event this year, we asked our church partners from around the world how we can support them in prayer. Their responses allow us to pray in solidarity, but also to learn about their struggles and what they long to see in their communities.

The above prayer was one that was featured in the guide in a shortened version.

Click here to download or order a printed booklet.

 

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Church Partnership Program (PNG)
February 24, 2023

A community in Papua Guinea came together to construct a system to improve the water quality of their entire village. 

In the remote village of Masingara in Western Province, the people have been determined to improve the quality of life in their community.  

For years, people in the area had been sourcing their water from an unprotected pond outside the village. Despite it being fed by a natural spring, the water quality was very poor and people had to travel long distances to collect it.  

Locals say the pond was used by the first missionaries who arrived in the area more than 150 years ago. 

The people of Masingara spoke to their local government Ward Member and village Development Committee about possibilities for new water infrastructure and found out what they needed: a ‘spring box’ to extract the water before it becomes contaminated, and a large header tank to store and pump the water to three points across the village.  


They sought expertise from the United Church of Papua New Guinea (UCPNG) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program team and funding for materials through the Australian Government Church Partnership Program (CPP). 

The people then mobilised their community and church to support the venture through donations and volunteer labour.    

The whole community contributed, applying a philosophy of ‘sweat equity’ to ensure everyone played their part bringing stones and gravel to the construction sites, digging trenches and installing the pipes.  

The project was a huge success, with water now being pumped by solar power from the spring box to the header tower and then on to three locations across the village.  

UCPNG WASH Program Team Leader Clement Nusama said he was thrilled to see the determination of the community to see the project through and hopes it will inspire future development projects in the area. 

“When the team and volunteers finally connected up the pipes to the spring head, they were excited to see how clear the water was when it flowed to the surface, compared to how murky and filled with algae it was,” he said.  

Well done to the people of Masingara, UCPNG and the Church Partnership Program (CPP) for working together to bring clean water to another remote community in Papua New Guinea!  

The PNG Church Partnership Program is supported by the Australian Government through the Papua New Guinea–Australia Partnership. It impacted the lives of 14,300 people over the past financial year.

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Pray, Women's Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation (Bali, Indonesia)
February 24, 2023

 

 

Pipit Purwadi
MBM Foundation, Protestant Christian Church in Bali (GKPB)

 

 

 

Lord Jesus, we are grateful for Your presence in our lives.

Towards the end of the year, there were many natural disasters around us.

Floods, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Previously, Covid-19 haunted our lives. Many of our brothers and sisters have been laid off, resulting in an increase in poverty in our assisted communities, they have difficulty accessing basic rights: Education, health and food. Assistance for women’s reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, plastic waste management that was previously carried out by MBM, can no longer be carried out optimally due to the pandemic.

Dear God, as social workers assisting the community, we also experience confusion. However, we know that You are always with and blessing. For this reason, we continue to try to help the community with what we have.

We are grateful, through the help of partners, communities affected by Covid-19 and natural disasters, have received business capital assistance and assistance to survive. Likewise, support from the Village Government in dealing with disasters helps residents survive difficult situations.

O God, give us the strength to survive the threat of future disasters. Enable us to be able to adapt to climate change, while maintaining this nature.

We believe, only by Your help can we go through every struggle.

Thank you Jesus,

Amen.

The Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM) is an advocacy and empowerment organisation established by our partner the Protestant Christian Church (GKPB) in Bali. UnitingWorld supports MBM to advocate for the rights of women and the poor to participate in village decision-making processes and provides women and poor families with vocational skills training so they can generate an income. We also support rural communities with health and hygiene services and education. Find out more

 

 

Pray in solidarity with our partners

As part of Lent Event this year, we asked our church partners from around the world how we can support them in prayer. Their responses allow us to pray in solidarity, but also to learn about their struggles and what they long to see in their communities.

The above prayer was one that was featured in the guide in a shortened version.

Click here to download or order a printed booklet.

 

 

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