Archbishop of Sydney's Anglican Aid - Overseas Development

Let Grace Flow

2010-10-05T17:02:00.000+11:00

Sydney Anglicans have always had an obsession with God’s grace. It’s one of the things that makes us different – even the way we do aid.

We’re moved by the extravagance of God in Jesus. That’s why, this year, the Archbishop of Sydney’s Appeals Unit becomes Anglican Aid.

We still have our three funds: Overseas Relief and Aid Fund; Overseas Ministry Fund; and Community Care Fund but they will know be known as:
• Anglican Aid – Overseas Development;

• Anglican Aid – Overseas Ministry; and

• Anglican Aid – Community Care.

ACFID's Federal Budget Analysis

2010-06-23T11:58:00.002+10:00

ACFID’s Federal Budget analysis was revised and reissued to reflect feedback from members, AusAID and information from the Estimates hearing in June 2010. A summary from the analysis is as follows:

The 2010/11 Aid Budget is titled: A Good International Citizen. ACFID welcomes the increase in Australian overseas development assistance (ODA) to $4.349 million, a $530 million increase from the 2009/10 Aid Budget of $3,818.8 million. This is a real increase of 9% (a 14% nominal increase). The $500 million increase meets the key recommendation of ACFID’s pre-budget submission. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals remains the key focus of the aid program.

The ODA program for 2010/11 translates to 0.33% of Gross National Income (GNI) – an increase from 0.31% of GNI in 2009/10. These figures have been calculated using new international accounting standards, which increase Australian GNI by 4%. At the current rate of increase, the Rudd Government is on track to reach its target of 0.5% of GNI by 2015. ACFID has called on the government to announce a timetable for reaching the UN goal of 0.7% of GNI in the longer term.

The 2010/11 Aid Budget has a number of features of relevance including:

• a 17.9% increase in Australian NGO funding through the ANCP;

• further geographical expansion of the program to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia;

• new funding for disability-inclusive development of $30.2 million over four years – ACFID welcomes this as a ‘first down-payment’ but calls for accelerated funding in future budgets to implement ‘Development for All’ policy;

• apparent decreased funding to health and HIV/AIDS as a sector by 10.6% after inflation;

• no new climate change initiatives for 2010/11 but $160 million to be spent from previously announced commitments (the value of the four multi-year measures announced is $350.4 million, with another $5 million from the current 2009-10 Contingency Reserve flagged in the press release); and

• microfinance funding doubled to $40 million over two years, as ACFID requested; and

• AusAID restructure announced to plan for upscale of aid program by 2015, which will focus on reforms to operational policy, management and workforce planning. The Aid Budget estimates $211.8 million to AusAID departmental costs, a 52.1% increase.

For the full ACFID analysis please visit: http://www.acfid.asn.au//resources/docs_resources/docs_papers/ACFID%20Budget%20Analysis%20revised%20June%202010.pdf

Thank God! Cassava stems has changed my life.

2010-06-23T10:22:00.003+10:00

In February 2008, BRAC started to implement a three year project on multiplication and distribution of resistant cassava mosaic disease varieties. In the Mara region of Tanzania the food produced was insufficient households due to low production of cassava as a result of cassava Mosaic disease. Survey findings revealed that in order to increase production of cassava more effort was needed in the growth of varieties of cassava which are resistant to CMD and CBSD. Thus BRAC and ORAF through Cassava multiplication project embarked on three years contract. Mrs Moshi Erinest mother of seven children explain how cassava multiplication has helped community as well as increased her household income.

Moshi Erinest is a resident of Musoma district in Tarani village and has been working as volunteer community worker (locally known as a farmer motivator) since the project started in 2008. She is one of 28 farmer motivators who received cassava multiplication training and equipment including bicycle from the project. Since then she has been seriously working on multiply cassava resistant varieties including Mkombozi “the serviour” and Kyaka. She received from the project cassava cuttings enough for half an acre plot and slowly expanded her multiplication field so that now she has two acres. She passed on 200 cassava cuttings for free to another farmer to ensure continuation of the project activity as per contract. In this rain season March 2010 she harvested 300 bundles of CMD resistant varieties equivalent to 30,000 cuttings where she received TZS 600,000 (approximately A$475). She said hard work and commitment pay; I have cash TZS 600,000 (approximately A$475) from sales of stems and still enjoying my cassava tubers! She continued to explain that the money she got will be used to buy bedding materials; repair of house and some will be used to cover the cost of sending her children to school.

Field Notes from East Africa – Changing Perceptions of Development

2010-05-09T15:48:00.001+10:00

“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime!”

Joanna, our project manager, gave a talk at a recent Breakfast meeting on the changing perceptions of development and illustrated her talk with stories from her recent visit to East Africa.

We were introduced to the idea that development should be community driven and not donor driven. Donor driven usually focuses on activities that donors think the community want – like in the above adage “teach a man how to fish”. It runs the risk of not involving the community, in keeping with the fishing theme, the community knows how to fish but they need fishing rods, or unpolluted water or a market to sell the fish. Development is far more complicated than simple platitudes.

Joanna gave us good advice in that we should be asking how our donations to development agencies are being used. Are the funds going to projects:

that are community driven?
that are sustainable?
that are efficient and effective?

If the agency can’t answer those questions satisfactorily then find another agency that can. Of course ORAF welcomes being asked these questions and for further information on our work please go to our website or email Joanna on jryan@abau.org.au.

Food for Thought from David Mansfield

2010-04-15T15:23:00.000+10:00

24,000 children die every day in our world before their fifth birthday from preventable causes. They die from starvation related illnesses or diseases for which there are cures.
• 24,000 children every day of every year

• Preventable (not mysterious) causes

• Before their fifth birthday

What would happen if 24 children died daily across Sydney, or even across Australia, or even if it was monthly and not daily, from a mystery illness? We would call it a national crisis, start a fundraising Foundation to support their families, pour millions of dollars into medical research and any less urgent action would be called a national disgrace!

If these 24 children died from known and preventable causes, we would sack the Federal Minister for Health, every State and Territory Minister for Health, call in DOCS, sack DOCS, spend billions of dollars on bureaucratic blame shifting and deck chair shuffling, and call for a Royal Commission. These measures would barely quieten the parents of healthy children or stop them storming Government buildings and demonstrating on the streets demanding action.

This deep of concern, spilling over into public outrage, would make compelling media footage which would be televised on news bulletins all over the world so that the whole planet would know that Australian people, Australian parents and Australian grandparents are not deaf to the cries of children and their traumatised parents.

But, but, 24,000 children every day of every year die from preventable causes before their fifth birthday!

India – Education and Economic Development Project

2010-03-25T15:59:00.000+11:00

This project is being implemented by our partner, the Indian Gospel League, and in their recent report they share the following story to demonstrate how the project is helping the local community.

This is the story of Miss Kalaivani, a 13 year old girl. Her father died in an accident a year ago and after his death her mother was forced to work as a construction laborer to feed her three children including Miss Kalaivani.

Miss Kalaivani had low education and was unable to concentrate on her studies and so she stopped going to school. For the last year she has been working as child laborer along with her mother.

She was identified by one of our volunteers and brought to our community workers. Our community workers took efforts to meet with her mother and asked to admit Miss Kalaivani into school again. After two months of continuous efforts, Ms Kalaivani returned school. Now she is studying in 8th grade and attends our evening study center regularly. Our IGL-ORAF – Education and Economic Development Project help to helpless school dropouts in the target area.

ORAF has been funding this project since July 2008

How the Sudan Micro Enterprise Development Project is Helping

2010-03-18T10:13:00.001+11:00

Mrs Onesta Gaba’s Story

Onesta Gaba is the group secretary for Kaya Women Association. When interviewed to draw a line and look at her past life before joining the group, Onesta had this to say, “I am a mother of four children and always puzzled if I will be able to send them to school. And here came the Across Micro Enterprise D programme that opened up my minds so much so that I could now think outside (the box). (Note: ACROSS is the local partner running the project.)

Onesta joined Kaya Women group in 2006 and she began to experience positive socio-economic changes in her family. She was able to acquire enough household utensils and send her children to school in Uganda. As she progressed, the idea of constructing a permanent house came in, and she consulted with a retired reverend to learn how he managed to construct a house using the loans borrowed. In early 2008, Onesta begun gathering building materials and April 2009, she started her construction project. As it can be seen from the picture Onesta’s house is nearly complete.

What captures ones eyes when viewing Onesta’s house is the writing on the front wall, which reads, “A Good Family is a Gift From God” Luke 8:22-24. When asked why this writing was chosen, Onesta replied, “My husband was always behind my idea of starting this project and encouraged me to continue and when I engaged our children in the brick project which we moulded as a family all were cooperating. This was the major reason I chose this scripture to be reflected on the wall of our new house.

Onesta, confirmed that she had such a dream for many years and no single step was taken. However, with the trainings we got from ACROSS, and guidance from the Reverend who registered success on a similar project, it gave me the courage. At this moment I want to thank the Project Staff for their articulate trainings for us. Many of our group members have vowed to emulate this example and it was all possible because somebody had once done it.

Peter Singer - Whose Song Sheet Is He Singing From?

2010-03-10T10:17:00.003+11:00

David Mansfield was the speaker at our second breakfast meeting on 9 March 2010 and spoke on Peter Singer’s latest book “The Life You Can Save”. David began his talk with three questions: Who Is Peter Singer? What Does He Believe And Teach? and Why Bother With Him? The rest of his talk was addressing these issues and ended up saying “For very different reasons and from a very different songbook, we may find ourselves singing the same song as Peter Singer in saying that 24,000 children dying from preventable causes is a social evil we just cannot turn a blind eye to anymore.”

If you are interested in receiving a copy of David’s talk please email enquiries@abau.org.au.

The next breakfast meeting is on 23 March 2010 at St Andrew’s House and the speaker is Alfred Olwa, Dean of the School of Theology and Divinity at the Ugandan Christian University. His topic is Islam or Christianity, the Battle for Ugandan Hearts and Minds. RSVP by 19 March on enquiries@abau.org.au.

Archbishop of Sydney's Chile Earthquake Appeal

2010-03-09T14:49:00.000+11:00

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Chile at 3.35am local time on Saturday 27 February. Within two and a half hours of the earthquake 11 aftershocks were recorded. Five of these registered 6.0 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was 325 km southwest of the capital in the moderately populated region of Bio-Bio in central Chile.

The death toll is over 800 and countrywide about 1.5 million Chileans were affected and 500,000 homes severely damaged.

Our diocese has very close connections with the Diocese of Chile through our CMS Missionaries, Chileans who have studied at Moore College, and with the Chilean Diocesan Leadership.

Archbishop Jensen has been monitoring the situation with the Primate of the Province, Archbishop Greg Venables, and the Bishop of Chile, Tito Zavala and has launched an appeal to assist those affected by the earthquake.

Now is the time to help, and give generously to the Archbishop of Sydney’s ‘Relief to Victims in Chile’ Appeal. Your gift to The Archbishop’s Overseas Relief and Aid Fund (ORAF) will enable the Bishop of Chile to provide ongoing assistance to those hardest hit and in greatest need. Donations can be made through the website www.abau.org.au/donations or on 1800 653 903.

Office Relocation to the City

2010-03-03T13:51:00.004+11:00

Our team has now relocated to St Andrew’s House in the city. Our new address is: PO Box Q190, QVB Post Office NSW 1230 and the new telephone number is 9284 1406. The email address stays the same.

Wishing all a Joyful New Year for 2010

2009-12-29T16:06:00.003+11:00

As the year draws to a close we have a moment to pause and reflect on what the year has been. Like most years 2009 has had its ups and downs. On the up side David was appointed as Director and has been able to visit many Anglican parishes to talk about our work. Another positive is that we maintained our funding commitment to the projects for the 2009/10 year. On the down side our donations have dropped which will mean that we will not be able to fund as many activities as we would like in 2010/11 year.

2010 will be another interesting year full of challenges as well as opportunities. We are pleased that Bettina will be joining us as our Donor Relations Officer and it is likely that we will be moving into St Andrew’s House in the centre of Sydney. All positive!

From the staff (Suzanne, David, Joanna and Bettina) we wish all our supporters a joyful New Year.

Visit by Bernard Suwa, Executive Director of ACROSS

2009-11-12T11:55:00.002+11:00

We were delighted to have Bernard Suwa visited us this week. ORAF has been working with ACROSS for the last few years and it was good to hear of the progress being achieved in Southern Sudan.

Across is an interdenominational, international Christian organisation focused on Sudan with an emphasis on training. It was founded in 1972 and today it operates in partnership with Sudanese Evangelical churches. The head office is located in Nairobi, Kenya and a liaison office in Juba, Southern Sudan. Its focus is Christian transformational development, mainly through training projects.

Uganda: Kyabyoma Community-Based Skills Training Project

2009-11-12T11:25:00.002+11:00

This project is a part of a wider effort to improve the physical, socio-economic and spiritual welfare of a community in Kamwenge District, Uganda. The overriding aim of the program is to increase household income through the provision of training in skills which can be used within the community to generate income and improve the overall standards of living.

ORAF is pleased to partner with the local NGO, Toro Intergrated Childcare, for this three year project.

ORAF's Appeal - Message from the Archbishop

2009-10-22T10:00:00.002+11:00

India’s Disabled and Desperate Children are in Your Hands.

India not only has a teeming population, but massive challenges for children with disabilities and hardship, like Mariam ….

As I’m sure you can imagine, India’s poverty is a huge barrier to a child’s future and their opportunity for an education, but one in ten children also face the added obstacle of a disability – children like Mariam, a little 8 year old girl with seizures.

Please throw your support behind this appeal for the Archbishop’s Overseas Relief and Aid Fund – and for our ongoing work through partnerships like these.

You may like to consider joining the Archbishop’s Monthly Partners in Care, regular friends who stand by our ongoing work, knowing that the love of Christ needs to be sown every month of the year!

Yours sincerely

Peter F Jensen
Archbishop of Sydney

To make a donation please visit: http://www.abau.org.au/ or phone: 1800 653 903

Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now!

2009-10-22T09:21:00.002+11:00

A Guinness World Record was shattered last weekend when 173,045,325 citizens gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries, demanding that their governments eradicate extreme poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now!", now in its fourth year, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the largest mobilization of human beings in recorded history, an increase of about 57 million people over last year.

The photo is of our Stand Up event held last Friday.

Human Development Report 2009

2009-10-22T08:34:00.001+11:00

UNDP's annual Human Development Report was recently launched. The 2009 edition is titled “Overcoming barriers: human mobility and development”, focusing on the underlying inequalities in migration issues both within and beyond borders. The report takes into account the impacts of migration on country or place of origin and destination as well as the question how migration can foster human development. In addition the HDR offers the comprehensive overview of Human Development Indicators for 2009. To read either the summary or the full report please visit: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2009/

Sudan – Micro Enterprize Development Project

2009-10-08T09:27:00.002+11:00

The Micro Enterprize Development (MED) project goal is to improve individual and family well being in the 3 counties of Greater Yei (Yei River, Lainya and Morobo), through the learning and benefits derived from participation in group savings and loan associations (VSLAs).

This will involve improving financial management and credit access for 3000 VSLA members and their households in Greater Yei. This is being achieved through the formation of around 48 more groups and the selection of 16 from the current facilitators to receive further training and to take on more responsibilities.

ORAF has been funding this project for over 12 months and already the benefits of the project are clear as our partner agency, ACROSS, shows us in this feedback

“The Morebongo women group management committee members being helped by MED trainer Mr. Joseph Mawa to calculate and audit their funds for share out. Mrs. Abawu Hellen (in red blouse on right) purchased a sewing machine with her first dividends realised from the group and established her self and now says she is able to pay school fees of her two daughters. The first daughter has joined Senior one and second daughter is in primary seven.

Hellen says this programme has given her hope of educating her three children who were abandoned by their father ten years ago. She was not even sure if their father was alive (though she hears that he is) but since never showed up to check on his children this was enough to tell her that he was dead.

According to Hellen she never got married again for fear of being neglected again. Throughout her single life she was puzzled on how to educate her children, but the MED programme has come to her aid. With the trainings she continues to get from MED she now has a future for her children and will pass this knowledge to her children through investing on them in education and telling them how beneficial it is to be self-reliant.”

Refuge Egypt update

2009-10-01T10:01:00.001+10:00

In their August newsletter Refuge Egypt shares their achievements for 2009:

- 396 new refugees have been registered with the Emergency Team, 80% of them Sudanese.
- Urgently needed clothing has been distributed to 1,049 people.
- 5,515 people have received much-needed food packages.
- 164 trainees have completed the Domestic Cleaning Training Program.
- The Employment Center has been able to find positions for 364 people, 80% of them women.
- 1,726 infants have been monitored at the Well Baby Clinic, which has also received 275 new clients.
- The Well Child Clinic, which was started just months ago in July of this year, now has 228 clients.
- Workers at Refuge-Egypt’s clinic in Arbaa W Nus have completed over 3,000 consultations.
- The Youth Department has hosted a conference for teens and youth.
- Registration at the Happy Child Preschool has increased to 60 children
- The Zamalek Clinic has provided consultations for 7,140 people.

ORAF is contributing funds to the Health & Nutrition program.

Kenya - Centre for Urban Mission Informal Settlement Economic Development Initiative

2009-09-03T14:00:00.001+10:00

This project seeks to reduce the economic vulnerability of the marginalized youths and women in the informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. Mobilization and identification shall be conducted through and by local churches. Training will be conducted by the Centre for Urban Mission in order to offer skills in businesses and in initiating and managing savings groups. The youth will be placed in enterprises so as to acquire skills necessary for self and wage employment.

Business scale up capital shall be facilitated as matching funds to the savings groups through churches and this will be pegged on local contributions/savings.

ORAF is providing funds for this three year project.

Visit by Rev Stephens of IGL

2009-08-27T13:03:00.001+10:00

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting up with Rev. Samuel D. Stephens and his daughter Becky from the Indian Gospel League (IGL). They were visiting Sydney for a family wedding and took the time to come out to Parramatta to meet us. We had an enjoyable lunch hearing more about the work that the Indian Gospel League is doing in southern India. It is encouraging to hear of the progress being made to improve the lives of the disadvantage. It was also heartening to be told that most of the villages devastated by the 2004 tsunami have rebuilt their communities and in doing so had improved housing and related infrastructure.

ORAF has been contributing to IGL’s projects since 1999 and we are currently contributing funds to the Education and Economic Development Project which has just started this year.

Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2008

2009-08-20T15:55:00.000+10:00

The Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2008 - scaling up in a deteriorating global environment was prepared by AusAID’s Office of Development Effectiveness and tabled in Parliament on 10 August, 2009.

Annually reviewing development effectiveness is a core element of the Government’s commitment to increase aid effectiveness and improve the transparency and accountability of the Australian aid program.

This Review considers how well the program is placed to maintain effectiveness in the face of the twin challenges of scaling up and the global recession, finding that the aid program is well managed and achieving a wide range of results.

The review notes that Australia is changing the way it manages and delivers aid, though the pace of reform needs to be maintained. Areas for attention include strengthening approaches to policy dialogue, moving more consistently toward program based approaches, and developing approaches to risk management that are better suited to these newer ways of working.

The program also needs to provide more predictable and focused support, and ensure that scaling up is based on larger activities, rather than a larger number of activities.
To meet the challenges of scaling up effectively in a challenging global environment, three areas for action are identified:

ensuring the aid program protects gains in poverty reduction – Australia is well placed to play a leadership role in helping our developing country neighbours deal with the impacts of the global recession.
updating the aid program’s operational framework to embed effectiveness principles and provide a more systematic approach to the way aid is delivered, and
redefining engagement with civil society, recognizing the role that civil society can play in delivering important basic services, increasing government accountability and making systems work better for the poor.

To download the full document please visit http://www.ode.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/arde_report-2008.pdf

Kenya - Korogocho Slum Maternity Clinic

2009-07-23T09:36:00.002+10:00

ORAF is supporting the establishment of a maternity clinic in Korogocho in Nairobi. The project began in 2005 and is now near the completion stage.

Joe Radkovic, the CMS missionary who is managing the project, reported in June “that Korogocho clinic itself is going very well. Patient numbers at the outpatients side has gone past 400 per week. We will have to put on another nurse to help with the increase – a good problem. The maternity continues to deliver 2 to 3 a day. One lady due to deliver with us had her baby at home instead and bled to death. It is hard to know what we can do to avoid such things. Hopefully our fees didn’t put her off. The staff have been on a one day retreat, which they loved. Good food, teaching, activities and fun. It was a great day, and needs to become regular.

The maternity is also going well. When a baby gets stuck and is reluctant to come out, it is not always necessary to refer the Mum for a caesarean operation. We can use a suction cup on the baby’s head to pull it out. This is gentler than forceps, and safer, and certainly beats transfer to Pumwani for a caesar. Until now it has been me racing in at night or whenever to save the day. As good as that makes me feel, it is better if I can train the nurses up to do this procedure themselves. The midwives have seen me do it, and I have walked them through it, but none have fully delivered a baby by vacuum extraction (as it is called) themselves. Last week one of the midwives – Njoroge – rang me to come in to pull a baby out. But with me at home only giving instructions and encouragement over the phone he successfully got the baby out himself by vacuum extraction. Njoroge was so pleased with himself, as he should be, and this has encouraged the other midwives that they too can do this themselves.”

Update on Fire Emergency in Kasampur, Northern India

2009-07-16T12:56:00.004+10:00

In April this year one of our India Partners, Herbertpur Christian Hospital, contacted us asking for emergency assistance. Kasampur, a local village, had been destroyed by fire. Kasampur had a population of approximately 6,000 and in just over one hour 420 dwellings were destroyed, 4 people killed and 2,300 people left destitute.

ORAF sent A$30,000 to provide for emergency aid including for medicines, food, shelter as well as to help the community to re-establish their lives.

We have recently received the following update on how the people of Kasampur are coping after the tragic incident:

“It is said that there is no disaster that can’t become a blessing and no blessing that can’t become a disaster.

Looking back at the last 2 months since the fire at Kasampur, we have become more and more aware of the truth of this observation.

The communities, including the Herbertpur Christian Hospital community, helped provide clothes, utensils and grains. A disaster committee was formed at the village level and along with the Panchayat, they took over the responsibility of the community kitchen and the distribution of the relief supplies. In fact, so many supplies came in that the villagers were able to stock up grains for the next six months. The government involvement has been in giving Rs. 2000/- per family.

Need assessment was done by the project and they identified the families and school children requiring immediate intervention. The disaster committee and the Panchayat helped finalize 165 children out of the list prepared by the project staff who needed school uniforms and supplies. The orders for uniforms and carpets have been placed. The children get back to school in July 2009.

Like the quote says a blessing has the potential of becoming a disaster. We learned that lesson as well, as we looked at rebuilding homes. While we have the funds to rebuild, there were big issues among the villagers in trying to decide who needed help. It has taken this long, but finally the disaster committee and the Panchayat decided on a list of 100 families. Work has started on the structure of 50 of the houses. Despite their differences, it has been encouraging, however, to see that the structure and labor has been volunteered by the villagers themselves.

Our immediate future plans include completion of the roofs of the houses, training of teachers in identifying and helping children with stress reactions and planting of trees which will wait till after the rainy season is over.

So, while these are the obvious blessings that followed the disaster, we also had the privilege of having so many people who reminded us again about the strength of fellowship by choosing to keep in touch, pray and give generously. We write this with the awareness that a mere thank you does not cover the overwhelming support we have received.”

12,000 Mothers Day health cards delivered to Minister for Foreign Affairs

2009-07-15T08:56:00.001+10:00

Micah Challenge recently reported that on 17-18 June 2009 Micah Challenge coalition representatives met with politicians in Canberra to bring them up to date on the health campaign. The meetings were very encouraging and our politicians are aware and supportive of the campaign. Some MPs mentioned that they had received visits from campaign supporters in their electorate offices.

More than twelve thousand Mothers Day health cards were delivered to Bob McMullan, who will pass them on to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Stephen Smith.

The government is planning to send Micah Challenge an official response to the cards.

Micah Challenge - Offering of Letters 09

2009-07-08T14:51:00.001+10:00

Micah Challenge is calling Christians all over Australia to pick up their pens to fight poverty. The ‘Offering of Letters’ campaign asks churches and other Christian groups to prayerfully write a letter to the Prime Minister calling for generosity and justice for 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty. The letters will be delivered to Mr. Rudd during the Micah Challenge national gathering, ‘Voices for Justice’, in September.

Last year, more than 5000 letters were delivered to Parliament House, sending our government a clear message that Christians in Australia care about justice. Micah Challenge recently received a response from the office of Mr. Rudd, thanking letter writers for “bringing this matter to the Prime Minister’s attention.”

As our world groans under the weight of a financial crisis, we must remember that it is the poorest of the poor who will be most impacted. The World Bank estimates that more than 300 thousand more children will die each year from poverty related causes, if the global economic crisis continues.

This year, Micah Challenge is again encouraging Christians to write to Mr. Rudd urging him to turn his words of support for the MDGs into tangible action. It will take about 15 minutes to construct a handwritten letter asking our government to remember Australia’s commitment to the global poor.

For more information, including the Offering of Letters kits please visit www.micahchallenge.org.au/offering-of-letters.

Philippines - Women Transformation & Empowerment Project

2009-07-02T14:18:00.001+10:00

ORAF is pleased to announce that it has recently agreed to fund this three year project.

The Women's Transformation & Empowerment Program aims to facilitate emotional, mental, social, economic and spiritual transformation of women survivors of prostitution through relevant training and leadership development.

Prostitution in the Philippines is a widespread problem with social, cultural, and economic implications. Estimates twenty years ago put the number of women in the Philippines involved in prostitution at 500,000. That number has certainly multiplied in the past two decades, particularly as the national economy continues to struggle. Many other Filipino women are trafficked outside of the country to other locations in Asia and beyond where they are sexually exploited in the “entertainment industry”, and many Filipino girls and women are being exploited through the internet. Women and girls are deceived, trafficked, and caught in the web of prostitution due to a variety of interrelated “push” and “pull” factors, prominent among them being poverty, poor educational attainment, lack of employment opportunities, and previous experiences of abuse.

This is one of four major complementary programs of Samaritana (ORAF’s local partner) in its mission to build, model, and empower communities that embrace vulnerable women and survivors of prostitution, enabling their transformation.

India - Anugrah Project for Children with Physical and Mental Disabilities – Phase 2

2009-06-18T08:24:00.001+10:00

The project is located in Herbertpur in northern India and is a ray of hope in the lives and families of developmentally disadvantaged children. The program includes an intervention centre where children come daily, as well as a community based rehabiltation component where children are visited in their homes.

ORAF has been contributing funds to this project since 2006.

New Director Appointed

2009-06-11T11:36:00.001+10:00

The Rev David Mansfield has been appointed as the new director. Starting May 11, David says heading up the Unit takes his passion for evangelism to a new level.

"I have a great love for global mission and a great passion for Africa .... and this was an opportunity to assist in the whole process of shifing first-world resources across to the third world for the sake of the gospel - I saw this as being fairly strategic so I wanted to be involved in it," he says.

"My role is to lift the profile of the Archbishop's Appeals Unit so that the Diocese can see the Archbishop's priorities to stand alongside our brothers and sisters in the developing world and in Sydney as they seek to reach their neighbours and communities for Christ." Mr Mansfield was an itinerant evangelist and director of the diocesan Department of Evangelism for 11 years and then was rector of York Street.

Federal Aid Budget 2009/10

2009-05-21T14:38:00.002+10:00

The Federal Government presented its Budget last Tuesday night, 12 May. The Aid Budget for 2009/10, entitled ‘A Good International Citizen’ delivered $3,818.8 million in ODA. This is an increase from the 2008/09 Aid Budget of $3,659.9 million, representing a real increase of 5.6%. Australia’s ODA has increased from 0.33% of GNI last year to 0.34% of GNI this year, progressing incrementally towards the committed 0.5% by 2015/16.

Winners this year are Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Pacific. Expenditure on education, health and infrastructure (including water and sanitation) have also increased significantly. In terms of NGO funding, the Aid Budget allocated a total of $54.4 million for the ANCP (an increase of 25.4% from 2008/09). This includes an increase of $3 million for core ANCP funding, as well as $7 million for ANCP Partnership Agreements and $0.5 million for an ANCP Innovations Fund to highlight innovative NGO approaches.

For ACFID's media release on the budget: http://www.acfid.asn.au/acfid-media-release-aid-budget09/
For Micah Challenge analysis: http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/default.asp?mail=1474
For Australia's International Development Assistance Program Budget 2009-10: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/budget/budget09/default.cfm

DRC: Malaria Awareness and Prevention Project

2009-05-07T12:10:00.003+10:00

ORAF is funding a 3 year Malaria Awareness, Prevention and Treatment Programme in the Diocese of Aru, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The program has been running from July 2008 and already has made significant progress towards their objectives of: reducing the morbidity and mortality of children under 5 years old from malaria; increasing the use of mosquito nets in the target population; and reducing the morbidity from malaria amongst pregnant women

In their recent quarterly report they share that:

· Education has been undertaken primary schools as well as at antenatal clinics on malaria prevention, the importance of malaria prophylaxis and the correct use of a bed net;
· Workshop has been held for church leaders concerning malaria prevention. This workshop also included a session on the role of church leaders in providing information, education and communication in their communities;
· 250 impregnated bed nets have all been distributed and 300 more have recently been purchased; and
· Follow up visits to 46 homes have been made to check that the nets have been installed and are being correctly used.

Some of the difficulties encountered include:

· Not enough funds for purchasing the bed nets for the target group of pregnant women and children under 5.

· The government policy on blood transfusions has changed and transfusions are now only allowed in hospitals and reference health clinics HC. This means that blood transfusions cannot be carried out at Ekanga HC as it is not a reference HC. The ban on doing transfusions in the HC is a problem as the nearest medical centre that is allowed to undertake transfusions is about 35km away and parents find it too difficult to take their very anaemic children which result in children not receiving the medical help they need.

Micah Challenge Mother's Day e-card

2009-04-29T14:11:00.002+10:00

ORAF is supporting the Micah Challenge's health campaign for more government aid money directed to the vital work of meeting MDGs on child and maternal health.

MDG 4:Reduce child mortality. Cut infant and child deaths by 2/3 by 2015
MDG 5:Improve maternal health. Reduce by 3/4 the proportion of women dying in childbirth

We are encouraging ORAF supportors to send a card about maternal health to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Steven Smith. You can send an e-card OR you can see a hard-copy card design online. ORAF does have some hard-copy cards and if you would like these please email Suzanne on shayes@abau.org.au.

For more information visit www.micahchallenge.org.au

Welcome

2009-04-29T09:47:00.000+10:00

The Archbishop’s Overseas Relief and Aid Fund (ORAF) was established in 1971 to demonstrate Christian love by responding to the needs of those affected overseas by wars, poverty, disease, injustice and natural disaster.

ORAF seeks to engage with Sydney Anglicans to raise awareness and resources in order to equip and empower communities and churches in the developing world.

Today, ORAF works in partnership with Christian agencies in India, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Projects include: malaria reduction programs; rehabilitation and building of health clinics; providing education on HIV/AIDs; and working with disabled children and their communities.

ORAF provides development assistance on a non-discriminatory basis and cannot support any activities that have religious, welfare or partisan political objectives.

ORAF is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct. ORAF is also accredited as a Base agency with AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development). ORAF supports Micah Challenge and the halving of the world poverty by 2015.

Donations to the Archbishop’s Overseas Relief and Aid Fund are tax-deductible.