CWS Update May 2009
Climate Change: CWS
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May 3 – World Press Freedom Day (See item on
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May 15 – International Day of Families (See the work of Devasarana)
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May 21 – Cultural Diversity Day
Philippines
Eco-zone Development programme in three areas which were exposed to
extreme climatic events such as Typhoon Frank in June, 2008. A total of
82,281 families, totalling 72% of the population in all 17 towns of
the Aklan province, were directly affected by the calamity. 54,278 houses were either totally or partially damaged and the abnormal precipitation triggered landslides and mudflows. Barely
10% of the mangrove cover in the coastal communities remained and
several low-lying communities now face rising sea levels and are
vulnerable to storm surges and soil erosion. The
encroachment of sea water into agricultural lands and residential
areas, as well as increased flooding have likewise been noted.
project has encouraged local communities to conscientiously continue
integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in their
community development efforts. Organised actions include an
information-education drive, mangrove reforestation, advocacy against
garbage dumping along waterways, coastal clean-up drives, local
regulations for the protection and conservation of coastal resources,
community mobilisation for small infrastructure development for village
schools and emergency response preparations, such as food and other
relief stocks.
technology in farming practices, water harvesting techniques and
construction of houses, shelters and dikes has been introduced. Thus,
combined efforts to strengthen community capacity with natural barriers
through mangrove reforestation and local development planning, are
directed towards building resilient communities.
from the Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa
New Zealand has Bible study material as well as gardening tips aimed at
home food production and elimination of waste.
Darfur : Situation Worsening
is going from bad to worse,” he said. “The expelled organisations were
coping with at least 40 percent of all the humanitarian help.”
in April ACT International advised that the World Food Programme had
undertaken distributions of double rations, but having lost the major
part of its capacity to deliver aid, will be unable to monitor these
distributions adequately. The pre-positioning of stocks in
means that no humanitarian problem has been reported yet, but a major
crisis is expected in 6-8 weeks, when the serious reduction in capacity
caused by the expulsions will be felt. Stocks will be
depleted and the rainy season will have started. The effect of the
expulsions is being felt in the following order: services in health and
nutrition, food, water, sanitation and shelter.
has been assessing its capacity to take on more work in education and
agriculture, although continuing to experience delays in the renewal of
stay visas and travel permits in both the South and West.
Fiji
face of the current situation, CWS Partner in Fiji, ECREA (Ecumenical
Centre for Research, Education and Advocacy), is endeavouring to create
dialogue within the country between the military and various civil
society groups, rather than making media statements. It says that reports and reactions in the western media are not helpful. ECREA
staff also say that daily life goes on as usual and in fact at present
they feel the towns are safer than they have ever been. CWS is
continuing to support ECREA and other church-based organisations which
are engaged in peace-making activities.
Meanwhile
the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) of which both
ECREA and CWS are members has called for the lifting of media
censorship in
in a statement noted that, ‘The introduction of blanket censorship
during the emergency calls the government’s commitment to restoring
democracy into serious doubt. The authorities must remove censors from
newsrooms, lift restrictions, free detained journalists, and halt the
expulsion of foreign reporters immediately’. Further, the
Pacific Freedom Forum, with active members among journalists, editors,
producers and journalism academics, has launched an online petition for
individuals and organisations worldwide to express continuing strong
solidarity with journalists and media organisations in
worldwide programme of activities includes a focus on communication
rights, democratisation of the media, and media and gender justice.
WACC calls on churches and opinion leaders to express concern for the
citizens of
When
apartheid crumbled in 1994, an estimated 14 million South Africans
lacked access to a formal water supply, and about half the country - 21
million people - had no formal sanitation, according to the Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). Since then, access
to water has increased dramatically, but backlogs persist: in 2008,
about 5 million people were still in need of adequate supplies, while
three times more - 15 million people - lacked basic sanitation.
quality of municipal drinking water is monitored monthly, with nearly
all municipalities reporting an acceptable standard of water. However,
outdated infrastructure and problems in retaining skilled staff have
contributed to what DWAF admits are unacceptably high levels of
pollution in some rivers and dams. So while
tap water is among the best in the world, according to DWAF, with
millions still lacking access to flush toilets and piped water, the
threat of waterborne diseases cannot be ignored. Indeed high levels of the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria have already been detected in the water supply in some areas. Municipalities
across the country have blamed poor water quality on a lack of
resources and capacity that has put far too much strain on ageing water
treatment plants. In 2004
It feeds large portions of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area,
the country’s economic heartland, as well as most of the northern
wildlife is also struggling to cope with the environmental impact.
Recently contractors removed 20 tonnes of dead fish after a local NGO,
Save the Vaal River Environment (SAVE), took the local municipality to
court for leaking millions of litres of raw sewage into the river. SAVE
said the pollution had contributed to stomach and intestinal disorders
among nearby residents. In its defence, the municipality
- well aware of its failing pumps and ageing infrastructure – argues
that it lacks the finances and capacity to correct the situation.
are the sole source of water for many people living in informal
settlements, as well as rural and peri-urban areas - a complex
environment in which service provision operates. So since standard
sanitation systems are problematic in townships, systems based on
ventilated pit latrines, where an additional ventilation shaft is dug
alongside the main hole to reduce odour and the presence of flies and
mosquitoes are being explored. Extremely high levels of
government subsidy are needed to fund conventional sewage systems,
while such ventilated pit latrines have proven to be a cost-effective
alternative. One solution to part of a difficult water problem.
French Polynesia : Historic Trial on Nuclear Test Consequences
the eight plaintiffs in this first case who are former workers from the
Moruroa nuclear test site, three are still alive and suffering from
cancers of the blood. The five others have already died, mainly from
leukaemia, and will be represented at the trial by their widows. They
were accompanied by several hundred former Moruroa workers, come to
support their comrades and the widows, representatives of Moruroa e Tatou
(the association of former Moruroa workers), the Protestant Maohi
Church, community organisations from around the country and the
President of French Polynesia, Mr. Oscar Temaru, who himself worked at
Moruroa.
years of lies and speeches claiming the tests were harmless, Polynesian
victims and their lawyers will demand the truth, in spite of
July 2008 decision to forbid access to the nuclear archives. The
plaintiffs are asking for compensation, due to their suffering through
illness, which has destroyed their family life or left their wives
alone to care for children after their premature death. Moruroa e Tatou
says that other cases will come before the courts, with other victims
waiting for their case files to be finalised so they can lodge a case
against the French government.
1997 Hiti Tau, with the Protestant Maohi Church of French Polynesia,
undertook research into the “consequences of the French nuclear testing
programme in
and accidents that occurred at the test-sites, but also stories about
unexplained diseases fuelled this concern for more than a decade”.
above quote is from the introduction to the resulting book, “Moruroa
and Us” (Moruroa e tatou) which for the first time presented a credible
expose of the consequences of the French nuclear test programme. It
concluded that, contrary to French denials, there was contamination,
the environment had suffered, that even small doses of radiation can
provoke cancers and genetic diseases, concern about the safety of
nuclear waste is legitimate and the geological predictions (regarding
the chances of underground test residues breaking out into the Pacific)
could be questioned. All of this and the ensuing long struggle by victims to get justice has finally led to the historic first court case. It has also given fresh impetus to the struggle by
and other endemic conflicts, governments committed to shared security
are set to reach an historic milestone this year. Specifically, the
number of countries protected by nuclear-weapon-free zones is set to
jump to 110 countries from 56 at present.
a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Churches are promoting the step, and
linking Africa’s action to the need for similar progress in the
and the world,” notes Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, a senior African
statesman. Kiplagat is leading a World Council of Churches’ (
initiative to help bring the Africa Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty
into force, with church action nationally to support an international
goal.
treaty will mean that the whole southern hemisphere and adjoining
regions are protected. Latin America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia,
the South Pacific and
focus on collective international security has been growing for months,
with ecumenical participation of different kinds. “The commitment of
world religions to shared security means bringing governments to make
good on their promise to free the world of nuclear weapons,”
has already helped push nuclear treaties higher on the world agenda.
Curbing nuclear fuels and banning all nuclear tests will be central
issues at major United Nations conferences the
Sri Lanka
are focused on assisting families to improve their food production,
both for their own use and to create income from the sale of surpluses. A
key aspect of the work is its ‘Readers’ Societies’ which bring young
people from about age 7 to 17 together for various activities, chief
among which is learning through reading.
books are kept in one person’s home so they can be exchanged and apart
from those received from Devasarana, the young people raise funds to
buy more books.
are educational programmes which help with school work and sometimes
the societies have lectures, for example on home gardens and how to
deal with the problem of drought and topics such as human rights. The groups foster skills like dancing, song and other cultural activities – to bring talents to the surface in young children. Sometimes they have tours to consolidate unity and learn about other villages.
village culture traditionally boys and girls don’t mix. Before the
society started the attitude among the village elders was against it,
but since the elders have learned about the progress from the meeting,
they have changed. Now girls and boys get together to organise drinks and food at festivals. The
religious festivals are a further opportunity to build understanding
between the races and to foster common feelings for everyone. Groups
have gone to the war-affected areas as part of Devasarana’s
peace-building process.
are the outcomes for the children? One young boy says, “I have learned
to write essays, such as ‘Not to Cut a Weeping Tree’ - the tree is
crying, why are you cutting me? At home I read the paper and do homework, then I help my mother: getting firewood, scraping coconut and bringing water.”
a 17-year old lad says the best thing about the Reading Society is to
be in a group and organise different activities. “I was president for
one year in 2002 and from that I learned about decision-making. It is not just my ideas – I consulted and we took collective decisions.”
