Poverty and Hope Appeal

Wi'am works with the local community to address the impact of the ongoing occupation and of the multiple restrictions placed on Palestinian lives. Holding mediation sessions for families in dispute, running children’s summer camps, carrying out trauma’ coping’ work with children, parents and teachers and running women’s empowerment sessions. Wi’am recognizes the urgent need to engage women in community issues and empower their leadership roles at both the domestic and societal levels. Activities take place both at Wi’am’s  Centre and out in the  communities surrounding Bethlehem where Wi’am works ,including Ramallah and Hebron.

In recent year’s Wi’am has created a peace garden and children’s playground in the shadow of the wall. And now, despite the current lockdown and difficulties, Wi’am has just completed the building of a new hall which has created lots of employment at a time when jobs are scarce, offering a space for more community activities and training.

Meanwhile, Amos partners Al Rowwad and Holy Land Trust (who we also supported last year) are, alongside their usual work, currently busy providing food parcels and support to the many families struggling to survive during the current lockdown due to the ongoing war, which has resulted in high unemployment levels and a need for financial support amongst many families in the Bethlehem area. It has been great to see the three organisations working together at this difficult time.

More information on Amos Trust and its work is available through its website www.amostrust.org

The LAC region faces severe conflict stemming from political, economic, cultural, and environmental tensions, resulting in human rights violations, environmental degradation, displacement, and economic downturns. Moreover, natural disasters and climate change exacerbate these challenges, with droughts and hurricanes affecting 24 million people with the poorest communities are the most exposed to these climate risks.

The initiative aims to reduce conflict by equipping leaders and community members with risk awareness and conflict sensitivity tools to help communities navigate difficult and repressive environments from governments. This will ensure sustainability beyond the project.

As part of this initiative, the 'Communities Living Peacefully' project works at the northern border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. With a focus on reforestation and community engagement, it is not just about planting trees; it is about planting seeds of trust and peace. From restoring ecosystems to fostering dialogue and cooperation, this initiative is transforming lives and reshaping futures.

Together, Haitians and Dominicans are proving that despite borders, they share a common humanity and a common goal for a better tomorrow. From young to old, a change of narrative is taking place.

Mr. Jose a leader of one of the communities' groups shares with us, ’Personally, I feel more empowered to get involved in new environmental projects in the area, such as one that I am designing to sensitize the youth population about environmental protection.’
It is encouraging to see small seeds of change and we look forward to seeing them grow.

There was no school in the village when Naw Mu Kyar and her husband were growing up. They cannot read or write and they don’t want their children to face the same difficulties that they have experienced. When the Church of the Province of Myanmar (CPM) opened the primary school in the village, Naw Mu Kyar sent her five children to learn to read. Once her eldest boys completed their primary education, the family didn’t have enough money to send them away to secondary school, so her eldest son now works with his father in the fields.

To support students with their education, the CPM funds tuition fees, dormitory costs and provides books, uniforms and stationery. This funding has enabled Naw Mu Kyar’s second son to study at secondary school and given her younger children the materials they need to continue attending the village school. Naw Mu Kyar is incredibly grateful for the donations, such as those from the Diocese of Rochester, that have funded the education programme in her village.

Families have no other source of income or food when the harvest fails, and so hunger, sickness and malnutrition are inevitable.
Other consequences include increased food prices, decreased value of livestock, reduced school attendance and divided families, as older males leave to find an income.  

‘Farming God’s Way’, provides resources to the wider body of Christ, to equip the poor and break the yoke of poverty. 
 
Our support funds an annual seminar led by Farming God’s Way specialists from the neighbouring Diocese of Central Tanganyika.  Approximately 140 pastors and catechists attend from across the Diocese and are trained and encouraged to use, and promote in their parishes, different farming methods and new crops, as a response to the changes in climate.