[ePrayer – Pray for the cyclone affected communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar]
Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for Cyclone Mahasen, a storm which could affect millions in the region. According to OCHA, a red storm alert remains in effect for Mahasen, just east-northeast of Sri Lanka, now moving northwards across the Bay of Bengal towards both countries. Set to reach land on 16 May, the storm is expected to strike just south of the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong, but could, depending upon its final trajectory, bring life-threatening conditions for millions of people in northeast India, Bangladesh and Myanmar’s Rakhine State, OCHA warned on 12 May. It was predicted that Myanmar will have rain and thunderstorm on 15 May, followed by increasing wind and rain, as well as flash flooding later.
Aid agencies in Myanmar say heavy rain and mudslides could bring difficult conditions to about 140,000 displaced people across Rakhine state, mostly Rohingya. Up to 45,000 displaced people living in low-lying areas in Sittwe have been identified as the most vulnerable to cyclone Mahasen. Some have begun to be moved to higher ground. [IRIN]
Pray for the cyclone affected communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar:
Pray that Cyclone Mahasen would be weakened;
Pray for God’s protection to those people and communities who are being threatened by the coming cyclone;
Pray that tens of thousands of refugees who have already had so much troubles and suffering would be protected by the Lord and have peace
Pray that local governments and NGOs will have good preparation and coordination on mitigating the risk of the cyclone.
[ePrayer – Pray for the human rights situation in Eritrea]
The serious human rights violations in Eritrea are pushing people to take the difficult decision to leave their families and homes behind for an unknown future. Since the beginning of the year, close to 4,000 Eritrean refugees have crossed the border into Ethiopia, including a large number of unaccompanied children without the knowledge of their families. Children suffered from dysfunctional family circumstances due to the long absence of the father, most of the time because of conscription, lack of educational opportunities and the fear of forced conscription into indefinite national service as major reasons for their decisions to flee. UN expert expressed particular concern about the indefinite national service, the ongoing practice of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention in inhumane conditions and widespread torture, both physical and psychological, during interrogation by the police, military and security forces. [UN]
Pray for the human rights situation in Eritrea:
Pray for God’s protection and provision to those refugees fled from Eritrea, especially the unaccompanied children;
Pray for the change on the human rights situation there;
Pray that local churches and Christian groups would be able to help the them with the Love of God.
CEDAR China Project Officers have successfully completed a post-disaster need assessment and have developed a relief & rehabilitation plan of action. Meanwhile, we have submitted a relief proposal to HKSAR Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to consider. During the need assessment process, our staff was blocked by landslides on the road several times. Till now, the basic living needs of quake victims have been satisfied by the relief materials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC. However, because of the collapsed houses and the small leaking tents due to rain, the victims are now struggling with the shelter and food storage problems, and diseases such as joint pains and skin infections. In the quake affected areas, there are still victims living in crude tents besides collapsed houses, to eat & sleep in the open. In addition with the frequent aftershocks and rainy season, victims in the remote mountainous areas are most vulnerable.
CEDAR will continue working with local churches & Christian groups in Sichuan to deliver bottles of oil, plastic sheets, metal food tanks and sanitary items for women, targeting 2 administrative villages with 426 household in Tianquan County and four administrative villages with 2,880 households in Lushan County. Total budget is 3.1 million HKD. [Sichuan Yaan Quake Relief]
Pray for Sichuan quake relief work:
Pray that we will get a grant approval from HKSAR Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to implement the next phase of relief work shortly;
Pray that local churches and Christian groups and CEDAR will be a channel of God’s grace and love to victims;
May God guides our way on the mid-term and long-term post-quake relief and rehabilitation works.
Relief Donation
Cheque payable to ‘CEDAR FUND’
Deposit to HSBC A/C No. 600-385678-001, enclosing with the Pay-in slip
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
Contact Method
Tel>23819627 Fax>23922777 Email>sharing@cedarfund.org Add>G.P.O. Box 3212Hong Kong
[ePrayer – Pray for the rights of HIV/AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe]
The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe is high and affecting many families. Many widows and orphans are left without assistance and cannot exercise their rights to access to assistance or inheritance. CEDAR partner Trinity Project Trust is used to assist the poor who cannot produce the aforementioned legal documents to gain rightful access to their estates or resolve other property grabbing problems. From this July, they will try to tackle with the cultural practices (e.g. verbal confirmation is enough to confirm a marriage), the fear of witch craft (e.g. bring a baby out of her/his home only after 3 months) and other socio-cultural factors of Zimbabwean through counseling and advocacy.
Pray for the rights of HIV/AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe:
May God use this approach to make people aware of the importance of various kinds of registration;
Pray that partner can raise enough fund to implement the project.
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
CEDAR China Project Officers have successfully completed a post-disaster need assessment and have developed a relief & rehabilitation plan of action. Meanwhile, we have submitted a relief proposal to HKSAR Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to consider. During the need assessment process, our staff was blocked by landslides on the road several times. Till now, the basic living needs of quake victims have been satisfied by the relief materials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC. However, because of the collapsed houses and the small leaking tents due to rain, the victims are now struggling with the shelter and food storage problems, and diseases such as joint pains and skin infections.
This time the local authority has no plan to build temporary shelters (prefabricated houses) to affected families. The families will need to live in the tents for at least one year while they repair or rebuild their houses. The affected families urgently need to tackle problems of leaking tents, shortages of food supplies and women sanitation items. In the quake affected areas, some victims are still living in crude tents besides collapsed houses and taking meals and sleep in the open. In addition to frequent aftershocks, the current rainly season has made villagers from these remote mountainous areas more vulnerable.
Talk with female villagers in Yuxi Village in Baosheng, Lushan County
A victim standing on the debris of his collapsed house in Yuxi Village in Baosheng
Communicate with local social workers in Shuanghe Village in Shuangshi Township, Lushan County
Damaged houses in Shuanghe Village
Have meeting with the officials of Gonghe Village in Tianquan County
Damaged houses in Gonghe Village, Tianquan County
Emergency Relief Plan
CEDAR will continue working with local churches & Christian groups in Sichuan to deliver bottles of oil, plastic sheets, metal food tanks and sanitary items for women, targeting 2 administrative villages with 426 household in Tianquan County and four administrative villages with 2,880 households in Lushan County. Total budget is 3.1 million HKD.
Emergency relief is just the first response in an quake. The mid-term and long-term post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation works are very important. According to staff ’s observation, the NGOs are mainly aware of the need of affected children, but less attention given to the aged and disabled people. We will try to explore the needs of the aged and disabled victims. Please continue to support and pray for our relief & rehabilitation work in Sichuan Yaan Quake.
Relief Donation
Cheque payable to ‘CEDAR FUND’
Deposit to HSBC A/C No. 600-385678-001, enclosing with the Pay-in slip
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
Contact Method
Tel>23819627 Fax>23922777 Email>sharing@cedarfund.org Add>G.P.O. Box 3212Hong Kong
