The Answer to Disaster

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[“SHARE” JUL – SEP 2018 ] FOCUS ~ Disaster Management

Written by: Jady Sit

 

Every time there is a disaster, we feel sad and anxious for the suffering victims. While some people would pray for them, others would donate generously or organise a fundraising campaign, and some people would form a volunteer team to serve the devastated survivors through humanitarian work or counselling support. Although we try to give what we can, in the face of a natural disaster, we still feel helpless and powerless, because what could we do to stop tragedies that are not of our control?

 

In 2015, the massive earthquake in Nepal brought irreversible destructions: close to 9,000 casualties, 3.5 million people lost their homes, and Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was severely damaged. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the overall damage of the quake was about US$10 billion (about half of the country’s GDP). So, is it true that we cannot prevent a disaster from happening?

 

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Will You Make Things Right?

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[“SHARE” APR – JUN 2018 ] FOCUS ~ Reconciliation

Written by: Jady Sit

“Where are you?”

“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

“Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

“The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

The above scene (Genesis 3:9-12), well-known by every Christian, documents the event when men and God’s relationship went from perfect intimacy to complete distant. As Adam accused “the woman you put here with me”, relationship among humans had also become distorted. Then, men and land were cursed. Sin made the world a broken world plagued with poverty, warfare, and exploitation of resources.

Often, we describe CEDAR as a development organisation, but we believe what we actually do is the ministry of reconciliation. Through the work of CEDAR and overseas partners, we hope to urge men to reconcile with God, others, the land, and with themselves; then, we would be able to break the chain of poverty.

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From Desolation to Community

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[“SHARE” JAN – MAR 2018 ] FOCUS ~ Community Development

Written and edited by: Jady Sit, Jojo Poon

At noon on 25 April 2015, Nepal was hit by the strongest earthquake in 80 years. Countless families lost their loved ones, homes, and properties. Approximately one third of Nepal’s population, 8 million, was affected by the quake. In the midst of ruthless disaster, people responded with love. Shortly after the earthquake, the world quickly pooled their resources to help. Yet, when global news coverage died down and emergency relief phased out, this was when we began to walk with the affected communities, helping them to rebuild and recover their communities sustainably for the long run.

In the last decade, CEDAR has been supporting partners’ community development work in mountainous communities in Nepal. Our partners mobilised community members to bring gradual changes to their communities, from hygiene improvement to equipping women’s livelihood skills, so they can live better lives. Though the 7.9-magnitude earthquake had destroyed most of the infrastructures and work in project communities, members and leaders of village committees villages assisted in aid distribution. Their help was vital to CEDAR and its partners to carry out post-quake response efficiently, and it also showed the fruits of development work – villagers’ knowledge and collaborative skills.

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This is Community Development

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[“SHARE” JAN – MAR 2018 ] TAKING ACTION

Written and edited by: Jojo Poon

I enjoy hearing stories and sharing of different development workers very much. If we put their sharing together, then we would get a complete picture of God’s purposes for the poor and the world. For this issue’s “Taking Action”, we invited CEDAR’s staff from different eras to share about their learnings and experiences along the way to put together a blueprint for CEDAR.

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Environmentally Sustainable Development in Thailand

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[ ‘SHARE’ Mar-Apr 2017 ] FOCUS ~ AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Written by: Jojo Poon

What is “development”? What kind of development will lead to better living? In what way will go by contraries? We might be able to find out more from the experience of the farming tribes in Northern Thailand.

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Sharing Land and Cultivating Lives

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[ ‘SHARE’ Mar-Apr 2017 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

Traditionally, our impression towards children ministry might involve sponsoring a child or orphan in their daily expenses or education, but did you know that we could now combine children ministry with community resettlement and agricultural development?

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