[ ‘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.
Continue reading Environmentally Sustainable Development in Thailand
Education opportunities and safety are civilian rights that shall be protected by any governmental bodies. When such rights could not be guaranteed, external support is called for in order to maintain a stable society.
There is a dormitory besides a public school in Sandung, in Kachin State, which benefits the students who would otherwise spend a lot of time travelling to and from their homes. It is also the home of multiple orphans. The building is far from spacious, and houses close to 80 people (including caretakers, pastors, and teachers) at its peak, around 50 during academic holidays. The demand to expand became increasingly apparent to locals as they too are concerned with the living conditions and the tight personal spaces between the adolescents, as well as the need to provide appropriate spaces to more school children to live with dignity.
The Chinese New Year is one of the most anticipated festivals for children, because the elderly will give them red pockets for new-year blessings. No matter how naughty or shy the children are in the rest of the year, they will greet their parents and elderly to get a red pocket.
Continue reading We Wish a Fruitful Year for the Poor Families from Afar
Yunxi County, situated in the North West rural areas of Hubei, China, an area constraint by limited resources and a place where many Huis (Muslims) dwell. From 2010 onwards, CEDAR carries out rural community development projects there: organising villagers to build water supplies system and infrastructures to solve years of water shortage problem; providing living assistance to the underprivileged and impoverished households, whose lives are disrupted by chronic illnesses. We help them increase family income through developing livestock raising. Thus far, we have reached more than 600 households.
‘I have bad health and our family is poor. I have to sell my cows to support my daughters’ education. Thanks to CEDAR that I can now raise cows and sheep again. The money we earn is enough for my family too,’ said Mother Ma who lives with her two daughters. In addition, Mother Ma and other villagers used the money they saved to fix the main road in their village, easing the daily travel of other people. The family of another villager, Mr. Ma, did not have much experience in raising sheep. In the past they only got 6 sheep. Through the animal husbandry training, the sheep in his family were being fed properly, resulting in the multiplication of present 34 sheep. The income they generated from selling sheep greatly relief their economic pressure.
In past 10 years, CEDAR work in partnership with Hubei Provincial Christian Council to serve the impoverished villagers, providing support in livelihoods development, education, livestock management. In all good and bad times, we have witnessed how God cared for the needs of the Hubei villagers and brought about changes in their lives and community.
Pray for the Hubei Community Development Projects:
Donate Now! Click here. Other Methods of Payment
Download Donation Form
Please send a completed Donation Form, enclosing with cheque or pay-in slip, to CEDAR FUND, G.P.O. BOX 3212, HONG KONG.
[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.
[ePrayer – Pray for the Rural Community Development in India]
Partner EFICOR, in partnership with SCOPE, launched community development projects aiming at sustainable livelihood and capacity building in villages in Orissa, India, where most of the villagers are illiterate, lack of new agricultural skills, and face difficulty in transportation. CEDAR has supported this programme since 2008.
Thanks to our God that through the work of our partner EFICOR in India, there are 43 adults in the project’s villages who can now read and write simple Oriya alphabets & important words. Many of them now understand the importance of education and are willing to arrange their children to schools. In the past, the poor farmers got to work far from home after the harvest season. But now, they take the initiative to form groups in applying jobs under the government scheme. So as a result, the seasonal migration has decreased by 20%. In addition, thanks God that staff of SCOPE are now capable to manage on financial management & documentation independently after training.
Pray for the Rural Community Development Projects in India:
Other Methods of Payment
Download Donation Form
Please send a completed Donation Form, enclosing with cheque or pay-in slip, to CEDAR FUND, G.P.O. BOX 3212, HONG KONG.
[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.
The “Horn of Africa” which refers to the Eastern part of the Continent has been seriously affected by climate change in recent years. Drought often occurs and the local people who rely heavily on pasturing and farming have suffered a lot. In the Borena zone,Southern Ethiopia, most families are pastoralists and they were made poor and vulnerable by the recurrent drought. They did not have enough food for themselves and there is not enough pasturing grass for their livestock. As a result, livestock becomes weak or die. For many years pastoralists do not have the ability to prepare and store food in order to survive through future droughts, making daily lives very difficult.
CEDAR has supported Tearfund a drought relief project in Oct – Dec 2011 in the Borena zone of Ethiopia. Following that, in partnership we provide assistance to 7,000 poor and vulnerable households in the area of rehabilitation with project interventions focus on improving local’s livelihoods such as restocking of livestock, income diversification through introduction and promotion of high yielding agricultural inputs, construction of water schemes for human and livestock consumption, promoting saving and credit culture through organizing Self-Help Groups. Formation and strengthening of Cooperatives with the primary aim to promote trading & marketing of livestock as well as to explore alternative income sources. Moreover, awareness raising on the right knowledge of HIV/AIDS will be dealt in the project. This can help the people in Borena zone to recover from the negative impact of drought as well as to enhance their ability to fight against drought or climate change in the future.
