Pray for the Afghanistan Earthquake Survivors

On 26 October, a strong earthquake occurred in the hills of Northern Afghanistan.  It was rated 7.5 on Richter Magnitude Scale.  The nearby countries such as Pakistan and India were also affected.  The buildings there were noticeably shaken, some even fell down.  Citizens had to run for cover.  The earthquake had caused over a thousand deaths so far, including the deaths caused when students of a school in the Takhar Province of Afghanistan ran over each other as they escaped.  The earthquake was a deep earthquake, and it did not begin with strong force initially.  This fortunately gave the residents a chance to escape and mitigated the disaster.  Yet, after the earthquake there was widespread disruption to electricity and communication, and the affected areas are located on remote areas on the hills.  The roads in some areas were blocked by landslide which affected the rescue effort.

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The Sustainable Development Goals

The 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) launched in 2000 set 2015 as the target year.  On 25 September 2015, the United Nations adopted a new set of 17 global goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to replace the MGDs.  SDGs aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

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How Current Refugee Crisis Hurts Syrian NGOs

Syrian refugees continue to flee as the condition in the country worsen. To this date over 4 million Syrian refugees have fled to escape from war and instability.  About 250,000 of them went to Europe which has causes global concern. Some of the refugees who managed to flee used to be volunteers and professionals of Syrian NGOs resulting in the shortage of manpower of NGO workers in the country.

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Pray for the Refugees, Our Neighbours!

More than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. Over 2,600 didn’t survive the dangerous crossing, including three-year-old Alan.

Facing this serious refugee crisis since World War II, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said, ‘No country can do it alone, and no country can refuse to do its part.’

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Rapid Growth of Child Labour in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa fields

More than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply comes from Côte d’Ivoire and neighbouring Ghana. The market price for cocoa beans has fallen sharply since the 1980s and local farmers have increasingly turned to the practice of recruiting children to work the fields.

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