Many countries in South Asia have been inundated during the monsoon season this year. Although the rain has eased up in some of the hardest stricken areas and water levels have subsided, up to 22 July, over 650 people had been killed and over 10 million had been displaced. In light of the severity of the disaster, CEDAR provided a grant of US$60,000 (around HK$470,000) to our Christian partners in India, Bangladesh and Nepal to provide emergency relief to the victims in the region. CEDAR would like to ask all of you for donations to support disaster victims to overcome the adversity.
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?
During holiday, would you travel abroad, or do something meaningful? A team of 10 brothers and sisters from Evangelical Free Church of China Waterloo Hill Church (WHC) spent their 10-day holidays in Nepal last April. They travelled to mountainous communities in Gorkha to visit CEDAR’s partner ACN who are doing post-disaster work. “Through this trip, we hope to help brothers and sisters realise what integral mission is and broaden their gospel vision,” says Joshua, former WHC staff and part of the team. Therefore, they stepped out of the air-conditioning room at church and went to remote mountainous area where they practised walking with local people and the meaning of offering a cup of cold water to little ones. It was the first time for most of the team to visit a disaster area or take part in cross-cultural activity, thus Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) was also a new idea to them.
[“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.
[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] FOCUS ~ Church and Community Mobilisation
Written and edited by: Tsun Wan Yan, Jojo Poon
The act of poverty alleviation often gives the impression of aid workers carrying with them gifts of livestock and funds sponsoring children and their education to some remote villages. However, have you ever considered that the local churches are better suited in bringing continued and sustainable development and support to the people in need?
CEDAR’s partner, ACN, in Nepal has been distributing much-needed relief aid to vulnerable families
Nepal, India, and Bangladesh have been facing the worst monsoon rains in 15 years, triggering severe flooding across the three countries. Over 1,200 people have been killed, and 41 million people have been affected. CEDAR’s partners begun their responses the week after the flooding intensified. The initial responses were carried out in Nawalparasi district in central Nepal and Bihar state in northern India, providing emergency relief items for affected communities.
The response is entering a new stage right now. CEDAR has allocated funds for Asal Chhimekee Nepal (ACN) in Nepal to provide hygiene kits and winter items for 600 households and provide half-month food supply for 200 families (most of them are single-mother households) in Nawalparasi. In Bihar, India, CEDAR is supporting EFIC@R to set up 5 medical camps in affected communities to provide health services and medication, and to also promote human trafficking prevention to help flood-affected people, especially women and children, to safeguard themselves from traffickers.
We have also received a grant of HK$2.88 million from the Hong Kong government’s Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to conduct aid distribution through our India partner, Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), in one of the worst-hit states, Bihar. The distribution will benefit at least 5,000 families, and each household will receive:
Food aid: 35 kg rice, cooking oil, flour, etc.
Household items: 3 bed sheets, 2 floor mats and 2 mosquito nets
Hygiene kits: containing soap, laundry detergent, tooth brush, tooth paste, water purification tabs, and sanitary pads
Two of our colleagues will travel to India to monitor and evaluate on the response, as well as to learn about the condition of the flood-stricken communities. Please continue to support through prayers and donation for the relief effort of CEDAR and its partners in Nepal and India.
Prayer items:
Pray for the flooded communities in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, especially those located in remote areas, may God provide safe shelters for the survivors, give them clean daily food, protect them from diseases despite the poor hygiene condition after the floods.
May God use CEDAR and other Integral Allicance* members and their local partners in the three countries to bring timely and effective assistance to the survivors.
Please pray for the two colleagues who will be traveling to India. Pray that God keep them safe, and have a smooth and fruitful collaboration with EFICOR’s staff.
Donation:
Cheque payable to “CEDAR FUND”
Deposit to HSBC A/C No. 600-385678-001, enclosing with the deposit slip
[1] All funds received will go to “South Asia Floods Relief”. If funds raised exceed the budget devised from the disaster evaluation, the additional amount will go directly to CEDAR’s “Emergency Relief and Disaster Preparedness Fund”. [2] CEDAR is an approved charitable institution and trust of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please visit Inland Revenue Department website for details. [3] Donations over HK$100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [4] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
Contact Information:
Tel>2381 9627
Fax>2392 2777
Email>sharing@cedarfund.org
Add>G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong
*Integral Alliance is a global alliance of 23 Christian relief and development agencies, working together to present a more effective response to poverty worldwide. CEDAR Fund is one of the member agencies. CEDAR and 14 other members of Integral Alliance are responding to flood-affected communities through local partners and churches.
