Christian Aid Appealing for Help

Christian Aid has launched an appeal for the Sri Lanka Crisis. The fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger separatist has led to 100,000 to 200,000 civilians to be caught in between. Thousands of men and women are being killed daily while roughly 2,000 a day are fleeing the country to transit camps.

This is where Christian Aid has stepped in because these camps are not adequately prepared to provide relief for the mass influx of people. So they are calling out to the nation for help through funding.

You can help by donating here.

Issue Four: Trade

A problem that Christian Aid sees is the problem of unfair trade on a global scale. Ultimately, rich countries are exploiting poor communities in developing countries who will take any price just to have money. International trade is worth $10 million per minute, yet poor countries only account for 0.4% of this trade.

What is C.A. doing about this issue?

C.A. believes that “…[t]rade must be used to help bring an end to poverty—not deepen and prolong it.” So now they are demanding that that EU stop insisting that its former colonies open up their markets through the economic partnership program. They are also fighting for fair trade policies be put in place to protect developing countries from being subjugated to more wealthy countries and their demands.

Christian Aid using Celebrity Endorsement

Christian Aid has employed the use of celebrity endorsement to help create traction for their yearly Christian Aid Week. Soap Star Kara Tointon is endorsing “Quizaid” which is a fundraising event for C.A. to raise funds for the worlds poorest communities.

Kara said, “'I hope all the pubs, clubs, churches and community halls up and down the country get quizzing for Quizaid,” she continued, 'Having seen some of Christian Aid’s work myself in Zambia, where I saw children who have been orphaned by HIV given homes and care, I know how vital this money is.”

Celebrity endorsement can have a huge effect on organizations. We see celebrity endorsement ranging from star athletes and actors endorsing the well-known (Nike) to the obscure (used car lots).

The question I ask is should nonprofits be paying celebrities to endorse their “name” so to speak?

Personally, I don’t think they should. Unless the celebrity is willing to do it for free I don’t see the point. As an organization you are raising funds so that you can give to developing countries and those in need financial support. Not to mention money to support a highly underpaid workforce, an underpaid workforce of men and women who are giving up the pursuit of “riches and wealth” to serve the less fortunate. So to give a celebrity money just to endorse your name is not the best use of your finances as a nonprofit. Are there benefits to celebrity endorsement? Absolutely, I’m just against making the rich richer while the ones who you claim to support fail to find food for the day.

Here me out now: I’m not saying this is what Christian Aid is doing this is just a personal opinion of mine. I will have to study more to see whether Kara was paid or not. I’m just against nonprofits who support the less fortunate giving payoffs to already more than fortunate celebrities.

Issue Three: Conflict

One of the most devastating events to countries attempting to develop is conflict. Conflict destroys communities because instead of pouring money into economic development the money is going toward weapons or medical aid. Christian Aid has been involved with humanitarian aid since its founding in May of 1945 where it started to rebuild Europe after the effects of WWII.

Christian Aid (C.A) has been involved in many humanitarian efforts over the last 60 years from Vietnam to Darfur where they have helped those caught up in the middle of the conflict. However, they do more than just bring in humanitarian aid…they desire to speak out against what they feel is unjust.

Most recently they have speaking out against the Isreali blockade of Gaza. A blockade that C.A. states is “…[s]trangling the economy of this Paleistinian territory and denying civilians sufficient access to food, clean water and basic healthcare.”

They also call on the international community to exert politic influence on political parties involved in the conflict to find resolutions to end the discord.

A great aspect of C.A. is that they do more than just aid in the effort to end the conflict, but they also stay in the country to help them develop. To them “a return to peace is often just the beginning of our involvement in a country.” They understand that their goal is to help communities rebuild their lives and work towards “peaceful, long-term development.”

Overall, C.A. desires to sustain peace, provide a culture of reconciliation and then rebuild a stronger quality of life.

Issue Two: HIV

Another issue that Christian Aid deals with is HIV. HIV is a deadly epidemic known worldwide. 11,000 people are infected every day, and 7,500 die each day as a result. What we don’t calculate into those statistics is that those that die are fathers and mothers that leave millions of children with no parents to raise them.

How does Christian Aid help? Christian Aid has 250 partner organizations that they connect with in over 40 countries. Their priorities in dealing with HIV are:

• HIV work in fragile states, and in conflict and post-conflict areas
• HIV and nutrition/food security
• HIV work with and for young people
• Support for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV
• Community-based HIV care and prevention

They also implement the SAVE approach which incorporates the ABC approach (Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Condom use) as well as educating men and women in different countries about the disease.

If you want to get involved you can donate to the fund by clicking here.

Liberal Judaism Joins Forces with Christian Aid

Christian Aid just published recently that they would be joining forces with the Jewish movement Liberal Judaism to promote a new climate change in the Copenhagen Pledge. A climate change deal that would support the poor in the world that are feeling the effects of global warming more than developing countries.

Rabbi Rich, of Liberal Judaism, states: “Climate change affects everyone, irrespective of religion but the poor suffer disproportionately. The threat to ur world is so great that it is vital that Liberal Jews join people of other faiths to lobby for lawas that cut carbon emissions.”

Head of campaigns for Christian Aid Paul Brannen said: “I am delighted that Liberal Jews are showing solidarity with Christian Aid and joining us in crucial activism to stop global warming. We hope this will mark the beginning of ongoing cooperation on a shared campaign issues.”

The interesting element that must be studied here in looking at the rhetoric used is should Christian organizations pair with organizations of other faiths?

There are many fundamentalist that would believe if you call yourself a “Christian” that you shouldn’t do work with other organizations that aren’t of the same faith. So where do I stand as a Christian myself?

I believe to live healthily in a pluralistic society we must learn how to work together. We must be able to work together despite our deep seeded differences. Even though I stand firm in my faith I also stand firm in the fact that we are called to serve the poor. Overall, I don’t see a problem with Christian organizations working together especially over a topic such as working to better improve the world in which we live.

Thoughts?

Copenhagen Pledge

So I'm taking a slight detour from my study of the different issues of Christian Aid to focus on a project they are working on for climate change, which I discussed in my last blog post. They are mobilizing efforts to get people to take the Copenhagen Pledge. This is in response to the upcoming UN climate summit in Copenhagen that will discuss and decide on the methods used to combat the worlds climate change. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and to get as many people to sign the pledge so that they can send the prime minister a list of all the pledges to show the "demand for climate justice".

The pledge requires the people to:

1. Campaign for a fair and just deal in Copenhagen
2. Lobby the richest to repay their carbon debt.
3. Do all I can to reduce my own carbon footprint.
4. Pass this pledge on to my community, friends and family.
   

You can click here to learn more and watch a short video clip on the subject.

Issue One: The Climate

As stated in the earlier post Christian Aid has their funds and resources spread out all across the globe in a variety of different missions. On their website we see that they have five core issues which include; climate change, conflict, HIV, rights and justice, and lastly fair trade. The question that begs to be asked when organizations are this spread out is are they more effective focusing on a few core issues or is a wide spread network more beneficial? Today starts the first day of a series of blogs that will break down every element of those issues and how Christian Aid is involved, then at the end of the series I will diagnose whether I feel this is the most effective coarse of action. The list will not be based on the most important issues to Christian Aid just the format in which they are laid out on their website. Issue number one is climate change.

In many countries the people rely on subsistence farming or farming to make their living. In recent seasons as the dry seasons become longer and harsher the conditions of the soil have become drastically worse. The statistics and implications of this problem is disturbing.

From the Christian Aid website they list these statistics:

• "At the current rate scientist predict that at the current rate of carbon emissions tens of millions more people will go hungry in the next couple of decades as agricultural yields diminish across the globe."
• "If nothing is done to stem a rise of 2% in global average temperature by 2050-they say-250 million people will be forced to leave their home."
• "A one degree Celsius rise by 2020, would see an extra 240 million people experiencing water 'stress'-where supply can no longer be stretched to meet demand.
• "The predicted 1.3 degree Celsius rise by 2025 would see tens of millions more going hungry due to falling agricultural yields in the developing world and rising global food prices"

What is Christian Aid doing about this problem?

Christian Aid right now is partnering with villages in Bolivia, Bangladesh, India, and Tanzania to help create new methods of cultivating soil. Alongside of that they are "campaigning to ensure fair and effective deal for the world's poorest at Copenhagen Climate Conference in December of 2009."

Christian Aid's Large Network: Benefit or Detriment?

Christian Aid is an organization that has their hands in many cookie jars so to speak. Over the next few days I'm going to analyze the different areas in which Christian Aid is involved and then I'm going to wrestle through whether that is the most effective allocation of resources and time. Stay tuned!

Review of the Big Tax Return

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, but the flu and a stomach bug have taken me down; however, I'm back in business and ready to roll. 

I want to take a look at Christian Aid's implementation of the Big Tax Return. First off I just want to say that I think it's a great idea because I believe that business controls everything. Business is where the money circulation comes from by providing jobs and by providing goods to export. Look at the economic dilemma were in right now in the U.S. because business men weren't held accountable, but how much more does bad business ethics effect countries that are struggling economically to begin with? 

If we are able to hold business men accountable for their actions and are able to keep an eye on money we have the ability to limit the amount of business fraud that takes place while also being able to give countries the economic support they need. Sounds like a good plan to me.