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On Sunday, November 16th, if you were in church, you would have been given an envelope, to make your annual contribution through the URC to help disadvantaged people in Bangladesh. These are the regional partners which we particularly support at present. Today, the changing climate is driving many farmers from their homes and more find it difficult to make a living. We expect your contribution either on Sunday 23rd or 30th November.
75% goes to Christian Aid, 10% to the World Development Movement. The money is collected and passed through to Christian Aid who process it; this then passes to the main local agencies with which they work in each region. This grew up about the time of the Millennium. John and Liz Crocker who were with us then, told us of their work in Bangladesh earlier—and that was how we came to choose the Bangladeshi as partners.
Now I am wondering if the time has come when you would like to change to support one of the other three Partners. These are Jamaica, Zimbabwe and the Occupied Territories of Occupied Palestine. From Zimbabwe we have heard so much about their suffering from an immoral government, resulting in collapse of the economy, frustration of the people and political turmoil. We work to bring solidarity to improve the situation and to work for justice and hope in Zimbabwe.
Jamaica is a paradise of a country. But it is a place where violence dominates. It is a country of victims of which 80% are young men aged between 15 and 44, living in the poverty of the volatile communities like Spanish Town, a satellite town of Kingston. Here, uneducated young men, with few prospects of employment turn to violence and gang warfare. MAN, or Male Awareness Now exists to tackle this cycle of violence. It works with 100 young men under 25, spending a day each week learning about conflict resolution, sexual health and vocational skills, such as barbering, IT and photography, to give them a different outlook on life and an opportunity to do something.
In the Occupied Territories of Palestine, Hebron is not a place of peace, quiet and trust. Palestinian and Israeli communities live in closer proximity here than anywhere else in the West Bank. They live in violence and fear. Tight restrictions make trading very difficult, leading to high poverty levels. Israeli troops at check points harass children going to school. In this climate of lawlessness and poverty, Christian Aid Partner Al Haq promotes human rights and respect for the rule of law. Al Haq believe that it is vital that crimes are recorded, despite the lack of a reliable legal process. The implementation of International Law is probably the only way to free both sides from a seemingly vicious cycle, rebuilding to separate Palestinians and Israeli, but land ownership is so disputed.
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