The Advent and Christmas Appeal launched by the Church of Ireland’s Bishops’ Appeal for World Aid and Development, in the last days of November, focuses on the desperate situation in the Middle East.  No-one will be surprised by this – we only have to watch news updates on our TV screens, or news apps on our phones to see day by day stories of those whose lives have been destroyed since the October 7th massacre carried out by Hamas, and the actions of Israel in Gaza where thousands have been killed and injured, and according to the UN over a million have been forced to leave their homes.

Among those working with displaced people in the region is a Tearfund project in Lebanon – through a local partner. In addition to the escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza there was an increase in tensions and violent incidents along the Israel-Lebanon border.

 

Irish troops are currently stationed in the area, running Camp Shamrock, a UN peacekeeping base close to the Lebanon-Israel border.  They are there to try to keep the peace in the face of regular clashes and a deteriorating security situation between the Israeli Defence Forces, Hezbollah and other armed groups.

As fears grow of the conflict spreading into Lebanon, many thousands of people have already been displaced, and need emergency support and aid.  From food to mattresses to medicines – th

ose fleeing their homes have nothing and need emergency help simply to survive.

One displaced person from a village on the border, now in Lebanon with his family, said: “It was a difficult decision to leave. My home and my work are there, and I don’t know if it will still be there when I get back – we have no idea. Our lives are in that village.

“Everything here – the cleaning supplies, the blankets – is helpful. But the best thing is the mattresses – they are the perfect thing to give to people who are displaced.”

Speaking in early November, one of the project volunteers at the emergency supplies centre explained: “What happened recently in Israel and

Gaza and the consequences of it are making the situation even harder for the Lebanese.  The people who live in villages near the border have been especially affected and had to flee to Beirut.

“In the first weeks of the conflict alone about 19,000 people were displaced and the ones who stayed lived in constant fear.  Bombs were falling on them and they lost all their harvest, including the harvest of olives on which they heavily rely economically because the crops were contaminated with white phosphorus.”

Your generosity this Advent in response to this appeal for the crisis in the Middle East will make an incredible difference to people in great need, and make sure that they know they are not forgotten.

Online donations to Bishops’ Appeal can be made at https://store.ireland.anglican.org/donations/the-bishops-appeal and further details about how to give through parish collections, or by cheque or bank transfer, are available at https://bishopsappeal.ireland.anglican.org/give

With thanks to Tearfund for photography.

Bishops’ Appeal warmly welcomes the support of Bishop Michael Burrows in his peregrination around the dioceses of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe this month and early December.  When he visits every church building in the diocese, he will be collecting donations towards two projects he has chosen to support through Bishops’ Appeal.

The first is in Burundi, still one of the world’s poorest countries and one where women are severely impacted.  A literacy and financial education programme run by Mothers’ Union has dramatically improved the lives of those taking part.  Literacy impacts every aspect of life; whether you can give yourself or your children the correct dose of a medicine, or if you can read the correct prices in shops or are at risk of being cheated. The programme brings transformation to local communities, helping with financial empowerment, improves gender equality, and helps the Mothers’ Union deliver its aims of promoting legal marriage and positive parenting.

As one recent participant in the programme explains: “The programme is life changing…. It gives you a new lease of life. We have learnt to read and write so it has opened our eyes.  We make money and can feed and clothe ourselves and our children. We have bought land and built our own homes.” And nearly all the participants reported their joy that they could now read the Bible for themselves.

The second ‘Peregrination project’ to benefit will be a project in Madagascar which encourages people living in a remote village to set up sustainable silk businesses. The discovery of silkworms in the mangrove forest has opened up new possibilities for the villagers, instead of the traditional timber harvesting and charcoal production which caused significant damage to the land and environment.

Feed the Minds charity works with local women to provide training in setting up sustainable silk businesses, providing education and training on silk production, ecology, financial and management skills to start their own micro–businesses to support themselves and their families. And the bonus is that the land is protected, and the climate is also benefitting as the ecosystem of the forest is protected.

More information about the Peregrinations and Bishop Michael’s route can be found on the diocesan website.

On 6th February 2023 a devastating earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria, causing widespread damage and tens of thousands of fatalities.

Thanks to the generosity of those who faithfully support Bishops’ Appeal with donations and legacies, an emergency grant of €10,000 was released immediately to Christian Aid working with partners on the ground in the affected areas, and an appeal launched to all our parishes for further support.

There was a wonderfully generous response to the appeal and a total of €249,520.65 and £19,216.08 has been sent to Christian Aid from Bishops’ Appeal, with a further grant of €10,000 sent to Tearfund Ireland for their work in the area.

Christian Aid has sent an update on their ongoing work which you can read here which focuses mainly on the situation in Syria. Much of focus of their work has now moved from emergency response into more longer-term development – supporting education, healthcare, and working with engineers to strengthen existing buildings such as schools against future shocks.

In Turkey, the money was spent on meeting immediate needs in the aftermath of the earthquake, and in addition, Christian Aid’s local partner gave 1,000 families affected in the Gaziantep area (in southern Turkey) with cash for Eid-ul-Fitr, so they could have the money they needed to buy food, clothes and some gifts for their children – maintaining important family, religious and cultural traditions. They also organised an Eid festival for more than 130 vulnerable children and some of their mothers with fun activities to mark the end of Ramadan. For communities who are displaced or in a time of crisis, observing religious or cultural holidays can be an important way of increasing individuals’ resilience and respecting priorities – specifically by offering children opportunities to receive care, play, and minimize disruption after an emergency.

A big thank you to all parishes and individuals who gave so generously to support the Turkey/Syria Earthquake appeal, and also to those who have given legacies and other donations which enable Bishops’ Appeal to make immediate donations in the face of emergencies like this.

When a legacy or memorial gift is given to Bishops’ Appeal it can make a difference in one of two ways.  Either through an emergency response to a disaster, when it will enable Bishops’ Appeal to release an immediate grant of 10,000 euros for urgent medical and welfare aid.  Or by providing a development grant to make a lasting change in places where it can help make a difference for the long term.

Here is an example of how donations to Bishops’ Appeal have led to Acacia and Fig Tree nurseries being established in 12 villages in Tanzania, through a grant to Feed the Minds last year.

Feed the Minds partnered with SOCODEE to established Acacia and Fig tree nurseries in 12 villages in Bariadi and Magu Districts, and run training on environmental management and income generating activities to support 1,776 women.

Overall, a total of 52,895 Acacia and Wild Fig saplings were distributed to 1,147 women from across the 12 villages. Each woman received approximately 25 saplings, enough to start a small nursery which will enable farmers to increase their produce and the improve the environment as they will protect water areas around their farms.

As well as the tree nurseries there were women who learnt about rearing and keeping goats, and others who were trained in smokeless stove construction or briquette making – not only enabling them to increase their incomes but also reduce their reliance on harmful indoor open-fire cooking.

The project addressed the compounding problems of low agricultural productivity, high levels of hunger and food insecurity, and poor environmental management in Tanzania.

If you would like to make a donation to Bishops’ Appeal general funds in memory of a loved one, it will create a lasting legacy by changing the lives of those most in need around the world.

With your generous help, Bishops’ Appeal has been supporting Habitat for Humanity’s response to the war in Ukraine from the early days of the war.

We hope that this video, kindly provided by Habitat, will show the difference that your prayerful and practical support has made to families and individuals who are now building a new life.

Parishes are very welcome to show this video in services and other activities.  It can be downloaded from the following page on our Vimeo website: https://vimeo.com/873705717