Outreach and Social Action

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Outreach and Social Action News

At their meeting on March 8th the committee made some major decisions about their future projects.  It was determined that we would focus our attention on three major areas of community assistance.  We will also continue to raise topics of social and environmental concern.

   1.  Wesley Urban Ministries:

· Case for Kids Walkathon:  This year the walk will be on June 6th.  The committee would like to have more Emmanuel Walkers.  Donation forms will be available at the church April 4.  Plan now to be a “walker” and ask friends a neighbours for small donations to this worthwhile cause. Last year with congregational, friends, neighbours and relatives support Emmanuel raised $2794.75. The money raised will be used so that Wesley can reach out to those in need through effective social service programs.  Ontario Early years Centre, Wesley Child Care Programs, Summer Day Camps and March Break Program, Teen Drop in Centre, Wesley Your Housing, Case Management and Support Team for Family Supportive Housing. Is it not amazing how much Wesley Urban Ministries is doing to help the disadvantaged in our community.

· Christmas Store:  More in later news letter

·  Annual Sunday Dinner:  CONGRATULATIONS!  The Outreach Committee would like to thank you for reaching out to the disadvantaged in the inner city by providing $over $500.00 to provide sufficient food to feed 215 clients at Wesley Centre.  We would also like to thank the 18 people who prepared and served the meal on Sunday Feb. 14.  Also thanks to the Emmanuel Choir for their participation in the worship service conducted by Thom Davies and Sandra McCarl.

2.   Neighbour to Neighbour:

 We continue to have an ongoing collection of non-perishable food; We have arranged with the centre to pick up food at the church the 2^nd Sunday of each month.  We will remind you on the 1^st Sunday to bring food on the 2^nd Sunday.

 

3.  Canadian Foodgrains Bank:
 
It was agreed that this should be one of our main thrusts again this year.  It has been suggested that we grow oats this year as a different crop.  We may grow a surprise crop along with it.  WE said we would grow oats last year but ended up with a fine crop of corn.  Crop suggestions are welcome.

Wesley Urban Ministries

 

It is Case for Kids time again. Become an "Emmanuel Walker!" Pick up a pledge form from the Outreach desk to gather money for your fun day of walking and talking on June 6. Get pledges from people from neighbours, friends, co workers, etc. OR bring cash or cheques to support the "Emmanuel Walkers" The Outreach desk will be open to receive these funds for the few weeks. Watch the bulletin for information on how these funds will be spent.

Christmas Store

Wesley Christmas Store:

Keep an eye on this section for news of 2010’s store

Neighbour to Neighbour

We have arranged with the centre to pick up food at the church the 2^nd Sunday of each month.  We will remind you on the 1^st Sunday to bring non perishable food on the 2^nd Sunday..

FYI from the Outreach Committee

Wednesday April 7, 2010

Trinity United Church,  4287 William Street, Beamsville
Beginning at 6:30 PM with a potluck supper followed by workshop

 

With Carol Thiessen, CFGB Public Policy Advisor

Have you ever considered how climate change affects hunger around the world?  Carol Thiessen will help participants explore the connections between climate change and hunger by asking tough questions and offering her ideas on solutions.  She will also look at what Canadians can do to help those most affected.

Carol's perspective is informed by her recent work in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where she met with farmers and attended workshops on the relationship between climate change and hunger.  

All are welcome!  No prior knowledge of the CFGB, food justice, or climate change is necessary.  There is no registration.  Please bring a main course or dessert item to share at the potluck suppers. These potluck suppers will begin with a short reflection:   “food is a sacred gift”.  Several members of the Outreach Committee plan to attend. Please join us.           Call 905-389-7137.

Thursday, April 15 “Living with respect in Creation” Preparing for Earth Day workshop will be held at the Hamilton Conference Office 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Some members of the Outreach Committee plan to attend. Please join us. Call 905-389-7137

 

Windows:  Good News

As you know the church has replace 28 windows with windows that are environmentally friendlier.  These windows were offered to the congregation at $365.00.  to date (May 18) 20 have been purchased by congregation members.  It is not to late for you to purchase one.  This may be done with no down payment and no interest charges, no set up fee.  Just call Tom  905-389-7137 or Jean  905-385-3123 to make arrangements.

The Right to Food in an Indian Village

At age 10, Mukesh has already known more days of hunger than of school. He goes to school occasionally, but more often has to stay at home to help his parents in the fields. Like the rest of the village, his parents are landless labourers, working for nearby rice and wheat farmers. They are paid a few kilos of rice for each day they work, but there are long periods of time when there is no work, and hunger haunts the village.
        There is hope for improvement though, since EFICOR (Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief ) has started a “right to food” campaign. I met Mukesh in Saraugad, a village of Musahar people in northern India. Musahar’s are outcasts, at the bottom of India’s social scale. Though all people are now equal according to Indian law, Musahars still experience discrimination and lack of opportunities. Of the 92 families who live in Saraugad, only 2 adults can read, only a handful of children attend school sporadically, and most people are visibly malnourished. EFICOR is an Indian church-based NGO with a strong track record of improving the lives of poor people through food programs and human rights advocacy.
           Canadian Foodgrains Bank has been supporting their right to food project since 2007, through their member agency World Relief Canada. I visited two project villages with EFICOR staff early in 2008, to improve my understanding of their approach, and the context within which they work. The project involves lower caste and tribal people in 100 villages in two Indian states, and its aim is to improve delivery of Indian government welfare benefits to groups who are not receiving their legal entitlement. The Indian government already has welfare programs designed to provide food and employment to the most vulnerable people in society. There are cut-price shops which sell food at about half the market rate, and there is a program which guarantees 100 days of paid work per year for those who need it.
                  To be eligible for Mukesh and his family these programs, however, a person first has to get a “ration card” or a “job card”. Many Musahar people had not heard of the welfare programs, but even those who applied were ignored by local government officials and the people who run the cut-price shops. In Saraugad, EFICOR started by telling people about the government’s food and work programs, and the fact that all Indians had a right to access these programs. Then they met with local government officials to remind them of their responsibility to all the people in their district, and to encourage them to make job and work cards available to Musahar villages. EFICOR also works with sympathetic media (radio, TV and newspapers) to bring discrimination to light. I saw the benefit of EFICOR’s approach in a visit with another organization (SSEVK) which has been working with Musahar people in another village for several years. Using similar tactics, SSEVK work has led to dramatic improvements in people’s lives. Access to ration cards and job cards is only the beginning—once the people had more secure sources of food and income, they could concentrate their energy on education, health and broader ways to participate in society.
              Now, 60% of the children are in school, overall health has improved, some villagers own land, and many Musahar people have won elections to local government offices. SSEVK has calculated that for every dollar they have spent on the right to food project, there has been about seven dollars of increased government benefits to Musahar people. Even without the health and education indicators, I saw a striking difference between the people of the two villages I met. Where right to food work is just beginning, people seemed to accept that it was their destiny to be poor and hungry. Any potential to improve their lives rested outside their own power, with landowners, or NGOs, or government. In contrast, where right to food work was well established, people told me with pride “We made our own lives better. We were helped by SSEVK, but we did this for ourselves.” Though Mukesh doesn’t understand all the talk about the right to food, he is aware of a new hope in the village. He hopes that he’ll get to spend more time in school and less in the fields. His parents hope for the day they won’t have to worry about food. And the Musahars hope they will finally be able to participate as equals in Indian society.

—Paul Hagerman, Public Policy Manager