Next year's walk will be on Friday 20th May 2016
Friday, 12 June 2015
2015 Walk Update
We had a great day at Shanes Castle - the bluebells in the woodland walk were special. A big thank you to all of you who walked and raised funds.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
2015 Walk - combating child labour
The purpose of this year’s sponsored walk is to help combat
child labour in Zambia. Over 600,000 children between the ages of 5 and 14 are
forced to work – about half of them full-time. We want to raise £22,000 - seems like a lot, but last year you raised an amazing £18,800! So it's possible!
See the project details below.
THE PROJECT
THE NEED:
In Zambia over 600,000 children between the ages
of 5 and 14 years of age are forced to work – about half of them full-time. Tearfund, together with Jesus Cares Ministries
(JCM), wants your help to combat this.
THE PLAN:
500 vulnerable children currently being exploited
through child labour will be given vocational skills and access to good education.
2000 ‘at risk’ children will be prevented from
entering child labour through Life Skills Training.
400 caregivers will be taught skills to improve
their income.
100 local churches will raise awareness of child
labour and awareness will be raised in 4 local communities, impacting
approximately 150,000 people.
THE COST: The direct costs, for 12 months, come to £22,000
|
|
|
|
Education support for children (school materials & uniforms)
|
6,000
|
|
Vocational Skills training
|
3,000
|
|
Life Skills training
|
2,000
|
|
Empowerment of
400 caregivers
|
2,000
|
|
Formation &
training of 20 Self Help Groups
|
4,000
|
|
Church & Community Mobilisation Programme
|
1,000
|
|
Awareness Raising activities
|
2,000
|
|
Quarterly
monitoring visits
|
2,000
|
THe location
This
project addresses poverty, lack of education, sensitisation on issues of child
labour, and empowerment of vulnerable households affected by child labour and
HIV & AIDS.
making a difference?
Below is the story of Josephine Phiri, a mother whose life has been transformed by the work of Jesus Cares Ministries.
My name is Mrs
Josephine Phiri. I am 41 years old and married with 7 children. I live in
Chibeteka Village in Chiparamba Community, where we are all peasant farmers.
I sent my
daughter Maureen (12 years old) and Alpha (8 years old) to JCM Transitional
School for early childhood education and now they are at Chiparamba Primary
School. Maureen is in Grade 5 and Alpha is in Grade 2. Their school performance
is very good.
I am so grateful
to God for the empowerment I received through JCM. I was trained in baking to
sustain the livelihood of my family. My husband helped me build a traditional
baking oven, which I use to bake buns that I sell to the community. With this
money I can support my children with their school needs such as uniforms,
books, pencils and school fees.
My baking
business earns me K50 (approx. £5) every day and I am able to make a saving of
K20 (approx. £2) everyday to boost my profits. With the remaining money, I buy
more ingredients for my baking business. With the surplus I have also
diversified into a charcoal business. I do this with my family, which enables
me to meet all of our needs - I never run out of money to meet the needs of my
children and the family.
Last February (2014),
I decided to join a Self Help Group (SHG) called Yamikani SHG in Chibeteka
Village. The 20 of us meet weekly and make a contribution of K5 (approx. 50p)
monthly, which is loaned to the group members who pay back with an interest of 10%. I managed to get a loan of K20 (approx. £2), which I used to buy baking
ingredients (flour, salt and yeast). This
earned me K53 (over £5), which enabled me to paid back my loan with 10%
bringing the total amount to K22 (over £2). I had a balance of K31 (over £3),
which I put back into my business and also used some of the money to meet the
needs of my children.
I thank God that
this has transformed my life and mind set. I am now aware of our locally available
resources, which I can use to help meet the needs of my children, my family and
the community at large. To God be the glory.
What impact will this have?
Since Jesus Cares Ministries began this
project in 2007, they have seen the number of children enrolled in community
schools and formal schools increase. There has been a reduction in cases of
child marriages, child pregnancies and child labour and more of the existing cases
of child labour and abuse are being reported. Children are more aware of their
rights and responsibilities towards education.
Thanks to Church & Community
Mobilisation, the Church have understood their role as the salt and light of
this earth and are addressing the way they meet the spiritual and physical
needs of their communities.
Community participation is key. Communities
work alongside JCM wherever possible and are more aware of their potential and
locally available resources.
As the Self Help Group concept has now been
adopted amongst caregivers, transformation in households and communities is highly
evident, with 90% of children in the target communities now attending school.
Who is doing the work on the ground?
Jesus Cares Ministries (JCM) Zambia was
founded in 1995. Tearfund have been
partnering with JCM since 2007 and supporting them in their work with children
and women through education, health services, social mobilisation, awareness
raising, research and advocacy.
The vision of JCM is a better world for all, where the poor
and less privileged are empowered and their human rights protected and
promoted. JCM is guided by the values of Christ-centeredness, love,
servanthood, teamwork, excellence, hope, faith, transparency, accountability,
integrity, non-partisanship and gender sensitivity.
what can you do to help?
Giving
The project needs financial support to run. We would like to raise the £22,000 required to meet the direct costs of the project in Zambia for one year. Last year we raised £18,800 so our target is achievable.
please continue to Pray
·
Thank God for the success of the
project so far – in particular for people like Josephine mentioned above, who
have experienced such positive change in their lives as a result of JCM’s work.
·
Please pray that JCM would find the
funds and people resources required to cope with the numbers of children who
are being withdrawn from child labour.
·
Please pray for a change in cultural
practises (such as childhood marriage) and statutory laws that are still
governing the land and making it difficult for JCM to intervene.
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Another Good Year
WELL DONE! The 2014 walk has raised £18,800 towards the Uganda project. A big thank you to all of you who walked and raised the money.
The 2015 walk will be on Friday 15 May in Shanes Castle - hope to see you there.
The 2015 walk will be on Friday 15 May in Shanes Castle - hope to see you there.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
2014 Tearfund Walk ~ 23rd May ~ Shanes Castle
You may recognise these two guys - Richard and Peter Chambers - they won silver medals in the London Olympics. They have visited this year's project - watch their 4 min DVD "One Big Mountain.
Please contact us for sponsorship forms and join us on May 23rd.
Below are full details of where your money will go.
Kigezi Diocese
Uganda
Project for Mid Antrim Walk
April 2014 to March 2015
Overview
Partner: Kigezi Diocese Water and Sanitation Programme (KDWSP).
Location: Kabale District, Uganda.
Purpose: To provide families with better access to safe water and improved health and sanitation services in Kabale District.
Impact: Over three years, 21,302 people will have directly benefited from safer water, better sanitation facilities and improved health. A further 2,000 people will have indirectly benefited from the project too.
Activity dates: April 2014 to March 2015.
Introduction
Once described as ‘the pearl of Africa’ because of its lush fertility, Uganda has seen its enormous potential stunted by dictatorship and civil war. Half a million people died under Idi Amin’s reign of terror in the 1970s and in 1986 another terrible conflict dawned in the north.
At war with the government, rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) used children as soldiers or sex slaves. Before the LRA was driven into the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008, tens of thousands of civilians had been killed or kidnapped. Some 1.6 million people had fled their homes.
Most Ugandans work as small-scale farmers and struggle to grow enough to feed their households. Cash crops are vulnerable to fluctuating global prices. Up to one in five of Uganda’s children aged six to 17 have lost at least one parent, mostly to HIV and conflict. Meanwhile, increased droughts and flooding have had a knock-on impact on malaria and water-borne diseases.
Currently, over a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line and 35% do not access to a safe water supply.
The Need
Kabale District is in a mountainous part South-West Uganda where access to safe water is uncommon. Many people settle on the hilltops and reserve lower fertile soils in the lower parts of hills for agriculture. Most water sources are found in the valleys and this causes people to haul water up steep slopes to their homes.
Women and children walk long distances, sometimes up to three hours, to fetch small amounts of unsafe water for their families. In some schools, children take alternate mornings off class to collect water for the school. Many also collect water for their households before and after school. Some families survive on just three to four litres per person each day – far below acceptable standards.
Many communities do not understand the connection between dirty water and disease. Much of the population (especially children) suffer from water and hygiene related illnesses such as parasitic worms, diarrhoea, and skin and eye diseases.
Access to safe water is critical for development. Clean, easily accessible water reduces disease, improves household food production and reduces the amount of time women and children spend collecting water.
As well as providing water to communities, KDWSP teaches improved sanitation and hygiene and provides on-going support. Their work addresses wider issues such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, food security, nutrition and the environment.
The Ministry of Water and Environment awarded KDWSP the honour of most outstanding NGO in WATSAN promotion in 2005/2006 and 2010/2011.
The Project
This is the final year of a three year cycle. The project will continue to raise awareness on safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and then carry out appropriate action with communities.
The programme will operate in at least 15 local churches (across four government parishes) per year.
KDWSP will promote self help groups which can be crucial in empowering and increasing community participation in bringing change.
Identified vulnerable and marginalised people will be supported to form self help groups. They will be trained in saving and credit, book keeping, market assessment, WATSAN, skills training, conflict management and gender issues.
Special consideration is given to the poorest members of society by placing water taps closer to disabled and elderly homesteads.
Committees are dissolved every two years. New ones are elected and trained to understand and appreciate their roles and responsibilities for efficient management. Women are encouraged to take up leadership positions and have 50% representation on committees.
WATSAN (water and sanitation) skills
Local churches, NGOs, community based organisations (CBOs), other Dioceses, community members and individuals will be equipped with skills, experiences, lessons and best practice in WATSAN.
The project hopes to see: 30% of the 15 target churches actively engaged in WATSAN best practice, 50% of target Dioceses promoting WATSAN projects, 50% of community development teams active and 10% of communities promoting self-supplying their own needs.
· Church leaders will be envisioned to develop and sustain development initiatives. This will be through workshops, training, exposure visits, 'learning conversations' for community leaders and members and a monitoring and review meeting every six months.
· 40 artisans will receive extensive residential training in water and sanitation facility construction.
· 12 artisans will receive on the job training for rainwater harvesting each year.
· 80 CBO members will be trained in ferrocement tank construction each year.
· Technical support will be provided to dioceses, artisans and organisations.
Promoting improved and sustainable water and sanitation services
The project aims to see: a 50% increase in hand-washing practice in the targeted communities, a 30% reduction in distance (maximum of 500m) to water points and improved water quality to less than ten fc/100ml.
· Local churches will play a part in community elections for committees, training committees, data collection, analysis and a baseline report to KDWSP.
· 100 beneficiaries will benefit from two days of tailored health education.
· At least ten demonstration homes will be established in each community.
· Equipment and work will include building gravity flow schemes, rainwater harvesting systems, bio-sand filters, san-plats, 420l and 1,500l rainwater jars, ferrocement tanks, institutional tanks, springs and hand-washing facilities.
· Refresher training will be provided for WATSAN committees, church leaders and CBOs.
· 30 gravity flow scheme attendants and 30 spring caretakers will receive refresher training.
Environmental sustainability, HIV/ AIDS, family planning and food security
The project aims to see 50% of people living with HIV/AIDS practicing positive living, 30% of communities carrying out improved environmental practices and a 30% increase in family planning.
· 20 ferrocement tanks will be built for people living with HIV/AIDS.
· Five communities will be trained on HIV/AIDS and attend two sessions on voluntary counselling and testing.
· 100 people will attend training on environmental issues for each community per year.
· 100 people will be trained on food security twice a year.
· 100 people will be trained in food and nutrition twice a year.
· Each community will be trained on family planning.
Advocating for improved access to safe water and sanitation in Kabale District
The project aims to see: 40% of technical institutions in Kabale District adopting water and sanitation training programs, and 20% of sub-counties in Kabale District adopting WATSAN by-laws which are endorsed and known by the communities.
· 30 people from KDWSP staff and other key stakeholders will meet yearly to outline research and advocacy plans.
· Research and a baseline survey will be carried out on the community situation.
· A position paper on advocacy issues will be developed.
· KDWSP will host a meeting with the District Education Office and other bodies each year.
· KDWSP best practice will be documented.
· KDWSP will lobby at regional and district levels for improved WATSAN programmes.
· Four sub-counties will establish new by-laws regarding the making of trenches and contours (for better water access).
· There will be an emphasis on sharing good practice with other sector organisations (UWASNET, URWA) and partners.
· 1,000 brochures, 500 t-shirts, 400 newsletters and 300 calendars will be produced.
Budget
Tearfund was asked to contribute £121,976 towards the project for 2013-2014.
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Tearfund walk - April 19th 2013 - at Shanes Castle.
This year, with the sun shining, some 350 people enjoyed the 5K walk on the beautiful Shanes Castle estate.
With your generous help we will support the following children's project in Colombia, South America.
Overview
Meet the Partner
Project Activities
Budget
This year, with the sun shining, some 350 people enjoyed the 5K walk on the beautiful Shanes Castle estate.
Overview
Partner: Red Viva Colombia
Location: Barranquilla and Cartagena
Purpose: In order to prevent crime, drug addiction, and early pregnancy among young people living in poor areas of Barranquilla and Cartagena
Impact: Over 3 years, 600 children who were in situations of risk in Colombia
The main cities in Colombia
Young people and adolescents from marginal areas of the cities are exposed to many risks including enrolment into illegal armed groups, violence, injury, death, drug and alcohol addiction, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, family breakdown, domestic violence and natural disasters. Their families often cannot provide fully for their needs and some suffer from malnutrition.
There is therefore a significant need for intervention in Colombia at a grass roots level - one that will lead to a positive and lasting change in the lives of the young and vulnerable.
Meet the Partner
Red Viva Colombia is a Christian Non-Governmental Organisation committed to improving the lives of children and families at risk in Colombia
Project Activities
Building on experience already gained, this three year project (Jan 2012 – Dec 2014) will work with church leaders and children’s workers to provide training, support and opportunities for personal development for vulnerable young people. It encourages the different groups to work together for the benefit of children and families in their communities. In order to achieve this, Red Viva will be carrying out the following activities with carefully selected churches and local communities over the next 3 years:
1. Relationship building
In each city, strong relationships will be established with church leaders and the leaders of childcare initiatives committed to child protection and development supporting sport club initiatives.
2. Sports clubs
20 sports clubs will be developed in Barranquilla and 10 in Cartagena
3. Workshops and training
Two week-long workshops and monthly day-long workshops will be held each year for the general church membership. These will include training in the Children and Adolescents Code and Child Protection Policies. A self-evaluation tool will be provided for children’s workers to use in order to identify areas where they need strengthening. They will subsequently receive training in these areas in order to aid their personal development and hence improve their childcare strategies.
4. Sports league
A sports league will be established in every city to develop tournaments between the sports clubs. Sports activities will run once or twice each week, with a 5 month tournament running from July each year. At the end of the three years a Christian Football Championship will be developed between 5 cities in Colombia.
Budget
The entire cost of the work being carried out in the 2nd year of this project (Jan - Dec 2013) is £55,698. £15,000 has already been paid towards Year 2 hence Tearfund is seeking to raise a further £40,698. Below are the costs relating to the 2nd year of the project. Note, Year 1 had the same budget and Year 3’s budget will increase to £70,000.
ITEM
|
TOTAL (£)
|
Activities & materials
|
22,500
|
Personnel
|
6,500
|
Sports field improvement
|
10,000
|
Transport
|
1,000
|
Admin Assistant
|
4,200
|
Regional trips
|
3,800
|
Administration
|
2,000
|
Total
|
50,000
|
Funding already raised
|
(15,000)
|
*
|
5,698
|
TOTAL REQUIRED
|
40,698
|
We hope you will be encouraged by this amazing story of physical, spiritual and emotional transformation as much as we have been.
For the first time in his life, Luis (aged 9) realized that the river close to his home could be not only his friend but also a destructive force that could destroy lives – and almost destroyed his house.
Last November, the Magdalena River
As a result, Luis and his friends found themselves depressed and without any vision or hope for their lives. Some of his friends migrated with their families to other places leaving Luis feeling incredibly lonely; it was like his whole world had ended.
Due to the circumstances Luis found himself in, he did not want to return to school for the new year (in Colombia
However, Luis heard about a new project in the school - “Sports for Life”, and decided to go and have a look one Saturday. He was surprised that children he had never met before were so friendly and allowed him to train with them. Trainers invited him to be part of a team; they also spoke about the possibility of having new dreams and hope in life and taught him about building a personal relationship with God.
The coach shared Radamel Falcao’s (a famous Colombian football player) testimony with the children. Radamel is an Evangelical Christian and a living example that God can make dreams come true. After hearing the story, Luis decided to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.
Now, Luis cannot wait to go to school every day! He is working hard to get the best marks in order to get a place in the team representing the school in a local football championship. He has had a second chance in life!
Thank you for taking the time to consider this project and for your continued support and prayer concerning Tearfund’s work.
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