http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+News© Tearfund 2008the latest news from Tearfundwebsite.editor@tearfund.orgwebsite.editor@tearfund.orgMCMS 2002 RSS Feed Generatorhttp://www.tearfund.org/NR/rdonlyres/8C74A495-4E1C-4C5F-B5EE-0CC2C6AF1307/0/TF_logo_RSS.jpg13035http://www.tearfund.orghttp://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Sri+Lankas+ignored+conflict+threatens+tsunami+reconstruction.htmTue, 12 Dec 2006 15:55:48 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{1813A80F-B3BF-4698-ADFE-10D7FEC877C2}Leading UK relief agencies are acutely concerned at the escalation of hostilities in north and east Sri Lanka which has displaced a further 210,000 people from their homes in the last seven months - almost half the number that were forced to leave their homes following the tsunami. The devastating impact of conflict and the restriction of movements in certain parts of the country are severely hampering the post-tsunami aid and reconstruction programme and creating significant further humanitarian needs. Controlled and restricted access for aid agencies has caused serious delays to building projects with materials and workers unable to enter some areas. There is a growing disparity between the extent and progress of reconstruction in the north and south of the island. In the north east, which has seen an alarming escalation of military activity between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka's forces, up to half a million people have been cut off on Jaffna peninsula. Aft ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Wesley+Owen+stores+help+Tearfund+Work+a+Miracle+this+Christmas.htmThu, 14 Dec 2006 11:49:22 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{8FD1D3D1-988D-4B78-850E-6A931909E051}With ten shopping days left to Christmas, Wesley Owen book shops are urging Christmas shoppers to donate £7 to prevent a child in Africa from contracting the AIDS virus. Wesley Owen has joined forces with aid agency Tearfund to launch Work a Miracle, an appeal that aims to raise £2 million within the first year. Forty-five Wesley Owen stores – from Exeter to Inverness and Belfast to Cambridge – are backing Work a Miracle, an ambitious appeal that aims to halt and reverse the spread of HIV in the poorest places it works within ten years. One in three infected mothers will pass HIV on to their newborn child. A few simple measures can reduce this risk to 5%. Two doses of medicine – one for the mother before labour and one for the baby after birth – can dramatically reduce the chances of HIV passing through the blood. London’s Wigmore Street store manager, John Telford, said, “We are thrilled to be working with Tearfund to help bring relief to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Its important for us all to keep a ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Banger+race+trip+of+a+lifetime+for+London+trio.htmMon, 18 Dec 2006 11:30:11 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{ED75D66B-85A3-4802-A6EC-92BA63C55895}This Boxing Day three young men from London will embark on a trip of a life time, as their battered 1978 Saab Turbo joins 200 bangers in the daring Plymouth to Banjul Trans-Saharan Challenge. The adventurous trio, named ‘Team Sanddodgers’, aim to raise £10,000 for aid agency Tearfund and Macmillan Cancer Support by undertaking the 4,000 mile trip which takes them through Europe and down North Africa’s western coast to the Gambian capital Banjul. Says team member Gareth Wallace, “This trip really is a challenge of a lifetime. We’ll be crossing some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, with no experience, in a clapped out car in a bid to raise as much money for charity as possible.” The Plymouth to Banjul Challenge is designed for those with budgets unable to stretch to that required for the world renowned Paris-Dakar rally. Race rules include a £7.50 entrance fee, a £100 limit on the value of all competing cars and no more than £15 spent on the car’s pre-rally preparations. The team comprises Gare ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Zimbabwe+Christian+leaders+arrested+at+dedication+service.htmSat, 27 Jan 2007 17:54:55 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{496181C2-67E9-4D8A-BD12-B9E0B651A859}Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, has condemned the arrest on Friday of six Zimbabwe pastors by police who intervened in a church service being attended by more than 500 people. The pastors were arrested with two others while attending a dedication service for a regional chapter of their organisation, the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA), in Kadoma, southwest of Harare. We have now heard that they were released on bail on Monday (29 January). Tearfund’s International Director, Peter Grant said, “More and more often we are seeing the activities of churches and relief agencies disrupted by government intimidation in Zimbabwe. Church leaders dedicated to alleviating desperate poverty are this weekend in police detention. This action is unacceptable when so much combined effort of the ZCA is committed to helping the poor.” Tearfund, supports church relief organisations in Zimbabwe, including the ZCA. The following is a press release issued by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance.http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Christians+have+moral+imperative+to+lead+on+climate+change.htmFri, 02 Feb 2007 12:38:04 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{92DBFAAD-BCBA-46AB-9863-6FCFCEB192B4}Bishop of Liverpool backs Tearfund’s new Church Climate Change Challenge A world expert on climate change said Christians were neglecting one of the most important commandments in the Bible if they failed to tackle climate change. On the day that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), announced their most up-to-date findings on climate change, Sir John Houghton, former Co-Chairman of the IPCC, said Christians should take the lead in action to reduce carbon emissions. Sir John Houghton said: “Human-induced climate change will hit poor communities the hardest. It will bring more frequent and intense heat waves, floods and droughts leading to poor harvests, malnutrition, increases in disease and much loss of life. The Bible says ‘Love does no harm to its neighbour’ (Romans 13:10). But climate change shows us that our energy-hungry lifestyles are harming our poorer neighbours across the world, now. The moral imperative for us to act is unquestionable and inescapable.” Sir John advises leading ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/TV+star+Simon+Shepherd+thanks+international+midwifery+charity.htmTue, 06 Feb 2007 17:07:39 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{2C8C7532-7105-46F2-90D2-A6A55081BD68}TV and stage actor, Simon Shepherd, will this week thank Bristol based, international, not-for-profit organisation, MIDIRS, for pledging support to Tearfund’s ‘Work a Miracle’ appeal, which aims to raise £60 million for HIV and AIDS-related work by 2015. Both Tearfund and MIDIRS were delighted when Simon, well known for playing Dr Will Preston in TV’s Peak Practice, agreed to support the appeal on behalf of Tearfund. Simon Shepherd said: “As a father I know how important it is that children have the best possible start in life. But AIDS is a massive challenge to this, particularly in Africa, where thousands of babies are being born with HIV. But this can be prevented. While money can’t buy miracles, it can buy clinics, education, orphan care and provide counselling and testing – all things that go a long way to preventing children suffering the effects of HIV. That’s why I am pleased to add my support to the Work a Miracle appeal.” Simon will be joining Vicky Carne, MIDIRS Head of Midwifery, Hilary Field o ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+launches+inspirational+Freedom+resource+pack+for+churches.htmTue, 13 Feb 2007 10:13:21 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{B0D7D390-B4C5-4968-9764-5FBB545DBA77}Tearfund launches a stunning resource pack this month full of information and practical, innovative ideas that focus on slavery - and trafficking, its modern day equivalent. It marks 200 years since Christians led a movement to end the transport of slaves into Britain and is ideal for churches, small groups and leaders. The Freedom pack contains a CD with the new song How Long, by Al Gordon and features additional tracks recorded by Tim Hughes and others. They have both contributed extensively to an inspirational guide enclosed for worship leaders. Tim refers passionately to making justice a central aspect of worship. “We have a responsibility as worship leaders”, says Tim. “In many ways it’s the songs we sing that mould and shape people’s theology. So let’s engage with these issues. Let’s be a people who remember poor communities, who sing about God’s heart for the widow and orphan – who look to God to fill us up and send us out to be good news to marginalised people.” He hopes the pack will be both cha ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/EU+renews+sanctions+on+Mugabes+regime+but+how+long+must+the+suffering+coninue.htmTue, 20 Feb 2007 12:25:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{91EB54B6-BDAF-4169-A727-816FF3D33859}Tearfund welcomes the EU decision to renew the ‘restricted measures’ against President Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe. But whilst their renewal sends a message of continuing disapproval from the international community, the poor and marginalised have never been so desperate. Human rights abuses are spiralling and leaving many without a sense of hope. The measures that have been in place since 2002 are aimed to curb travel and freeze assets of over 150 government officials. They also include arms restrictions. It is estimated that over 80% of Zimbabwe’s 12 million people are now living in poverty, with unemployment rates now exceeding 80%. In January inflation rose to around 1600% with the cost of basic goods out of reach for many people. Parents can no longer afford to send children to school and their sense of despair grows amidst strikes from public servants whose bus fares exceed their wages. Children who desperately need food and medical care are instead going hungry and dying in silence. In many parts of ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Want+to+join+me+for+dinner+asks+Fairtrade+Man.htmWed, 21 Feb 2007 14:48:23 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{D66493D7-142D-4D62-B058-ACE3926DAE99}Ben Clowney, 25, a companionable young man who relishes a challenge, is appealing for virtual dinner dates this Fairtrade Fortnight (26th February-11 March) as he embarks upon an ambitious challenge to become a ‘Fairtrade Man’. Ben’s challenge is simple - to consume only food and drink that carries the Fairtrade Mark for fourteen days. Or perhaps it is not so simple, when you consider this excludes all meat and vegetables. So passionate about the benefits that Fairtrade shopping has on the lives of third world producers, Ben is keen to encourage as many people as possible to join him by pledging to a virtual dinner date via his MySpace site, www.myspace.com/fairtrademan At least 30 people have already pledged to join him for anything from one meal to the whole 14 days. With more than 2,000 products displaying the Fairtrade Mark available these days, Ben argues that there’s plenty of variety to ensure he and his dinner dates will be well fed. Menu plans include muesli and fruit juice for breakfast and pea ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Chessington+man+scores+fundraising+goal+for+charity.htmWed, 07 Mar 2007 15:16:14 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{313E6F8B-D753-45D1-98F3-3215106605A5}A Chessington man has raised almost £1,500 by carrying a table football game across London, playing members of the public on 10 of the city's bridges. Pedro de Barros, a member of Duke Street Baptist Church in Richmond, is raising cash to help paint a clinic in a slum area of Delhi, India when he visits the country in April. The project is being run by Tearfund, a Christian development charity based in Teddington. Pedro and friends Andy Hambleton and Nathan Burley undertook the ten-hour sponsored challenge on 3rd March, starting at Battersea Bridge, crossing every major bridge and ending on Tower Bridge. Wearing 70s-style wigs and moustaches, members of the public, tourists from America and Australia and even the Metropolitan Police challenged them to a game for a £1 donation. But throughout the day, the three challengers remained undefeated. Pedro said, “My arms were aching before we’d even made it to the first bridge, so I knew the day was going to be a real challenge. We took the table up to London on ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+response+to+climate+change+bill.htmWed, 14 Mar 2007 10:39:37 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{7D5594D7-732C-40EF-AD36-879046282C51}Step in the right direction Christian relief and development agency Tearfund very much welcomes the first draft of the climate change bill. It is a significant step forward for the UK, which could become the first country to develop a legal framework for managing carbon emissions. However, Tearfund believes the current plan falls short of adequately addressing the problem at home or abroad by not explicitly committing to keeping global warming under the widely accepted 2 degree Celsius threshold (widely accepted to be the dangerous threshold to exceed.) Also missing from the bill was the UK’s commitment for annual targets to reduce emissions by at least 3% year on year. Rachel Roach, Tearfund policy adviser for climate change said: “This draft Bill is a very significant step in the right direction for the UK Government. However, it ultimately needs to acknowledge the 2º Celsius global warming danger threshold, and ensure UK carbon emissions are reduced by at least 3% per year. We must get this right ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Christians+unite+to+Blow+the+Whistle+on+global+poverty.htmFri, 16 Mar 2007 14:02:18 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{A2B76AFF-77FD-45F7-B538-5825EE15C636}Archbishop John Sentamu backs challenge to UK Government Micah Challenge – a coalition of Christian charities – is launching its ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign, to challenge the UK Government to fulfil its promises to poor nations. At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders made a promise to halve extreme poverty by the year 2015 by setting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This year is halfway to 2015, and Christian leaders are launching the ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign to call on our Government and the international community to look at the half-time scores and resolve to turn the match around so that extreme poverty and hunger really are halved for the world’s poor by 2015. Some progress has been made - for instance, on debt cancellation - but issues such as sanitation, trade justice, education, climate change and the spread of HIV/AIDS still fall desperately short of their targets. Archbishop John Sentamu has lent his support to the campaign: “Let us join our voices together in ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/World+Water+Day.htmThu, 22 Mar 2007 10:17:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{93B1CA4B-4AC4-4F84-B59B-B5A78A3A1CE1}On World Water Day (22 March) a coalition of organisations launch End Water Poverty, an international campaign to tackle the global crisis in sanitation and water. Water-related diseases are the second biggest killer of children under five years old in the world today, yet water and sanitation are not prioritised in the fight against poverty.Organisations from all over the world, literally from Timbuktu to Edinburgh, have pledged to do their bit to end water poverty.Matthew Frost, Chief Executive of Tearfund said ”It is scandalous that half the hospital beds in the world are filled with people suffering from water- borne diseases. Progress on health and education and ultimately eradicating poverty will be stalled unless world leaders commit to urgent action on water and sanitation. We’re pleased to be supporting End Water Poverty.”Kadiatou Aw, WaterAid Mali: “It’s wonderful to see all these voices united in their calls to end water poverty. In Mali we find it frustrating that water and sanitation aren’t give ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Malawian+calls+on+First+Minister+for+help+in+the+fight+against+child+trafficking.htmFri, 23 Mar 2007 16:45:09 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{827FDEED-C05F-425F-8BCC-49227D188B5E}Scotland’s First Minister Jack McConnell today (22nd March) heard a first-hand account of how a Malawian organisation is helping to protect children at risk from modern-day human trafficking, in the week of the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade (25th March). Mr McConnell met Nelson Mkandawire, Director of Tearfund partner organisation, Chisomo Children’s Club. Mr Mkandawire asked Mr McConnell for Scotland’s support in the global fight against child trafficking and exploitation and thanked him for the Scottish Executive’s support for Chisomo’s work. The work of Chisomo contributes to the fight against Malawian children being trafficked and abused, within Malawi and beyond its borders. Addressing Jack McConnell soon after First Minister’s questions, Nelson Mkandawire said, "Much as there have been great achievements in Malawi, there is another form of slavery emerging in our society - that of human trafficking. The buying and selling of human beings is a fast growing busin ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/NEW+SURVEY+One+in+seven+adults+attends+church+every+month.htmMon, 02 Apr 2007 23:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{CAE29939-8489-4CCA-BE52-4F02AB9AEE13}Potential congregation of 3 million just waiting to be asked Download the report here One in seven adults in the UK attends a Christian church each month, with nearly 3 million more people saying they would attend church if only they were asked, one of the largest surveys of churchgoing in the UK reveals today (3 April 2007). The findings of the in-depth survey by Christian relief and development agency Tearfund, also show that, contrary to the UK’s secular image, Christianity is still the dominant faith in the UK. Over half (53%) or 26.2 million adults claim to be Christian. Churchgoing in the UK – one of the few surveys to track monthly church attendance and the likelihood of non churchgoers attending - shows that 7.6 million adults go to church each month and one in 10 adults attends weekly. One in four (12.6 million) attend at least once a year. Unexpectedly, the survey shows that 3 million people who have stopped going to church or who have never been in their lives, would consider attending given ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Climate+change+catastrophic+cocktail.htmTue, 10 Apr 2007 10:21:09 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{4FA5189E-187C-4C57-A22E-34EDBC779AC7}Tearfund Launches Climate Change Adaptation Guide Community leaders in Africa are this week calling for more urgent global action on climate change as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes its latest report, revealing how millions of people are already being affected. Tadesse Dadi, Tearfund’s Program Support Advisor in Ethiopia, said: “While discussions in the West seem to us to be about disaster that is yet to strike, we have been living with climate variability for many years. We read about the threat to polar bears, or a rare plant species- and whilst these are important, we sometimes wonder if the poor farmers of Ethiopia are being forgotten. Climate change may not yet be a problem for people in Europe, but here in Ethiopia its effects are being felt today by millions of ordinary men and women farmers. “We send an urgent plea to world governments today- don’t forget us, or the millions of others in the developing world, living on the edge because of climate change. It is certa ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/New+Report+Government+must+act+to+halt+damaging+trade+agreements.htmMon, 16 Apr 2007 10:55:06 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{977E8DC3-73AF-40A4-881B-5CCF6B930991}The UK Government is being urged to prevent EU trade negotiators from forcing poor countries to sign up to trade deals that will harm poverty reduction and development. A new report from Christian relief and development agency Tearfund - Much to Lose, Little to Gain - criticises the EU for pressuring Africa and other countries to agree new trade deals by the end of the year. These agreements will require Malawi and other poor countries to liberalise their trade markets far beyond what has been under discussion at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU is also pushing for commitments in areas such as investment that developing countries have for years rejected at the WTO. The report declares that negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have been grossly unbalanced and unfairly tied to future aid. “Trade is vitally important to the development of poor countries,” says Mari Griffith, Trade Advisor at Tearfund, “but the kind of trade liberalisation and commitments in areas such as investm ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Live+Earth+UK+partners+with+I+count+campaign.htmMon, 16 Apr 2007 11:08:09 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{092FF8F1-14DF-479C-A64F-B00818844CBD}A concerted effort to stop climate chaos I Count – the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition - is proud to announce a partnership with LIVE EARTH UK, who today unveiled a spectacular line up of seventeen headliners who will perform at Wembley Stadium on July 7th 2007. LIVE EARTH UK is part of a string of 24-hour, 7-continent Live Earth concerts on 7/7/07 raising awareness on climate change. The huge multi event is being organised by Live Earth Founder and Executive Producer Kevin Wall (LIVE8 producer), and is co-chaired by Vice President Al Gore. The I Count campaign launched last year at a mass event attended by 25,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 4th November 2006 who demanded action on the eve of global climate change talks in Nairobi. Individuals are encouraged to sign up to the campaign (www.icount.org.uk and 84424). “ The I Count campaign involves a growing body of organisations with a combined supporter base of 4 million in the UK, who are passionate about individual and pol ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+appoints+new+Wales+Managers.htmMon, 16 Apr 2007 16:02:14 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{FAEBD645-AC3A-432D-9D74-74C98141F619}Miriam Evans, a former GP Practise Manager, and Hywel Meredydd, an Anglesey Church Minister, have been appointed the new managers of Tearfund in Wales. Miriam and Hywel will job-share the post, bringing to Tearfund a strong blend of skills and experience from their varied careers. Miriam, currently the Acting Manager of Tearfund in Wales, will oversee more than 180 Tearfund volunteers throughout the country who raise funds, pray and campaign on behalf of the poor. Miriam has herself volunteered with Tearfund for more than 20 years and seen firsthand the impact of Tearfund partner’s work in Kenya, Bangladesh, Thailand and Peru. Hywel, Minister of Llangefni Evangelical Church for the last 27 years and former Welsh Secretary for the Evangelical Movement of Wales, will manage Tearfund’s relationship with a vast network of churches throughout the country. Formerly Chair of Tearfund in Wales, Hywel trained at Bala Bangor Theological College and the University of Wales. Hywel is also heavily involved in his loca ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Campaigners+complete+first+ever+simultaneous+lobby+of+all+EU+embassies+in+London+to+call+attention+t.htmFri, 20 Apr 2007 13:07:50 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{385426F0-69C1-49C1-840F-83AF12EB294D}More than 800 trade justice campaigners from development organisations, faith groups, schools and trade unions across the UK gathered in London yesterday to lobby European embassies, the UK government, and the European Commission, setting a record for the first ever simultaneous embassy lobby in the country. The campaigners were protesting against free trade deals, known as Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), that are being negotiated by Europe with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The Trade Justice Movement, whose members include Tearfund, Oxfam, Traidcraft and Christian Aid, and who organised yesterday’s event, say the deals threaten to destroy the livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest people. Similar actions took place in over 30 countries worldwide, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and South Africa, as civil society, farmers and workers rallied against the potential impact of free trade agreements on people’s jobs, food security and the environment. Glen Tarman, coordinator of ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+appeals+for+funds+as+Darfur+crisis+deepens.htmTue, 15 May 2007 09:44:13 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{4486EB44-885F-4A3F-9A32-6986B9EA9C63}Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, is appealing for emergency funds as the conflict and desperate on going humanitarian crisis worsens in Darfur and Chad. It is estimated that there are currently over two million people displaced across Darfur due to the conflict, higher than the number displaced at the time of the previous 2004 appeal. A further 140,000 people are internally displaced in Chad. Some 240,000 refugees have fled from Darfur into Chad since the crisis began in 2003. Tearfund relief workers are operating in some of the worst affected areas, alongside partner agencies in both Darfur and neighbouring Chad. As a result of recent factional rebel violence across the border some 25,000 Chadian refugees have entered Darfur. Tearfund is running water and sanitation programmes, fundamental to tackle the spread of disease, with supplementary feeding, nutrition and health education projects in the displacement camps in Darfur, as well as reaching communities across different Sudanese and ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Ipswich+campaigners+blow+the+whistle+on+poverty.htmMon, 21 May 2007 11:08:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{EACC7ACD-BEB0-4FA3-9A25-0BBCA164BC76}As the half time whistle blew at Saturday’s FA Cup Final, over 100 Tearfund volunteers from churches across East Anglia joined together in a whistle blowing moment of their own – to signal their desire for action in the fight against poverty. The campaigners gathered ahead of Blow the Whistle Sunday (20th May), a day for churches around the country to focus on the global poverty as part of the Micah Challenge campaign. Dave Cooper, Tearfund's East England Regional Manager, "A promise was made by world leaders in 2000 to halve poverty by 2015 through the UN's Millennium Development Goals. This summer it's half time to halve poverty, and many of the goals are in danger of not being met. “That is why we stood together - around the time of the half-time whistle at the Cup Final, to all blow whistles loudly in unison, to publicly declare how we feel about world economic poverty. We represent many local churches across East Anglia. We are tired of words and demand action on behalf of those in need; those ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/EU+using+dirty+tactics+to+force+unfair+trade+rules+on+poor+countries+new+report+reveals.htmTue, 22 May 2007 23:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{5727F21E-1231-4EED-8483-0ED981D439F7}The European Commission (EC) is using strong-arm tactics to force 76 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to sign trade deals that will benefit rich nations at the expense of developing countries, according to a new report by five UK development agencies. Partnership under Pressure, compiled by Tearfund, Traidcraft, Christian Aid, ActionAid and CAFOD, is an assessment of the European Commission’s conduct in the current Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) negotiations. The report is being launched as representatives from the EU and ministers from ACP countries meet in Brussels this week to review progress in negotiations. The main objective of the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and ACP countries was to foster economic development based on the principle of partnership. However, the EU is racking up a catalogue of abuses as negotiators vigorously pursue the negotiations using threats and manipulation which will hinder, not enhance, development in the ACP countries. The report pr ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/UK+charities+join+together+to+launch+emergency+appeal+for+Darfur+and+Chad.htmWed, 23 May 2007 23:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{A8A37C63-EAE6-4E3E-938F-E6F0172CB5D1}To donate to the DEC's Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal you can call 0870 60 60 900 (national call rates), visit www.dec.org.uk or donate at any post office or high street bank. Cheques made payable to Darfur & Chad Crisis can be sent to PO BOX 999, London, EC3A 3AA. To donate to Tearfund's Darfur appeal click here instead. The UK’s leading international aid charities have joined forces to launch an emergency appeal today (24th May 2007) to save lives in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic. With 4.5 million people affected by the ongoing conflict, the looming rains are bringing the risk of deadly conditions like diarrhoea and malaria, especially for children, pregnant mothers and the elderly. With malnutrition levels already rising in some areas, aid agencies are appealing for vital help to respond to the rapidly growing crisis. Aid agencies also need to bolster life-saving food and medicine stocks before the downpours hit any time within the next 4 weeks. The gathering storms will also make the ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Blair+Cameron+and+Campbell+announce+support+of+DEC+appeal+for+Darfur+and+Chad.htmFri, 25 May 2007 12:52:30 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{FE4452FE-AC00-46A3-ABA5-F5CB884E4F97}Prime Minister Tony Blair, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell have all recorded messages backing the DEC’s Darfur and Chad appeal and urging the public to give generously. The political leaders were speaking in support of the UK’s leading international aid charities, who joined forces this week to launch an emergency appeal to save lives in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic. Copies of the video messages are available from the DEC press office on 020 7255 9114 and transcripts are included below. The video clips will also be available on YouTube later today. Around 4.5 million people have been affected by ongoing conflict in the region and looming rains are bringing the risk of deadly conditions like diarrhoea and malaria, especially for children, pregnant mothers and older people. Aid agencies are appealing for money now so they can act immediately to reach those in need before the rains make it much harder to respond. To donate to the Darfur ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/DEC+Darfur+and+Chad+Crisis+Appeal+raises+£2m+on+first+night.htmFri, 25 May 2007 14:35:12 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{31B7CE45-210E-4E53-A9E8-D12864437CA0}More than two million pounds has been pledged since the DEC’s Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal had its national televised launch yesterday evening. Donations have been rushing in to fund the work of international aid agencies who are responding in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic, where 4.5 million people are affected by the ongoing conflict and now face worsening conditions as the impending rains bring the threat of disease. Fame Academy presenter Claudia Winkleman, who answered phones at BT tower as the appeal was launched, said: “The appeal is off to a fantastic start, raising £2 million on the first night. The British Public have already shown great compassion for those affected by this crisis and have responded with tremendous generosity. What is going on in Darfur and Chad is a humanitarian disaster and it has to be stopped.” DEC Chief Executive Brendan Gormley, said: “I have been moved by the outpouring of generosity from the British Public. DEC agencies are doing all we can to respond to ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Alarming+levels+of+malnutrition+in+parts+of+Darfur.htmTue, 29 May 2007 14:08:36 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6D2E637A-BA8D-4407-B2DC-A2CCD08AE27F}DEC agencies urge public to keep giving to help those in need before downpours arrive. Levels of malnutrition in children in some parts of Darfur and Chad are alarmingly high due to chronic food shortages, aid agencies warned today. According to a recent nutrition survey by Tearfund at El Neem camp in Ed Daien, South Darfur, 30 per cent of babies are malnourished – double the level considered to be an emergency. The situation has been described as “deeply serious” by Tearfund, who say the problem has been made worse because at least 30,000 new arrivals have poured into the camps in the last few months. Nigel Timmins, Tearfund’s Operation Manager for Darfur, said: “I was at the El Neem camp a few weeks ago. Mothers sat there with their children. To them their child is the centre of their universe and to not be able to feed them is heart breaking. It’s such a basic instinct to want to take care of your child, and they desperately need to know that someone is going to look after them. By supporting this appe ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/New+Report+At+least+one+billion+could+suffer+if+temperature+rise+exceeds+2+degrees+C.htmSun, 03 Jun 2007 23:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{D7DD0D0F-7289-4FC9-AFF9-70F34999B0E3}G8 Leaders must agree tough action say aid agencies Read the report here. More than a billion people could face water shortages and over 250 million people food shortages if world governments fail to urgently agree tough measures to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees C from pre-industrial levels, warns a new report published today by leading international aid agencies. Two days before G8 leaders meet in Heiligendamm, Germany, to discuss proposals for deep long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, Tearfund, Oxfam, Christian Aid and Practical Action, supported by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and many other groups including several from developing countries, warn that failure to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees C is to “hold the earth and its inhabitants hostage to a future of accelerated warming with catastrophic consequences.” Rachel Roach, Tearfund Climate Change Advisor and author of the report, said: “The report, Two Degrees, One Chance, summarises the scientific evidenc ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Micah+whistles+raised+for+the+worlds+poor+ahead+of+G8.htmMon, 04 Jun 2007 14:31:38 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{83FAD385-A1F2-4083-ABCE-5B406FC78599}Thousands of Christians made a deafening demand for justice today by blowing whistles in a call to G8 leaders to keep their promises to the poor. The Micah Challenge coalition – made up of a number of leading Christian churches and charities – held a worship service at Methodist Central Hall at the culmination of its ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign ahead of the G8 Summit. The worshippers then joined the ‘World Can’t Wait’ rally, prayerfully walking to the banks of the Thames, where they joined thousands of others on the ‘World Can’t Wait’ rally. People with placards lined both sides of the banks of the Thames as whistles were blown, car horns were honked and alarms went off to make a deafening signal to the government that the world can’t wait to end poverty. Matthew Frost, Tearfund CEO and chair of Micah Challenge UK, said: “This is a really positive day, with a strong sense of joint commitment. It’s a real reminder in a carnival atmosphere that there’s chronic poverty and we must never forget the serious ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Climate+Change+will+worsen+impact+of+disasters+warn+aid+agencies.htmMon, 04 Jun 2007 15:42:48 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{9881B0FF-CDDD-4D18-BC2C-A0F23A10D34E}As G8 convenes in Germany, the UN meets next door to discuss disaster risk Climate change will worsen the impact of disasters on millions of the world’s most vulnerable people unless more urgent preventative action is taken by governments, the UN 3rd World Conference on Disaster Reduction (June 5-7) in Geneva, will hear this week. As G8 leaders meet in Germany to debate global climate change, a coalition of relief and development agencies will warn 600 delegates to the UN Disaster Reduction Conference in Switzerland that unsustainable development is causing climate change that in turn is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, and that governments must do more to assist the growing numbers of people affected by them. The aid agencies state that not enough progress has been made in boosting vulnerable communities’ and countries’ resilience to disasters since the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Kobe, Japan, 2005, which agreed the ‘Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005-2015’. ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Climate+Change+significant+progress+at+the+G8.htmThu, 07 Jun 2007 16:30:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{A030E391-E57E-47AE-97D2-E3AF28AA53F1}UK relief and development agency Tearfund says important steps to halt climate change were finally made today at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, following 24 hours of negotiations and months of behind-the-scenes bargaining. But Tearfund is disappointed at the failure of all G8 countries to agree a clear target to keep temperature rise well below 2 degrees above historic levels. The G8 leaders committed themselves to making ‘substantial cuts’ in CO2 emissions. They said that a framework for this would be worked out through the UN by 2009. This means that the separate meetings posited by the US administration will now feed into the UN negotiations. EU leaders, with Japan and Canada, also signalled their commitment to aim for global carbon emissions cuts of 50 per cent by 2050. Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director for Tearfund said: ‘The G8 leaders have jumped some important hurdles but there is a long way to the finishing line. It is significant that they have agreed to start talks in Bali in December a ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+reaction+G8+tragically+close+to+failure+on+Africa.htmFri, 08 Jun 2007 11:56:43 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{89E407BF-5E9E-41BB-8922-D76E1F518E63}UK development agency Tearfund gives this year's G8 a 5 out of 10 - particularly on Africa. This is tragically close to failure. Andy Atkins, Tearfund's advocacy director said, 'These unfulfilled Gleneagles G8 promises will cost millions of lives. Two years after the grand promises of Gleneagles, the true ambivalence of the G8's concern for Africa is becoming apparent. The early success of Gleneagles is being squandered by paltry responses on AIDS, trade and aid. Climate changeG8 leaders have jumped some important hurdles but there is still a long way to go. Only if the UN negotiations get underway at Bali and are concluded successfully in 2009, will we be able to say that the world is on course to avert catastrophic climate change. If we pass a tipping point of a global temperature rise of 2 degrees, which could happen within the next 50 years, more than a billion people could face water shortages and more than 250 million people face food shortages. We are holding the world to ransom and it is imperative ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+welcomes+Browns+global+poverty+pledge.htmMon, 25 Jun 2007 10:42:25 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{B86679D1-78FF-474A-866A-8E2593DBE246}Christian relief and development agency Tearfund has welcomed incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s pledge to “wage an unremitting battle” against global poverty. But Tearfund warned that more rapid and deeper action by governments will be required to meet pledges to halve poverty by 2015. Andy Atkins, Tearfund Advocacy Director, said he was “very encouraged” by Mr Brown’s announcement that he would strengthen and enhance the work of the Department for International Development, and align aid, debt relief and trade policies in a fight against poverty, illiteracy, disease and environmental degradation. “Few could doubt Mr Brown’s personal commitment to tackling poverty – but the world needs faster movement on aid, climate change, trade, and debt. The UK Government remains in a strong position to continue influencing global policies affecting poor people. We urge Mr Brown to use his enhanced influence as the new Prime Minister to step up the pace.” Tearfund said that Gordon Brown had an immediate opportu ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Irresistable+film.htmWed, 04 Jul 2007 09:45:12 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{FC8B12FD-F873-4C5F-BD3B-17770935D236}I Count – the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition and NGO partner of Live Earth UK - is proud to announce the release of the – I’m Irresistible, I Count film. Directed by award winning Gerald McMorrow and with a soundtrack by Malakai, this film features many famous faces including T4’s Alex Zane, Richard Coyle, Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell, actress Sophie Myles, Terra Naomi and cool new band The Metros. The message of the film is simple – individually we are great – together we are irresistible. Taking steps together we can tackle climate chaos and persuade governments to do so too. I’m Irresistible, I Count had its premiere at Glastonbury ’07, where an incredible 70,000 people signed up to support the I Count campaign. I Count is the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition involving over 50 UK organisations passionate about climate change and 4 million supporters in the UK. People are being encouraged to sign up on www.icount.org.uk. The next music event to amass more support for the I ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/So+what+happens+after+Live+Earth.htmWed, 04 Jul 2007 10:18:09 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{F8E1CC43-DE16-4DB5-9700-A96235589AA6}I count campaign rocks beyond concert As an official UK partner of Live Earth, I Count – the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition - will be part of world’s largest climate change event ever on July 7th. It is also gearing up to meet and greet the delivery of Live Earth’s ‘calls to action’ in the UK, which will be generated by the event and apply pressure on government. Ashok Sinha, I Count Director said: “Live Earth is not just a great day for music. It’s a springboard for action. Through I Count we will give visibility to people’s personal actions to reduce their carbon footprint and call on political leaders of all parties to listen and act”. “We are the generation that could be remembered for fixing climate chaos. But we can only do it if we all stand up and be counted. The next two years is a crucial window of opportunity for the world to sign a deal to stay below a 2 degree temperature increase – which will require the UK to deliver a minimum cut in greenhouse gas emissions of 80% by 2050 ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+challenges+people+to+Be+Part+of+a+Miracle.htmThu, 05 Jul 2007 08:58:42 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{23C0DC19-380E-4AC1-99EB-B9EF90C4383D}Christian relief and development agency Tearfund has launched a campaign encouraging Christians around the world to pray for poor communities. The campaign, Be Part of a Miracle, is at the centre of a new Tearfund’s to lift 50 million people lifted out of poverty through a worldwide network on 100,000 churches over the next 10 years. Christians are being invited to visit a special website www.bepartofamiracle.org to register their pledge to pray. Each time an individual, group, or church signs on to pray they will appear on a map of the world, denoting the country and area where they live. Christians are also being encouraged to join in prayer with others around the world by adding actual written prayers to a Global poverty prayer chain. Christians can email, text or post a prayer directly onto the Be part of a miracle website. People can also email video clips or photos in to go alongside their prayers. Matthew Frost, Chief Executive, Tearfund says: “In the next 10 years at least 30 million people wil ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Food+crisis+is+inevitable+in+Africas+poorest+nations+unless+aid+policy+is+changed+warns+aid+group.htmTue, 10 Jul 2007 23:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6F9D6792-576A-4991-806E-4EF47E0B9567}Devastating but preventable food crises will hit the world’s poorest countries yet again because of a failure to address the root causes of the problem. The warning that millions of people in the Sahel region of Africa are as vulnerable as ever to famine comes in a report launched today by the Sahel Working Group, a coalition of prominent aid organisations, and the International Institute for Environment and Development. The report identifies the underlying factors that make people in the region vulnerable to food shortages, and warns that unless these factors are addressed, there will be more and worse food crises. But it says short-term solutions are being applied to a long-term problem and that the development and emergency responses of different agencies, including governments, donors and aid organizations, need to be joined up. “People blame locusts, drought and high food prices for the crisis that affected more than 3 million people in Niger in 2005,” says Vanessa Rubin, Africa Hunger Advisor for C ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+partner+agencies+respond+to+South+Asia+floods.htmTue, 07 Aug 2007 13:56:28 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{05EC9A5A-FB47-416D-B265-2A7F354CAA2F} Tearfund is working through its partner relief agencies in India to help thousands of families (over 60,000 people) displaced by the worst monsoon floods to hit the region in 30 years. Across India, Bangladesh and Nepal over 25 million people have been displaced or marooned and the poorest states and communities are hit the hardest. However, there is hope where risk reduction and preparedness among communities may have prevented significantly larger loss of life. Five and a half million people have been displaced in Bangladesh and over 750,000 people are affected in Nepal. In India, where Tearfund has funded relief programmes through its partner agencies, some 12 million people have either been displaced with their homes and farms destroyed or have been cut off – marooned by the rising waters. Equipping vulnerable communities to reduce the risk of disaster is key - says Tearfund’s Head of Region for Asia, Sudarshan Sathianathan. “We support villagers as they go through the basics of disaster preparedness ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Zimbabwe+Churches+warn+of+Bulawayo+water+crisis.htmTue, 18 Sep 2007 14:20:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{32A6EF11-ECA3-4A66-A2AA-FBE8780433A8}You can give to our fund for Zimbabwe by clicking here. Churches in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, are launching emergency distributions of water and warning of ‘disastrous’ water shortages that could lead to diseases like cholera. “Many people in western areas have had virtually no water for a whole month. There are already cases of diarrhoea and we are facing a crisis,” said pastor Promise Manceda, one of the leaders of Churches in Bulawayo, a network of more than 70 congregations across the city. The churches report that three of the five dams supplying the city’s population of 700,000 have run out of water, with the fourth due to run dry later this month. “With people, especially the poorest, already suffering, it is too ghastly to contemplate what will happen when we are down to only one dam,” said Promise. The churches’ warning comes soon after Zimbabwe's main bread producer was quoted in state media as warning it had only two days' supply of flour. In a statement, Churches in Bulawayo d ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Churches+at+the+forefront+of+relief+in+Zimbabwes+spiralling+decline.htmWed, 19 Sep 2007 09:55:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{A3D2E140-6DB5-4A15-AE03-BF16BEEA33C6}Churches are fighting poverty, hunger and HIV among Zimbabwe’s decimated communities and helping to meet the basic day to day needs – says UK Christian relief agency Tearfund. There is little food due to drought and poor harvests, and the collapse of civil infrastructure has meant basic services are no longer available to the majority of Zimbabweans. Peter Grant, Tearfund’s International Director, says the situation is desperate with children now suffering from very high levels of chronic malnutrition. “People are dying. It’s the very young, the very old, and those with Aids who are the most vulnerable,” says Peter. “We heard recently of a church leader who had to bury a grandmother and a baby from the same family over the same weekend. As the year goes on with the continuing food shortages, we can expect the situation to get worse, and more people to die.” With inflation exceeding 4500% - some reports put the figure nearer 8000% - currency no longer buys food and medical care. Even if people could afford ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+calls+on+Bush+to+support+a+UN+climate+agreement.htmThu, 27 Sep 2007 13:46:29 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{DDF74ACF-FD35-4D6E-B8FF-A460B8024A49}Tearfund and 10 other agencies today called upon President Bush to support a UN climate agreement at an energy and climate summit opening today in Washington. In a letter published in The Guardian newspaper, they write: Dear President Bush As you meet today for the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, we write to urge you to send a clear message that negotiations on a post-2012 global deal must be launched at the UN Climate Change Summit in December. We are UK-based development and environment NGOs working in the developing world with communities and habitats already facing devastating impacts of climate change. The latest scientific evidence highlights that these impacts are going to get much worse. It could not be clearer that a more ambitious global response is urgently needed that cuts greenhouse gas emissions drastically to keep warming below 2 degrees C, and helps poor people adapt. It is vital that the Washington meeting does not act as a diversion from the ongoing UN c ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/UK+relief+agency+launches+Zimbabwe+emergency+appeal.htmMon, 15 Oct 2007 09:20:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{694B74BD-4393-463F-B4A1-78D05FDCC961}UK relief and development agency Tearfund is launching an emergency appeal to support Zimbabwe churches bringing help to the poorest families affected by Zimbabwe’s spiralling crisis. Many have gone without food for weeks with even basic items unavailable in shops. The World Food Programme has warned that over three million people are at risk of severe food shortages. “People are living on nothing more than cups of tea with the last of their maize meal now gone,” says Peter Grant, Tearfund’s International Director. “Churches are working tirelessly to bridge the gap, meeting the acute need. Despite the spiralling economic crisis they are bringing relief and hope. But they urgently need our help for this work to continue. That’s why Tearfund is appealing.” The crisis in Bulawayo has seen people scavenging for filthy water from hand dug pits and broken pipes. Of the five reservoirs that supply Zimbabwe’s second largest city, four are now decommissioned having run dry. Tearfund has already provided funding fo ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Polar+bears+and+friends+visit+Downing+Street+to+stop+climate+chaos.htmMon, 29 Oct 2007 17:11:06 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{9CFD5A25-9843-4D5E-9FEE-36E764962290}Polar Bears and supporters of I Count, the campaign of Stop Climate Chaos, visited Downing Street today to hand in 150,000 petition cards demanding the UK Government does all it can to tackle climate change. The visit comes as Environment Secretary Hilary Benn delivered a disappointing response to a public consultation on the Climate Change Bill. The I Count delegation to Downing Street aims to draw attention to the shortfalls in the draft Climate Change Bill. The visit marks the beginning of a six month campaign which will see climate change campaigners all over the country lobby their MP to ensure a Climate Change law is passed which works. Anita Payne, who has worked with Tearfund in Malawi and Liberia, was one of the five visiting Downing Street this morning. Says Anita, “Poor communities around the world are already at the sharp end of climate change, with flooded homes, increasingly barren and drought-hit land. I’ve seen the effects for myself in Africa when I was with Tearfund helping local church ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Thousands+back+new+poverty+prayer+plea.htmTue, 30 Oct 2007 14:31:27 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6C505EA2-8824-4D93-8E9D-586808B7A245}A pop legend and one of the nation’s most senior Bishop’s are among thousands of Christians to add their weight to a major new prayer campaign launched by Tearfund this week. Their support comes as churches prepare to pray for the world’s poor during Global Poverty Prayer Week (12th-18th November). Sir Cliff Richard, Tearfund Vice President and The Archbishop of York, The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu are just two of the high profile figures to add their prayers to Tearfund’s new Global Poverty Prayer Chain, a collection of prayers about poverty from Brazil to Birmingham and New Zealand to Nigeria (www.bepartofamiracle.org). Actress Tamsin Grieg (Green Wing and The Archers), Rev Nicky Gumbel, founder of the Alpha Course, Baroness Caroline Cox, President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Pete Grieg, one of founders of 24-7 Prayer, have also added their prayers to the online prayer chain. Sir Cliff Richard’s prayer says, “The world You gave us is so perfect that the ugliness man has etched out on ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/I+Count+-+the+UKs+largest+coalition+on+climate+change+not+amused+at+60+carbon+emission+reduction+to.htmWed, 07 Nov 2007 10:51:02 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{2124980A-95FD-44E7-A4A5-BB3379FCECFE}Polar bears, in royal costume, made their presence known at Parliament Square today on behalf of I Count - the UK's largest campaign on climate change. They were there to mark the State Opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech, which announced the Climate Change Bill as part of the Government’s legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. The legislation is the first of its kind in the world and proposes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050. The bears asked that Government act in line with its stated aim to keep global warming below the danger threshold of 2 degrees C and set a carbon dioxide reduction target in the Climate Change Bill of at least 80% by 2050. Ashok Sinha, Director for I Count said: “It’s great news that the Government will introduce the first legal obligation to drive down carbon emission of any country in the world. But to really to set an international lead, the Bill must commit the UK to least an 80 per cent reduction in UK carbon dioxide emissions by 205 ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/NEW+SURVEY+20+million+pray+in+the+UK.htmSun, 11 Nov 2007 00:01:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6AA46BAB-4117-4B51-A77E-1C36DEA4E503}1 in 5 adults believes ‘prayer changes the world’ Prayer is a vital part of life for nearly half of UK adults, with 20 million saying they pray and one in three adults believing that God is watching over them, according to a report published today (November 11th) by Christian relief and development agency Tearfund. With just 44 days to Christmas the results fly in the face of the view that faith is increasingly irrelevant in today’s secular society. The new findings on prayer follow a survey earlier this year by Tearfund which revealed that 7.6 million adults attend church at least once a month. And staggeringly, London is confirmed as one of the least secular parts of the UK with 73% of adults praying and one in five attending church at least once a month. Publication of the latest Tearfund report, Prayer in the UK, marks the start of Tearfund’s Global Poverty Prayer Week, November 12-18, during which thousands of people around the UK and in other countries are joining together in prayer about issues of ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/New+Report+Call+for+action+to+end+millions+of+sanitation+deaths.htmFri, 16 Nov 2007 15:18:17 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{C3C1CBAE-3956-4AA2-98C6-C441A6848FAE}MPs’ call for Global Action Plan from world governments Governments will on Monday (Nov 19) be accused of denying millions of people in the developing world a simple medical breakthrough – sanitation - that transformed British society 150 years ago. A new report from Christian development agency Tearfund calls for a Global Action Plan to end what it describes as the ‘last taboo’ of poverty, which sees one child dying every 15 seconds from diarrhoea and one in three people on the planet (2.6 billion) without adequate sanitation. The report, Sanitation Scandal, is being launched at the House of Commons on Monday at the inaugural meeting of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Sanitation & Water. Monday has been designated World Toilet Day in a bid to highlight across the world the global crisis of poor sanitation. Already, 220 MPs have given their backing to the End Water Poverty campaign, which seeks to address the sanitation crisis. Bill Cash MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, says: “Hal ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/UK+charities+launch+Bangladesh+cyclone+appeal.htmThu, 22 Nov 2007 09:31:11 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{7E3057E7-49E8-4793-AF32-7939FE7ED2EE}The Disaster Emergency Committee’s 13 major aid agencies today (Thursday) launched an appeal to help millions of people left without food and shelter following the Bangladesh cyclone. The DEC Appeal will provide desperately needed relief to people suffering after one of the most ferocious cyclones to hit Bangladesh in decades. More than five million people have been affected. Families have been left without enough food, water, or shelter, while an estimated million homes have been destroyed or damaged and around a million acres of cropland devastated. For donations, please log on to the DEC website at www.dec.org.uk or phone 0870 6060900. The Disasters Emergency Committee agencies are Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision. Public donations will be used for immediate needs such as food, clean water, medicines and shelter. But the scale of the devastation is s ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Bangladesh+cyclone+race+against+time.htmThu, 22 Nov 2007 15:42:31 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{2E56FDB6-DF17-4862-B4B6-7529C513BEFC}The approach of winter in Bangladesh has intensified the race against time to provide blankets, food and shelter to thousands of people left destitute by Cyclone Sidr, says a leading Bangladeshi aid worker. With temperatures beginning to fall in some of the coastal districts where thousands lost their homes, Sylvester Halder, Associate director HEED (Health, Education & Economic Development), which is supported by Christian relief & development agency Tearfund, says: “We are moving towards winter and thousands of people are living in the open without warm clothes or shelter. It is getting cooler and people urgently need clothes, blankets and food to survive.” He said temperatures, currently 15 degrees and falling during the night, in January could drop as low as six degrees Celsius. Mr Halder, whose organisation is currently distributing emergency food aid to 10,000 people, welcomed the DEC Appeal, saying: “There are many urgent needs such as food and blankets, but it will take one to two years for some o ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+film+footage+supports+Archbishops+broadcast+as+churches+fight+AIDS.htmTue, 27 Nov 2007 14:54:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6A5AF0E9-5AD1-4F2D-A724-2D4C1521D439}Tearfund today launches its latest AIDS appeal pack which features film footage of a family of children orphaned by AIDS in Uganda also used in a broadcast by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the short film produced in association with Tearfund, Dr Rowan Williams talks of the response to HIV throughout the world that has been put into action by faith communities, including the Christian church, but also recognises the failings of the church in the past. It recognises that churches are already engaging but acknowledges the work still to do in tackling the pandemic that sees some 35 million people living with HIV today. The footage comes from another short film made for Tearfund by award winning production company Pretzel, which follows 13 year old Rachel. She is literally one in a million children that have been orphaned by AIDS in Uganda. Having lost both parents and finding herself heading a household for her six younger siblings she daily cooks, cleans and digs a small area of land to grow food. T ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Christian+agencies+welcome+Australias+show+stealing+climate+announcement.htmTue, 04 Dec 2007 12:08:52 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{3539D477-B1F4-4525-AC69-7DE79FA5A0DB}Optimism surged through early sessions of the UN climate talks in Bali this week when Australia oon Monday promised to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible, leaving the USA as the only large developed nation outside of the global As Australia’s new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, took the oath of office in Australia, the Bali gathering of nearly 200 nations greeted the Kyoto announcement by the Australian delegation with a spontaneous ovation. "I think I can speak for all present here by expressing a sigh of relief," said conference host and Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar. The news was also welcomed by two of the Christian development agencies at the Bali Conference, Tearfund UK and TEAR Australia. Ben Thurley, Advocacy Co-ordinator for TEAR Australia, said he was “thrilled that the first act of our new Prime Minister was action on Kyoto. I hope it signals a new era in climate change negotiations and that Australia will now take more of a lead in the right direction.” Andy Atkins, ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/EU+talks+must+focus+on+Zimbabwe.htmWed, 05 Dec 2007 12:25:41 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{14D7151A-DBB4-449C-8500-99F439DC8B1A}As Zimbabwean leader, President Mugabe, flies into Lisbon for the AU / EU Summit (7-9 December 2007), Tearfund, a UK relief and development agency, is urging that the talks should focus on the devastating humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. Gary Swart, Director, Tearfund commented, “We fully support Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s boycotting of the talks due to Mugabe’s attendance at the summit. We are disappointed that the EU has allowed President Mugabe to attend the summit. However, since he is attending, we would call on the leaders present at the summit to challenge Mugabe on the failure of his government to address the crisis in his country.” Tearfund is calling for the critical humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe to be urgently addressed. Useni Sibanda, National Coordinator, Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said, “As Mugabe flies off to Lisbon, he leaves his country in crisis. Four million Zimbabweans are in desperate need of food relief in a country that has the highest number of orphans per capita in the ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Equivalent+of+one+third+of+world+affected+by+weather+disasters.htmThu, 06 Dec 2007 09:23:23 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{92EA9E5F-363C-46C6-B11F-2D3B68D01E6E}New report: $50 billion needed to help people save their own lives The equivalent of a third of the world’s population has already been affected by weather-related disasters and this is set to soar because of climate change unless urgent international action is taken. One of the UK’s leading relief and development agencies Tearfund says governments must commit at least $50 billion every year to helping the world’s most vulnerable communities prepare to save their own lives and livelihoods. A new report called Climate of Disaster (PDF, 534K), published this week in Bali by Tearfund, reveals that in the last 10 years, weather-related disasters have killed over 443,000 people, affected 2.5 billion people and cost an estimated US$ 600 billion in economic losses. With climate change increasing the number and intensity of extreme events such as floods and droughts, more and more people are becoming vulnerable to a range of environmental disasters. Without urgent action, this trend is set to rise, leading to un ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Climate+plea+Adaptation+funding+must+be+legally+binding.htmMon, 10 Dec 2007 11:57:34 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{25F1664D-A5CD-4EC6-BD70-168295B6C606}At least $50 billion per year needed to help developing countries adapt A call for legally-binding funding to help poor countries adapt to climate change has been made at the start of a second week of crucial make-or-break climate change negotiations between 190 countries in Bali, Indonesia. The plea comes in a new report, Adaptation and the post-2012 Framework, from UK relief and development agency Tearfund. It states that for too long addressing the effects of climate change has been wrongly treated as a separate and secondary issue to that of cutting emissions. And it calls for adaptation to be a ‘fundamental, top-level priority, not an add-on’ in negotiations on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Says Sarah La Trobe, Senior Policy Officer at Tearfund: “Adaptation has been woefully neglected for too long, with no binding obligation on developed countries to fund adaptation. This must now change because desperately-needed finance for adaptation programmes in vulnerable communities has n ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Climate+Talks+Road+map+missing+vital+signpost+says+Tearfund.htmSat, 15 Dec 2007 12:19:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{89B18FFE-6B69-4041-BAA7-4DD3DC8DC10F}News Release - 15 December 2007 “A road map missing a vital signpost”, was how Tearfund described the global deal on climate change struck at the UN conference in Bali on Saturday (Dec 15). Without explicit reference in the final document to the need for industrialised countries to cut carbon emissions by 25-40% by 2020, Andy Atkins, Tearfund Advocacy Director, said: “The stalling tactics of the Bush Administration and a few others snatched mediocrity from the jaws of resounding success.” “The good news is we have a process to negotiate further emissions cuts by 2020. Getting more than 180 countries to agree was no mean feat. But the fact that there is no agreement about exactly how far to cut emissions means the Bali roadmap is missing a vital signpost. An ambitious, science-based target will have to be agreed by 2009 if the new agreement is not to be fatally flawed. There was significant progress in helping poor countries adapt to the ravages of climate change – for so long a neglected issue - with ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+tsunami+relief+three+years+on.htmMon, 17 Dec 2007 12:25:16 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{98459239-F15C-4BAE-AE1A-10017728A0A1}Land reclaimed, thousands of homes reconstructed and livelihoods restored - three years after one of the world’s worse natural disasters, communities continue to recover and rebuild. UK Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, has been operational in Indonesia and working with over 20 of its partner agencies in five affected countries - helping over 800,000 people affected by the tsunami. The majority have been survivors in some of South Asia’s poorest communities. Livelihood restoration has been critical to get people back on their feet, whether that is providing boats and nets for fishing communities in south east India or chilli farming on Sumatra’s western coast. Tearfund relief and reconstruction programmes overcame monumental tasks in the weeks and months after the 2004 tsunami killed some 300,000 people. Thousands more were made homeless – half a million people in Sri Lanka alone. In the Indonesian province of Aceh over 40 per cent of people lost their livelihoods. When the tsunami sm ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Kenya+violence+hampers+humanitarian+work.htmWed, 02 Jan 2008 16:43:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{F6164363-B1DB-4231-B22D-9A998DE86489} Kenya’s spiralling descent into violence and chaos is hampering the work of Tearfund staff and partners in the country. In the worst affected areas workers have been confined to their houses due to violent clashes and looting. Nationally hundreds of people are dead and tens of thousands are fleeing for safety. Speaking from Nairobi, Peter Njuguna, Project Manager of St John’s Community Centre, a Tearfund partner working in Nairobi’s slum areas says, “The situation is very volatile here. I can hear gunshots from our office and the roads are blocked.” Many of his staff have been unable to get to work because it is too dangerous and the insecurity is hampering access to vulnerable people in need of St John's help. 'We have 160 people living with Aids under our care but we cannot reach them. Our health clinic and work with vulnerable children was due to restart today but this is not possible because of clashes in the area.” The violence follows the victory of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki and cla ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Senior+bishops+call+for+carbon+fast+this+lent.htmTue, 05 Feb 2008 10:18:34 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{6DD1ABD5-B183-4AA8-BB6A-5044615F1371}Two of the Church of England’s most senior Bishops are today (5 February 2008) urging people to cut their carbon rather than give up chocolate this Lent. Bishop of Liverpool and Vice President of Tearfund, James Jones and Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, are joining with development agency Tearfund in calling for a cut in personal carbon use for each of the 40 days of Lent, which begins tomorrow. At the same time a Tearfund survey reveals that three out of five adults in the UK are willing to take an energy saving action this Lent. Tearfund and the Bishops have launched the fast because of the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, and to protect poor communities around the world who are already suffering from the ravages of climate change. Bishop of Liverpool and Vice President of Tearfund, James Jones said, `Traditionally people have given up things for Lent. This year we are inviting people to join us in a Carbon Fast. `It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change. ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Kenyas+churches+driving+peaceful+resolution+to+crisis.htmTue, 12 Feb 2008 12:07:37 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{524232D3-4328-49FE-9DCB-58CD08E6C853}Church leaders are working alongside the Kofi Annan peace talks playing a leading mediation role at the centre of the current crisis in Kenya, according to Tearfund. The UK Christian relief agency says church leaders are facilitating dialogue between factions within the church and political parties. “Churches in Kenya are playing a crucial and influential role with the country’s political leaders - working tirelessly in this crisis to find common ground that can lead to a peaceful outcome,” says Peter Gitau, Tearfund’s Regional Advisor in Nairobi. “We are facilitating and supporting churches in this role - urging leaders and politicians on all sides to come together and resolve differences peacefully. We have visited affected areas together with the political leaders. We have been calling for peace, facilitating meetings for church leaders from the affected communities (Luos, Kikuyus, Kalenjins and the Luhyas).” So far the church political mediation team has held two meetings with President Kibaki and two ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Fairtrade+Fortnight+Meeting+the+people+behind+the+products.htmThu, 21 Feb 2008 15:44:03 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{7DA2E23C-A606-4CC6-ACD8-3A64C3C6AF68}With Fairtrade Fortnight fast approaching (25 February – 9 March), Tearfund volunteers are encouraging their local communities to switch to fairtrade products, fresh from a visit to Tearcraft producers in India. Earlier this month development agency Tearfund gave volunteers selling their fairly traded Tearcraft products the chance to see fairtrade in action, by meeting the very people who have created the products. The 16-person team travelled throughout India seeing the products they in the UK sell being made. Jan Wildy, from Glasgow, has been selling Tearcraft products for more than two years and raised over £1,000 from sales. “Fairtrade works because it makes a difference to people's lives, giving them back their self esteem and the chance to build lives free from abject poverty,” says Jan. “Buying fairly traded products means we not only get the benefit of excellent quality goods, but the satisfaction of knowing that we are making a difference.” Saunders, from Loughborough says, ‘We have so much in t ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Bishops+win+changes+to+Climate+Change+Bill.htmMon, 25 Feb 2008 11:47:19 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{9AF0C5C7-5D33-418F-9736-C580E17B348F}The plight of the world’s poor already suffering the impact of global warming has been recognised in the Climate Change Bill going through Parliament thanks to the intervention of the Bishops of Liverpool and London. Following advice from relief and development agencies Tearfund and Christian Aid, the Bishops together with Baroness Northover tabled an amendment to ensure that the Committee on Climate Change, which will advise the government when the bill becomes law, will include an expert on the social impacts of climate change policy at a national and international level. The Bishops were concerned that the committee’s deliberations on measures needed to tackle climate change could focus too exclusively on the costs involved to British society and business without considering the needs of the developing world. The principle behind the amendment has been accepted by the Government and will now be included when a revised version of the bill is published. During a the House of Lords debate on the bill th ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+Director+to+head+up+Friends+of+the+Earth.htmTue, 18 Mar 2008 12:02:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{83C02959-CF24-4706-BA7E-C201672D0AC8}Tearfund’s Policy and Campaigns Director Andy Atkins has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Friends of the Earth. He joins Friends of the Earth in late June, before replacing Tony Juniper as Executive Director later in the summer. Andy has a track record and commitment for finding solutions to environmental and social justice challenges and is an experienced leader, campaigner and communicator. During his 11 years at Tearfund, eight of which as Policy and Campaigns Director, he has overseen many achievements including the establishment of policy and campaigns work as core business for the organisation, initiating its work on climate change and poverty and championing climate change as a poverty issue among UK development NGOs. He was a key organiser of the Make Poverty History campaign, and is a Board member of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, where he works with Tony Juniper. Andy has also gained considerable experience in his previous roles as Campaigns Coordinator, and General Secretar ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Positive+and+purpose+driven+UKs+biggest+church+conference+on+HIV.htmWed, 19 Mar 2008 10:25:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{74BBFD0E-42DE-47F6-86B8-21577185DB79}More than 300 delegates gathered for the UK’s biggest church conference on HIV. This was a unique assembly of Christians wanting to get informed – to engage with the issues that surround HIV and AIDS. An opportunity to discover not only what is already being achieved by local churches around the world, but also the effect that they as individuals might have with the knowledge and resources to help their own churches to respond in the UK. The Positive Church Conference, produced by Tearfund and hosted by Bracknell Family Church on 15 March, opened with an emotive and captivating address by Kay Warren, Executive Director of the HIV initiative at Saddleback Church, California. She passionately spoke of her brokenness and her initial steps into communities torn by HIV and AIDS. Visiting a slum in Calcutta and how a magazine caught her eye with an article on AIDS in Africa. She struggled to look at pictures of emaciated bodies and babies so weak unable to brush flies from their faces. She would hold her hand ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/World+Water+Day+Not+for+the+billions+without+a+toilet+or+safe+water.htmThu, 20 Mar 2008 14:35:21 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{7DA4F558-82B8-4AEA-8D00-86E3051185EB}‘Tearfund is urging the Prime Minister not to let Millennium Development goals on water and sanitation go down the pan.’ Leading Christian relief and development agency Tearfund is urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths by committing to a global action plan to deliver clean water and sanitation. Billions of people around the world lack even the most basic sanitation or clean water; which is why Tearfund is calling on Mr Brown to lead the international community in urgent action. Laura Webster, Tearfund’s Senior Policy Advisor on Water said: “The irony on this years World Water Day and in 2008, the UN’s year of sanitation, is that 2.6 billion people are still without sanitation facilities and 1.1 billion others continue to lack safe water.” Lack of water and sanitation is something that Justice from the Kabale District in south-west Uganda knows all too well – and it has affected his children the most. Justice said “My children have had to spend hours each day fetchi ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+encourages+supporters+to+make+history+through+the+Climate+Change+Bill+Week+of+Action.htmThu, 27 Mar 2008 17:03:43 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{CA15A0F0-BCE1-442E-A0EB-8A07497A28EA}‘This is a way of getting involved to help those most vulnerable to climate change,’ says Tearfund campaigner. Leading Christian relief and development agency Tearfund is this week urging people to take part in the UK wide I Count Week of Action on climate change. Running from 31 March – 5 April, the Week of Action, led by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition that Tearfund is part of, will see campaigners lobbying their local MPs to make history, by supporting firmer emission targets as the government reviews its Climate Change Bill. After talking with his MP, Tearfund campaigner Phil Bamber from Stourbridge saw success as local politicians added their support for a stronger Climate Change Bill. ‘I have always been absolutely convinced that we need to do more about climate change, particularly for the poorest communities who are feeling the effects now’ says Phil. ‘Initiatives like the Week of Action are vital in applying political pressure and I have been really encouraged by my local MP’s response.’ ‘This ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Churches+work+to+get+out+the+Zimbabwe+vote.htmThu, 27 Mar 2008 17:44:43 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{3B648727-B900-452C-8803-5F74F1088EAB}Churches in Zimbabwe are this week working hard at the centre of communities to make sure that voters turn out at the weekend for the election, according to UK relief agency, Tearfund. Many people are fearful of voting following frequent reports of often violent intimidation, but some 900 churches are standing together to build voter confidence through a national support network. The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) has launched a multi-lingual voter campaign. As well as monitoring the ballot across church areas the campaign is aimed at informing, motivating and mobilising the Christian community – which constitutes 75 per cent of the Zimbabwean population - to participate and go out and vote. Useni Sibanda, National Coordinator of the ZCA - a partner organisation of Tearfund, says the organisation has a unique approach to voter awareness which is currently being taken forward by a plethora of civil society organisations. ‘The uniqueness of this programme is not that it is from a religious background ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Action+needed+on+Zimbabwe+elections.htmMon, 31 Mar 2008 16:02:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{C8613B41-96A9-4877-AF58-2FDE06E0C33E}International development agencies, Progressio, Trócaire, Tearfund and FEPA today call for immediate action to stop what appears to impartial observers as government-led election rigging of Zimbabwe’s 29 March polls. All four agencies are concerned about the slow release of election results, which as Noel Kututwa, Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network says “is fuelling speculation that there could be something going on”. Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliamentary Observer Mission, has also expressed concern over the delay. Our mutual partner, Pastor Promise of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said, `SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections stipulate that counting of votes shall be done at the polling stations. This was done and completed yet ZEC is withholding the results which are already public knowledge as they were posted outside each polling station. `With Kenya’s violence so fresh in our minds, it is not acceptable to delay the timely announcement o ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Growing+tensions+following+Zimbabwe+elections.htmThu, 03 Apr 2008 15:57:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{748C3D8A-50CE-4970-BBAF-5A719DD97B39}International development agencies, Progressio, Tearfund, Trócaire, the Foundation for Development and Partnership in Africa (FEPA), and Christian Aid warn that Zimbabwe is becoming increasingly tense as election results continue to hang in the balance. All five agencies are deeply concerned about the counting and tabulation of votes cast in Zimbabwe’s March 29th elections despite the results of the parliamentary elections being declared yesterday. The failure of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to adequately explain the delays in releasing official results and the discrepancies between ZEC tallies of votes cast and those of independent observers are leading to increasing the risk of heightened tension in the country. Noel Kututwa, chairperson of Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said in a statement: ‘While it is the responsibility of ZEC to announce the official results of the election, it is the legal duty of election observers to provide the people of Zimbabwe with independent non-parti ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Zimbabwe+churches+open+their+buildings.htmSat, 26 Apr 2008 14:44:32 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{A818F764-2C02-457F-A656-68B13A9DB8FC}In the fourth week since Zimbabwe went to the polls a violent crack down is clearly underway. As Zanu PF militias target those suspected of voting for the opposition MDC, Tearfund partner, The Churches in Bulawayo (CIB) today released a statement calling for action in response to confirmed reports of widespread torture, beatings and harassment of community members. CIB confirmed that its member churches would be ‘immediately opening its doors so as to shelter the victims of harassment.’ They are also calling on the government to release the Presidential results immediately and for increased international efforts to resolve the crisis before the situation degenerates into a ‘bloodbath’. Since the elections, property has been destroyed and seized. Communities have been threatened with further violence if they fail to vote for Robert Mugabe should a run off ballot take place. While the South African Development Committee (SADC) leaders have called for release of the presidential results, they consistently ...http://www.tearfund.org/News/Latest+news/Tearfund+responds+to+cyclone+in+Burma.htmTue, 06 May 2008 14:05:00 GMTwebsite.editor@tearfund.org{1C0DC2A8-E21E-4FD4-BDE7-6CED7C295900}Tearfund partner agencies inside Myanmar (Burma) are responding to the thousands of people that were hit by the devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis at the weekend. Tens of thousands are now thought to have died when winds and waves ripped thorough coastal and inland regions. Partners working in the areas devastated by the cyclone are providing food, shelter and clean water through a network of churches in the region. Despite all communication being damaged, Tearfund has contacted partner teams in Thailand who have managed to speak with staff in Myanmar. ‘On top of the tens of thousands that have died we know that many more people have been badly hurt, are without homes, food, clothes or medicine and are badly traumatised by the level of destruction that the cyclone unleashed,’ says Sudarshan Sathianathan from Tearfund. ‘Now, more than ever it is vital that as we start to understand what communities needs are in the immediate term we can provide exactly what will help and support our partner agenc ...