Be LoveWinter 2016 Issue Fifteen

MULTIPLY YOUR IMPACT

Julia: a beautiful mother who prays every dayFinding hope in NepalScott Higgins on belonging to the people of God

Be open Hear God’s heart for people living in poverty and listen to their stories.

Be vocal Raise your voice to speak up on behalf of people living in poverty.

Be fair Shop in a way that helps, rather than harms, workers in poorer nations.

Be generous Support projects that are transforming lives sustainably.

Be prayerful Pray thoughtfully for people living in poverty.

PARTNERING TO TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF THE POOR!

FROM THE CEO

When we finally made it to Papua New Guinea (PNG), Anthony and I took part in another round of meetings on strategy with the Baptist Union of PNG. Then we attended a forum for church leaders where seven denominations, seven Australian NGOs, and both the Australian and PNG Governments were represented. Together we discussed ongoing collaboration to bring better health, education and other programs to the poor in PNG.

Baptist World Aid Australia’s single largest program is a partnership between the Australian Government, Baptist World Aid and the Baptist Union of PNG. To fund this work, the Australian Government usually grants us around $2 million per year.

In the PNG context, the Australian Government recognises and respects the importance of the church in civil society; its role in setting a serious example of responsibility, integrity and

care in cultures where such vital values are often at risk of collapse because of conflict, corruption and other injustices.

For our secular government to recognise this is (in many ways) amazing! So we need to be thankful that a succession of Australian Governments and their policy strategists have quietly, behind the scenes, worked consistently and closely with Baptist World Aid and other like-minded Christian agencies. Together, we are helping some of the world’s poorest people transform their lives.

In the eleven years since this program’s inception, it has grown from being run by a couple of Baptist Union of PNG members, to itself employing around one hundred staff. Today it delivers schooling, medical/hospital services and community health worker training to a large number of isolated communities across the highlands of PNG.

I have just returned from a crazy round trip. It led my colleague, Anthony Sell (the Director of International Programs), and me to the Netherlands for a week of meetings on disaster management globally and then - multiple flights later - to Port Moresby.

Baptist World Aid Australia, as a member of the Transform Aid International group, is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and a signatory to ACFID’s Code of Conduct.

Baptist World Aid Australia, as a member of the Transform Aid International group, is fully accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Some of the programs referenced in this issue of Be Love magazine are funded by Baptist World Aid Australia and the Australian Government.

YOU, US AND THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

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Baptist World Aid has stood alongside the Baptist Union of PNG to help it become as effective as it is today. Most importantly though, the Australian Government has stood alongside Baptist World Aid - both financially and strategically - even as the overall trend of Australia’s foreign aid commitment has been in decline.

But this partnership in PNG is not the only Baptist World Aid program which is made possible by the support of the Australian

Government. In fact, we have another 17 programs worldwide which also benefit from Australian Government funding.

Our committed supporter base is vital in the Australian Government’s assessment of our effectiveness as an agency. And for these additional 17 programs, it is actually your financial support which makes us eligible to receive Australian government funding. This continuing support is crucial to our continued funding. That is

why we put so much emphasis on our Matching Grant Appeal each year.

As you read more about Matching Grant (page 6), you’ll notice that we talk about your donations being matched with government funds (up to $5 for every $1 you give). But, more to the point, the two together (your support + Australian Government funding) give us a far greater capacity to honour God’s call to be love to the poor.

17 of our projects in 6 countries are funded by Matching Grant. And these programs are only achievable on their current scales because of the partnership between you (our wonderfully committed supporters) and the Australian Government.

It is interesting to note that the large scale cuts to Australia’s foreign aid budget over the past three years have not greatly impacted us at Baptist World Aid. I am confident that a critical reason for this is that there are

OUR COMMITTED SUPPORTER BASE IS VITAL IN THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S ASSESSMENT OF OUR EFFECTIVENESS AS AN AGENCY

key leaders within the Australian Government who understand (and champion) the value of the three-way partnership that the Australian Government has with you and Baptist World Aid.

So as you give your Matching Grant gift this year, please know that your commitment is a vital part of the equation and a big part of how the Australian Government attributes its own funding commitments to Baptist World Aid.

I am so thankful for your thoughtful and faith-filled commitment to our work. As you can see, your support achieves more that you might ever have imagined.

Bless you, and bless the power of partnership!

John Hickey CEO

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR MATCHING GRANT APPEAL ON PAGE 6!

4 BAPTIST WORLD AID BE LOVE

Two years ago I was in Turkey and had the opportunity to see the ruins at Ephesus. It was an extraordinary experience. I was expecting a few scattered ruins. What I found was the entire ancient city of Ephesus. I walked down the same streets that the apostle Paul walked two millennia before me. I gazed upon the many temples that lined the streets of the city and would have been filled with devoted worshippers of various gods in Paul’s day.

The first followers of Jesus were, of course, Jewish; and even as the faith spread beyond Judea and Galilee, it was mainly to pockets of Jewish people living across the ancient Mediterranean. It was the apostle Paul who spearheaded the great missionary movement to the Gentiles, taking the good

news of Jesus to cities like Ephesus.

His mission provoked enormous controversy. Many Jewish Christians believed that joining

oneself to Jesus meant joining oneself to the Messiah of Israel, which in turn meant observing the law that God had given to Israel. Yet Paul did not require Gentile converts to observe the law. The issue almost split the early Christian movement down the middle and it was not uncommon

for PauI to be followed by zealots teaching that Paul’s gospel was deficient.

It’s in this context that the apostle wrote the book of Galatians. In Chapter 2 he tells of a visit he made to Peter, James and John - the leaders of the Jerusalem church - to discuss the vexed question of what it was that God required from Gentile believers. The very character of the Christian faith was the issue. What did “belonging to the people of God” really mean?

The answer Peter, James and John delivered was mind blowing: “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10). One of the distinctive features of the Jewish scriptures was the importance

THE VERY CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH WAS THE ISSUE. WHAT DID “BELONGING TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD” REALLY MEAN?

REMEMBER THE POOR Galatians 2:10

WINTER 2016 ISSUE FIFTEEN 5

placed upon generosity towards those who were poor. All too often; as the people wandered away from worshipping the God of Israel; social, political, and economic systems were set up that served to strip wealth from those who were poor, and place it into the hands of the powerful. The prophets thundered against this. God Himself, they declared, would take up the role of the defender of the vulnerable and the poor.

Out of this history emerged an emphasis within Jewish religion on caring for the poor. God would bring justice, and in the meantime members of the community had the responsibility to act justly themselves and to ensure that those who were poor found provision for their needs. This

emphasis was not shared by Greco-Roman society. Charitable initiatives were few and far between and certainly did not assume the importance that they did within Jewish religion.

It was the possibility of losing this distinctive emphasis that concerned James, Peter and John. As the good news spread into the Gentile world, it wasn’t the need for Gentile believers to embrace the law of Moses that exercised their minds and kept them awake at night. It was the poor. It was the danger that Christianity would mutate into a self-serving religion and lose touch with its ethical centre which is rooted in love for God and others. Consequently, this was their advice to the apostle Paul: remember the poor. If you hang on to anything, hang on to this: remember the poor.

The language they used was weighty. In the Old Testament, God is often said to “remember” people. This does not imply that God had forgotten them, but that God was turning his attention to them, giving Himself fully and intentionally to their need. So to remember the poor is to make them the focus of our attention and give ourselves fully and intentionally to their need.

I am excited to be part of a movement that has kept true to this call. At times our commitment to the poor has waxed and waned; but it has never been extinguished, and this last decade has been strengthening. We not

only open our wallets in love for those are in need, we open our mouths. Alongside our giving, we advocate for those who live in poverty, seeking not only to respond with compassion but also to seek justice.

Right now there are two marvellous opportunities for you to remember the poor. First, you can donate to The Matching Grant Appeal and, in doing so, multiply your impact. Your gifts are matched with an aid grant that Baptist World Aid Australia

receives from the Australian Government, funding

crucial projects within poorer communities. Find out more about The Matching Grant Appeal on page 6. Second,

Baptist World Aid is releasing a

great resource to encourage individuals

and churches to think about generosity in new and fresh ways. This series, The Single Thing That Can Change the World, not only explores generosity towards those who are poor, but it also looks at how to build generosity into our lives right across our relationships. Be love and remember the poor through one of these two opportunities. Go to www.baptistworldaid.org.au or call 1300 789 991.

Scott Higgins

RIGHT NOW THERE ARE TWO MARVELLOUS

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO REMEMBER

THE POOR

a beautiful mother who prays every day

Julia

To donate now to the Matching Grant Fund visit baptistworldaid.org.au/matchinggrant before the June 30 deadline.

“I am a seventh born in a family of nine girls. We had a mud house thatched with grass. My parents earned very little which was used mainly to buy food. Most of the time, they had not enough food for the family… sometimes we went to school having eaten nothing.

“I had passion in education and my dream was to study so hard to become a teacher. [If I had finished school] I could have finished my Education degree and be a very responsible principal of a school, a dream which was shut down by poverty.”

Julia is now a mother to four children. And she wants something different for them. She prays for them every day.

“I pray to God to give my husband and me power, strength and capacity to bring up our children in a life different from our youth.”

Julia has big dreams for her children… and she asks for your prayer to help them come true.

“I ask Australian supporters to pray for me and my family especially my children’s education… [I ask] for them to be people of help to the family, community and the nation at large and I ask for one of my children to be Kenyan ambassador in Australia in God’s power.”

Julia is part of a project run by our Christian partners, Anglican Development Services Eastern, Kenya. This project is supported by a grant from the Australian Government, matched by gifts from supporters like you. For every $5 of Australian Government funding, we must commit at least $1 in donations.

It’s a great opportunity to see your gifts go further – and multiply the impact in the field for mums like Julia!

More crops

“Even if it rained, we used to harvest 2 sacks of maize (at most).” Thanks to training provided through your gifts matched to Australian Government funds, Julia now harvests 10 sacks of maize!

More milk

“Our local goats are very small in size, (with) little milk. So we improve the milk quantity.” As part of a savings group, Julia was able to buy a bigger, hardier breed of goat to breed with her own stock. This means the goats produce more milk!

More water sources

“We are three years without rain here… and we travel long distances (up to 10km) for water.” As secretary of her group,

Even more impact for praying mum Julia

Australian Goverment

Aid GrantYour

Gift = +

To donate now to the Matching Grant Fund visit baptistworldaid.org.au/matchinggrant before the June 30 deadline.

Julia now has her sights set on providing a local water source in her community. This will cut travel time for water from hours to minutes. Thanks to the project, two water tanks have already been installed at her children’s primary school!

More for the community

“I joined when I saw the benefits Julia was getting, like being able to pay school fees… and being taught good farming methods.” Julia is passing on her knowledge to her sister-in-law and others in her community for even more impact!

More school for her children

“I will struggle for them to complete. Because with a high school certificate my children can do many things.”

BAPTIST WORLD AID BE LOVE8

Toni Rehrmann, the National Director of Australian Baptist Women, was one of the six who went on the trip.

“It was an amazing experience,” she says, “it was just life-changing to connect with the women that we’ve supported.

“Because you go into that context – not meaning to – but you actually think that you are going to give something to them. In fact, you receive so much more.”

On 25 April 2015, Nepal was struck by a devastating earthquake which claimed the lives of thousands of people. Less than three weeks later, a second earthquake halted the country’s initial emergency response, killing hundreds more. The final death

toll stood at 8,891 people.

Witnessing the destruction caused by the earthquake moved Toni deeply.

“I’d heard about it and I’d read about it,” she says, “but I don’t think I was prepared for what I would see.”

A year on, and recovery in Nepal is slow. It has been hampered by the monsoon season and Nepal’s volatile political climate, the latter of which, sparked blockades along the landlocked nation’s Indian border that caused shortages on essential resources for recovery like fuel and gas.

“That was a bit of a shock,” admits Toni, “people’s houses just being piles of rubble. I don’t think I was

prepared for the devastation that people are still dealing with.

“In one village we went to, they had rebuilt the animal shelters to make sure the livestock were all taken care of, because that’s where their income comes from. But they were still living in makeshift houses with tarpaulin roofs.

“I found myself thinking: “There’s so much to be done, but how can I, one little person, help?”

Then Toni met a woman.

And somewhere in the Lalitpur District, in a recovering community where she witnessed, first hand, the impact of the work

FINDING HOPE IN NEPAL

In March this year, Baptist World Aid Australiahosted a Women in Leadership trip to Nepal,to see the work of our local Christian partners.These leaders of women went on the trip to meet with communities and to hear their stories; they went to gain a better understanding of how their support - and your support - is helping to break the cycle of poverty.

- by Samara Linehan

Toni Rehrmann

she had been supporting, her hope began to lift.

“It was a really amazing story of a woman who saw what could be achieved,” Toni explains.

Sita is the chairperson of a community savings group, which is part of the work of our Christian partner (Multipurpose Community Development Services).

“She loaned money from her group to buy a couple of goats and then paid it back. She bought more goats and now they are having babies which she sells at market.”

Over time, Sita also began to rear chickens and grow vegetables which she sold as well.

“With the money she made,” continues Toni, “she bought buffalo. She started with two, now she has seven and they are a huge asset. Every day she gets 45 litres of milk from them which she sells at market too.”

Sita now has enough money to pay her daughter’s university fees and send her three sons to high school. But it was the dignity that she had won which touched Toni the most.

“One of the loveliest things,” she says, “was that Sita was so proud of her buffalo. She loved that (because of them) she could give her children a better start in life and a hope for the future. It was quite amazing to witness.

“Our support really is helping these communities and it is so empowering for them and so life-changing for them. It gives them dignity and hope.”

So in spite of what she felt when she was first confronted by the devastation that Nepal is still dealing with, the trip left Toni greatly encouraged.

“You know, if you impact the mother, you impact the family. And then if you support the family then you support the community. It kind of has a multiplication effect. That’s something I definitely saw.”

WINTER 2016 ISSUE FIFTEEN

Last year’s inaugural Coast2Coast Challenge saw a team of road cyclists ride over 1,000kms between the Gold Coast and Sydney’s Northern Beaches.It was a long and demanding ride that took 8 straight days to complete.

But the participating cyclists say it was worth it.

“You can’t beat this ride if you want to have a fantastic personal cycling challenge and support a really great cause at the same time,” said one rider and Baptist World Aid Australia supporter.

Together, the 20 cyclists managed to raise more than $62,000 for the Vulnerable Children Fund!

Baptist World Aid is now gearing up for this year’s challenge which is taking place between 29 October and 5 November.

This year our goal is to raise $100,000 for the Vulnerable Children Fund. Are you up for the challenge? Be love and Pedal Against Poverty!

For more information about joining the Coast2Coast team for the whole (or just part) of the journey, go to pedalagainstpoverty.com/coast2coast.

GEARING UP TO PEDAL AGAINST POVERTY

Fundraising for the Vulnerable Children Fund

FAST FACTSFundraising Goal $100,000 Distance over 1,000kms From Gold Coast To Sydney

29Oct 2016

5Nov 2016

to

9

It’s difficult to explain the life consuming significance of water to a country like Ethiopia. 85% of the country’s population relies on agriculture for their income and as water dries up, so do livelihoods.

Kebede works for our Christian partner, Food for the Hungry, at the heart of Ethiopia’s drought crisis in the region of Oromia.

“Many of the water wells are totally dried up and underground water (sources) are also getting dry,” says Kebede.

Without water, food sources evaporate and more and more children drop out of school to assist their families in a relentless search for it.

“Most drought-affected families have sold their animals to feed their families,” says Kebede, “and there is also a shortage of clean drinking water.”

Drought is a crisis which affects every facet of human life.

In Ethiopia alone there are currently 2.2 million moderately

malnourished children under 5 years old.

Every new day a lack of water pushes scores of families further and further into extreme poverty. Currently, 10.2 million people, in Ethiopia alone, are in need of humanitarian assistance. And, if forecasts prove accurate, that number could double.

Baptist World Aid Australia has already committed $30,000 from our Disaster Action Fund to support important drought disaster work in East Africa, with a particular focus on Oromia, the region where Kebede works. Through our Christian partner we are working with communities and vulnerable families to help repair damaged water pumps.

“Your support,” says Kebede, “is saving families’ (especially children’s) lives.”

But $30,000 only supports 3 months of this life-saving work. And this is the worst drought to hit Ethiopia in 50 years.

That’s why we decided to launch an emergency disaster appeal, through which, we hope to raise a further $100,000 to send straight to those suffering the most.

Since 23 March, you have generously given over $38,000 to save lives in Ethiopia. In a little more than 2 months, we are more than a third of the way to raising our target of $100,000! Thank you!

But there is still so much more to be done.

In March, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia called on the international community for urgent assistance. Continuing drought means imminent disaster for Ethiopia. In the 1980s, drought (coupled with war) sparked a famine which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across the country.

We do not want to see this repeated. That’s why we are acting now.

Be love to vulnerable communities in Ethiopia and support the work of Kebede and our Christian partner. Go to baptistworldaid.org.au/EastAfricaDrought.

Ethiopia is in crisis. A severe El Niño has been wreaking havoc on weather patterns around the world, bringing drought to East Africa. And Ethiopia is the worst affected.

EAST AFRICA APPEAL UPDATE

BAPTIST WORLD AID BE LOVE10

10.2 MILLION PEOPLE, IN ETHIOPIA ALONE, ARE IN NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

$38,860

$100,000

Money raised to date toward our target of $100,000

11WINTER 2016 ISSUE FIFTEEN

In April, Baptist World Aid Australia launched the third edition of the Australian Fashion Report. The report grades over 300 brands on what they are doing to ensure that there is no forced labour, child labour or exploitation in their supply chains.

The response has been phenomenal.

The lead up to the report’s launch saw companies like Big W, Specialty Fashion Group and Pacific Brands revealing the locations of their factories and naming their suppliers. What a huge step towards transparency!

After the launch, people from around the nation (and the world) began to engage with our research, largely thanks to media interest and coverage. The report was featured on The Project, 7:30 Report, Weekend Today and SBS World News. Articles were published by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, news.com and many more.

78% of companies are now attempting to more deeply trace their supply chains (up from 48% in 2013). One third of companies are now demonstrating efforts to pay workers’ wages above the minimum (up from 13% last year).

The progress is substantial and it’s making a difference.

We are excited to tell you that the report,

together with the advocacy efforts of people like yourself who use this research to shop fairly, is helping to

drive significant change in

corporate practices.

We know this because companies keep telling us! We are so energised by the impact we are making together as we fight to end slavery and address the entrenched poverty of garment workers around the world.

Be Fair. Shop Ethically. Download the report and order the handy Ethical Shopping Guide at behindthebarcode.org.au.

Australian Aid CutsOne of the most underreported aspects of this year’s Australian Federal Budget was that by cutting a further $224 million from Australia’s aid program, it locks our nation into becoming the least generous it has ever been.

Other nations (like the United Kingdom) facing far greater budget pressures than Australia, remain committed to giving their fair share to assist the world’s poor. Australia however, is walking further away from its responsibilities.

We see, first-hand, the way Australian aid transforms lives. This cut, and those before it, mean fewer vaccinations, fewer children educated and a reduction in the ability to respond to humanitarian emergencies.

We believe we’re called to be a different kind of nation.

In a world where 5.9 million children die before their fifth birthday every year, a rich and prosperous nation like Australia can and should do more. Please join with us in the coming year as we continue to call on Australia to do its fair share.

Australian Aid invested as a percentage of national income

BE VOCAL2016 AUSTRALIAN FASHION REPORT

1971-720.50%

0.40%

0.30%

0.20%2017-18

www.baptistworldaid.org.au

Baptist World Aid Australia Locked Bag 2200 North Ryde NSW 1670 Australia P 1300 789 991 INT +61 2 9451 1199 F +61 2 9889 5151 E hello@baptistworldaid.org.au Baptist World Aid Australia Ltd ABN 86 164 099 736 Baptist World Aid Australia is a member of the Transform Aid International Group

This paper is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC)® and manufactured under the ISO 14001 Environmental Responsibility System.

www.facebook.com/baptistworldaid

Twitter @baptistworldaid

FSC logosEach of these logos attached to this PDF file as well as being available on the “G” drive in the FSC folder.

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FSC_mono_solid_landscape_100 FSC_mono_line_landscape_100 FSC_mono_solid_landscape_MIX FSC_mono_line_landscape_MIX

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100% Mix

FSC_cmyk_solid_landscape_RECYCLED FSC_cmyk_line_landscape_RECYCLED

FSC_mono_solid_landscape_RECYCLED FSC_mono_line_landscape_RECYCLED

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Recycled

is

Up to

$300 to multiply livelihoods

Australian Government

Aid Grant = Your

$50+

Food or school for your children? Julia no longer has to make this choice... thanks to your gift to the Matching Grant Appeal! Your gift plus government funds will have up to 6 times the impact for mums like Julia.

The Australian Government provides funding to support our overseas development projects. For every $5 of government funding, we must provide at least $1 in supporter donations. Donations must be received by 30 June 2016. Gifts of $2 and over are tax deductible.

Deadline June 30. Call 1300 789 991 or visit www.baptistworldaid.org.au/matchinggrant

MATCHING GRANT APPEAL 2016