The major part of this year’s project is to aid The Hearing Association of New Zealand’s Communication Project. Hearing loss is a huge handicap to ordinary people. This project will see us provide the relevant information about hearing loss to both our members and the general public, and hopefully make help affordable This project will consist of a number of smaller projects that utilize different media approaches.
The overseas component of the Special Project will support women in Lauru, Solomon Islands. The Lauru Land Conference was founded in 1981 to focus on the land and the cultural identity tied in with it - disputes, logging, development aid and the needs of communities, and that sort of thing. The Women's Programme "brings women together to empower and educate them while developing their leadership skills... helping them find new ways of earning income from the sales of crafts, giving them more confidence in participating in decisions about the use of their community's shared resources and educating them about the issues confronting Lauru and the Solomon Islands in general."
Bev Quigley, (MBG) can be contacted via St Stephens church, Timaru (ststephenstimaru@xtra.co.nz)
The APW/MWF Special Project, Opening Doors will support overseas, the Christian World Service partner, The House of Passage in Brazil and in New Zealand, the Churches’ Education Commission’s programme for chaplaincy in state schools.
The House of Passage opened in the city of Recife in the Northeast of Brazil in 1989 to attempt to meet the needs of young girls living on the streets or in the slums. The House successfully continues to provide basic needs, such as good meals, as well as training in life skills and vocational skills for these girls who live in extreme poverty, violence and abuse. Its programmes have now been extended to provide for boys as well.
The Churches’ Education Commission, in its Christian Education programme in primary schools and its Chaplaincy programme in primary and secondary schools aims to enable students to make good life choices. The Special Project will provide funding for the ongoing training and support of these voluntary chaplains. For further information contact Rae Simpson, I.r.Simpson@xtra.co.nz
Stroke is the third highest cause of death and ongoing disability in New Zealand and the Stroke Foundation, which celebrated its 25th year last year, set out to “reduce the incidence of stroke and gain and provide the greatest benefits for the stroke-affected community to improve their quality of life”. There is a National Council and four Regional Councils while 70 Stroke Clubs throughout NZ offer support to those affected by stroke. Mark Vivian, CEO of the Stroke Foundation writes “I am very pleased to have the support of the APW/MWF Project sponsorship over this year. It’s going to assist us a great deal, increasing the awareness of stroke – its preventability and the specific issues for young people.” Funds raised will assist with the production of new educational resources.
East Timor, or Timor Leste, is one of the most seriously impoverished countries in our region. Christian World Service supports the work there of a group of Timorese and Filipino Dominican Catholic Sisters who care for a group of young people, teaching them sustainable food production including fishponds and organic vegetable gardens, and who also run a training programme in Dili for unemployed young people. They will need support for some years yet and the money we raise will help maintain this support.
Leatrice McIntyre