CWS works on development and poverty reduction initiatives with our partners

In brief, these programs focus on:

·         Education                                                          

·         Health of village paramedics

·         HIV/AIDS                                                          

·         Emergency medical supplies

·         Literacy                                                            

·         Birth assistance

·         Teaching                                                           

·         Training of health workers

·         Skills training                                                      

·         Water and sanitation

·         Agricultural sustainability projects                         

·         Food security 

These practical initiatives provide our partners with the basic necessities of life.

Below is an example of some of our programs: 

Health

Health is obviously vital to poverty reduction and wellbeing.  CWS works with local partners on a range of health programs from basic health care services to targeted HIV/AIDS programs. The basic health care service work includes:

• health care to more than 21,000 families in Gaza as well as in-service training for women
• health care of refugees in 103 camps in the Indian southern state of Tamil Nadu. People attend regular medical camps where they access advice about disease prevention and diagnosis, health awareness education, and supplementary feeding to children under 14 years old
• training 2,628 village doctors in rural China to improve health care and proficiency of other village health workers
• medical supplies for people in the areas surrounding Khartoum, Sudan
• training of traditional birth attendants in Bangladesh and 20 remote villages in Mozambique to increase the rate of hygienic and safe delivery of babies and to increase awareness of reproductive health. Hospitals are distant from these villages.

The Solomon Islands health program aims to bring a holistic approach to development through the church’s extensive network at the grass-roots level and to see communities transformed and individuals experiencing positive changes in living conditions. A training program supports community volunteers who promote good health practices, HIV awareness, and village hygiene projects. This work was the focus of Simply Sharing Week (the joint school education initiative of CWS and Caritas Australia) in 2006, which was themed “Simply hoping for health in the Solomon Islands”. Schools around Australia took part in learning about village life in the Solomons, the health challenges they face and the benefits of sharing what we have. The cost of the Simply Sharing Week initiative, as with other community or church information initiatives, is not included in the 2006 Development program disbursement of $1,683,633. For more details about Simply Sharing Week, including the exciting 2007 initiative, see www.simplysharingweek.org.au.

One of the greatest challenges still facing the world is the spread of HIV/AIDS. While the threats posed by HIV/AIDS have been universally acknowledged for a long time, there is now a growing consensus on what needs to be done to halt its spread. For instance the world’s most distinguished economists who form the Copenhagen Consensus believe that the highest priority or “smartest” investment for the international community is in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.

CWS works with a number of partners on HIV/AIDS programs such as the Makeni Centre in Lusaka, Zambia which performs HIV/AIDS testing, training of church and community leaders concerning AIDS, and caring for those affected and infected with the pandemic. CWS also works with regional partners such as the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Pacific Conference of Churches on facilitating church leaders across those regions to attend HIV/AIDS training in specialist places such as the Makeni Centre.

 Water and Food Security

CWS works with partners on a range of water and food security programs. While water is a huge concern in Australia, it is even more of a concern in Africa. The African water programs, in which CWS was involved, included:

• constructing wells in remote areas, such as in communities in Zambia and Ethiopia. For instance, in Gelegu, north-western Ethiopia, previously only contaminated water was available from a river approximately seven kilometres away. With potable water available health and living conditions have improved. Water is also being made available for domestic use as well as for small-cultivated plots
• increasing water security such as in the Massengena area of Mozambique to provide potable water for household use, to save women much time in having to walk long distances for water, and to improve the health of the community. Water committees are trained to maintain water points
• introducing communities to agricultural techniques for food security and nutritional benefits, such as in the Gode area of the Ogaden (Ethiopia). Being nomadic by nature, the program assists beneficiaries in the move towards a settled agricultural culture.

CWS also continues to support the Rainwater Harvesting Program in Zimbabwe, which we have done since it began in 1996. Over 2,000 huge community tanks have now been constructed, originally with bricks, now built from ferro-cement. Women and men have been trained in tank construction and maintenance, in water conservation and hygiene. Washing sinks, bio-gas pits for power and heat, and smokeless ovens have also been built, and floor polish and jam making projects are an ongoing development aspect of this work. Fruit and shade trees are being provided for each household in targeted villages in the program. Construction of the huge water tanks slowed in 2006 due to the escalating cost of materials and lack of fuel for transport.

Education

Education is another essential part of poverty reduction and will be a major focus for CWS and Simply Sharing Week in 2007. CWS works with overseas partners on a range of education programs, including:

• community-based literacy work in the Solomon Islands targeting communities that do not have access to any literacy programs. The people of the Solomons Islands have the lowest literacy rate in the Pacific and these programs are the most effective way for women to gain literacy skills. The program develops local resources and aims to enrol 1,000 new students
• providing in Namibia early childhood teacher training, curriculum preparation, and English studies for teachers, students and workers (English is now the trade language). The program also teaches adults to read and write in their native language
• education and literacy teacher-training in the Philippines, as well as health and nutrition education for children and the elderly
• technical and leadership training seminars to workers in regions outside Rangoon, Burma
• skills training in 30 villages in all regions of Egypt. The program works from the ground up as villagers recognise and state their own needs. Trained field workers then work with the village on what they have identified, usually income generating projects, training of health workers, pre and post natal care, literacy, planting trees and clean up campaigns.

:: Zimbabwe ::

There is an area in Zimbabwe called Beitridge, and it lies in the south of the country bordering South Africa. Our partner, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), has been conducting a rainwater harvesting program there since 1996. The Christmas Bowl, in conjunction with AusAID, has been a proud supporter of this program.

Throughout the program’s implementation, over 2000 tanks have been constructed, providing clean water for schools, clinics, churches, and now more recently households.

The Penemene school children are one such school group who have received one of these large water tanks. They have benefited enormously from access to fresh water. One of the students told us “that each day I come to school and am happy to be able to drink clean water from the tank, and I seem to get less sick”. Originally the tanks were constructed with bricks, now they are built from ferro cement. Women, men, and young people have been trained in tank construction and maintenance, in water conservation and hygiene.

The water project has been extended to help with other facilities. For example, washing sinks, bio-gas pits for power and smokeless ovens have been built, and jam making projects have been started.

A gift to the Christmas Bowl will ensure that the vital work of our partner, the ZCC, will continue to provide this community and their surrounding neighbours with clean fresh water essential for good health. Water is essential for productive communities and well-being.

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