In advance of his visit to Ireland at the end of March, I caught up with Im Chetra, director of Tearfund Ireland partner M’Lup Russey in Cambodia.

“How do you remain hopeful when all around is war, injustice and death?”

The realities and impact of famine run deep in our history and in our national psyche. The people of Ireland have always responded when regions have been at risk of famine, doing as much as possible to prevent famine.  When other countries have suffered famine - Biafra, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, etc. - the people of Ireland raised money for food and humanitarian aid.  Motivated by compassion and a deep sense of our collective humanity, the Irish have consistently been at the forefront to raise awareness around the conditions attributing to famine and food insecurity.  Although we’re a small population, we have little difficulty in making our voices heard, challenging those in positions of power to make decisions for the benefit of all.  Yet, unfortunately, our voices continue to be needed. 

25th November was the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence (GBV) that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.¹ 

The news headlines in recent times have reminded us of the many complex, traumatic and horrendous circumstances facing the international community. At the same time, news headlines here in Ireland repeatedly reveal similarly complex, traumatic and tragic circumstances facing us in our own towns and cities.

As we approach the Christmas season, we all know someone who already has everything they need. How do I buy a gift for someone like that? Especially in a petrol station at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve!

It is a wonderful thing to see one’s children growing up to become independent adults. I have four children and it has given me great pleasure to be able to declare them ‘fully processed’ making their own way into wider society.

Jesus had a remarkable ability to engage and captivate people from all walks of life. The stories he told revealed the nature of God, provided guidance for how to live, and corrected long-held religious assumptions.

I’m at my keyboard six days after the people of Israel suffered a horrendous attack in which at least 1,200 civilians were brutally murdered. The Israeli response has been swift and harsh with estimates of 1,300 inhabitants of Gaza killed. By the time this article is posted those numbers will most certainly increase.

I landed in Dublin in 2018, excitedly anticipating my new life here. I was sad to leave behind my family, friends, and the country I’d known and loved for decades. But I was ready for this—I had dreamed of living here for years. And though I love it, there have been many challenges and surprises that arose during my past five years here. Visas, banking, taxes, housing, transportation, terminology/slang, procedures, cultural nuances, food, and many more things were all new or different to me. Navigating so many new things at once can make you tired, frustrated, annoyed, and beyond. And even though I am happy here, I can get homesick for all things familiar. A place where I know I belong, and everything is natural.

“What do you have in your house?”

A few years ago, I had the idea to try my hand at gardening. For most of my life, both my parents and my grandparents had their own vegetable and fruit gardens. It wasn’t uncommon for us to come back to our house in the summer and find fresh sweet corn (the holy grail of US Midwestern harvests) placed on our porch by my grandparents. I often remember when my parents would be cooking dinner and find they would need an extra tomato or pepper—they’d run out to the garden and grab one. When I was younger, I didn’t fully appreciate that, but as the years went by, I missed it more and more. I thought I would try to recreate that as best I could.

In Mark 12.31, Jesus tells us to first love God with all our hearts and, secondly, to love your neighbour as yourself.

It sounds like a simple and easy command, but...

“Who will speak up for the vulnerable children?”

We are living in times of significant upheaval and change. The societal and economic disruption brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, worsening weather-related disasters and numerous conflicts around the world have displaced millions, affected food supplies, and destabilised economies. The scale and magnitude of the problems can feel overwhelming at times. But we have confidence that God is good.

I recently read two news stories about food. In Ireland, only one story was a headline but both stories centred around access to food. Each year there is a report which identifies how countries rank in terms of food security. The 2022 Global Food Security Index¹ ranks Ireland as number two, out of one-hundred thirteen countries assessed, in four categories that contribute to an overall score. Last year, Ireland was ranked as number one.

We are living in extremely challenging times.  Geo-political conflicts are resulting in millions of people being displaced from their homes, forcing them to seek refuge in other countries.  There is increasing concern of rising inflation and shortage of fuel, wheat and grain.  Health care services around the globe continue to strain under the effects of the coronavirus, and we have yet to identify the broader impacts on the well-being of people following the pandemic.  Experts repeatedly warn of the dangers caused from globally rising temperatures and we’ve witnessed food shortages, crop failures and weather events which impact those in low-income countries more severely.  

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,'

~Matthew 25:35

A number of churches and organisations are joining together for a day of prayer and fasting on Sunday, 2nd January 2022.  When I was contacted and asked if Tearfund Ireland would consider supporting this endeavour, my decision was immediate.  Yes, we will support it.

I got to see my mother this week. I was delighted as I had not seen her for more than 18 months due to Covid-19 restrictions. This is just one small example of how the pandemic has impacted the way we live our lives. Where we work, how we travel, when, where and how we interact with others. These impacts have been challenging. These impacts have been obvious.

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

~Helen Keller

"No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half its citizens.

Mother of four, Aster Getachew is a member of the“Siquwa” SHG and lives in Sodo city, Ethiopia.

Stephen Jenkinson was the Country Director for three years for the Umbrella Foundation, an Irish organisation who support the closure of corrupt children’s homes, with the help of local authorities.. He has been on the Irish Board since 2012, with his main role being the support of the team in Nepal. After completing his Masters in Development Studies from Kimmage DSC, with a thesis exploring life skills education in institutional care in Nepal. He worked with GOAL in its post-earthquake response in Nepal and later its Syrian response. He currently lives with his family in Melbourne where he is working with young people living in out-of-home care.

There are a number of questions to address when we open the conversation about Care Reform. Firstly, the terminology can be tricky in this area, so let’s start there, shall we?

Year Two of the EU Project, VIVID:T, is well underway, and at Tearfund Ireland we’re looking forward to everything this project has in store in 2021.

For Alea’s family in northern Syria, their cotton farm provided for all their needs. ‘We were in heaven in Syria,’ she says. She stayed as long as she could after the bombing began in 2011. The family would hide in the space between the wall and the fridge when they heard planes overhead. Alea was pregnant and frightened, but when her children began begging her for bread she knew it was time to run.

Ethiopia

Tensions and unrest in ethiopia

We are in regular contact with our staff and partners in Ethiopia following unrest in the country this week. It is reported that nearly 200 people have been killed in violent clashes sparked by the killing on 29 June of popular musician Hachalu Hundessa who was from the Oromia region. Please pray for peace to be restored to this country which is facing multiple crises at this time.

SYRIAN REFUGEES AND THE

CHALLENGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING

The Syria crisis has had a profound impact on the whole of the Middle East but, as a host nation for about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has felt it keenly. Yet, the overcoming faith of the Lebanese church is one of the brightest sparks of hope in the midst of the ongoing crisis. Tearfund’s partner in Lebanon, MERATH, has many inspiring stories of how thousands of Syrian refugees are turning to the church for help.

All people are created in the image of God.  This is not a mere, wistful nicety nor is it solely a doctrinal position. This is a statement of truth.  A fundamental, axiomatic, biblical truth.  God created all people.  The act of creation entails intent, which implies purpose which, in turn, indicates God had a reason for creating different people groups.  His command to ‘be fruitful, multiply and have dominion’ was an instruction to guide our role as stewards of Creation – not to be used against our fellow human beings.    

Statement

All people are created in the image of God.  Therefore, we believe that people of all races have an inherent dignity as an individual who reflects the image and purpose of God.  

Psalm 84:5-8

Luke 13:20-21

We are currently experiencing a whole new terrain. Our society is not used to such drastic changes in our everyday lives, in such devastating ways. We are secure in our livelihoods and our vulnerabilities are not often laid bare. But the recent Corona virus has taken Ireland and the entire world by storm. Within a short period of time, the virus has stripped lives, jobs, and businesses and pushed hospitals and morgues to their capacities.  Our economies and infrastructures are struggling. Life changed in an instant and, for most of us, this is something new to navigate. Our livelihoods have been challenged in an unprecedented way.       

At the heart of Tearfund is our calling to ‘remember the poor’. For Tearfund staff, it didn’t take long for us to realise that beyond the disruption of our day to day working lives in our Dublin office our overseas partners were facing a much bigger problem as Covid-19 made landfall in some of poorest countries on the planet.  Our partners are working in Ethiopia, Cambodia and Uganda and with Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are densely packed into makeshift shelters waiting for peace and the possibility to return home. These are countries with much fewer resources than Ireland to face this pandemic – for example in Uganda it is estimated that there are more Government Ministers than ICU beds.

 ‘I pray that God the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Dear friends and supporters of Tearfund,

A story of twin brothers in Cambodia

Teacher Training in South Sudan: