http://www.tearfund.ie/get_involved/resources/ The latest news from Tearfund Ireland en enquiries@tearfund.ie Copyright 2012 2012-01-30T15:36:29+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/malawi_hiv_fund/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/malawi_hiv_fund/#When:15:36:29Z In Malawi, one in five children born to a HIV-positive mother is infected – a death sentence at birth. However, child and maternal mortality can be reduced dramatically with a number of low-cost interventions. Tearfund and its local partners are mobilising church and communities in rural Malawi to stop AIDS together.Irish Aid, a department within the Irish government, has awarded Tearfund Ireland a grant in recognition of our expertise and accountability in this area. This covers 72 per cent of the cost of the HIV project in Malawi but the remaining 28 per cent (€30,000) is still needed to enable this vital work to go ahead. One child is born with HIV every minute. It doesn’t have to be this way. Could you help save a child’s life? Click here to give today Malawi, HIV 2012-01-30T15:36:29+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/haiti_2_years_on/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/haiti_2_years_on/#When:17:14:17Z Catherine Carey, a nurse in Dublin, went to Haiti for 12 days with Tearfund’s first-ever medical team in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Here, she writes of the steps being taken by Tearfund to help people recover from the devastation of the 2010 earthquake. In the hustle and bustle of morning rush hour in Port-au-Prince, children stream out of slums – immaculate in their school uniforms. Women in smart skirts and blouses walk by, carrying baskets of produce on their heads. Surfaceless roads, still featuring piles of earthquake-damage rubble at the side of them, are jammed with four-wheel drives, cars and motorbikes. Amid the chaos, it’s difficult to get to our destination – a church building where we’ll hold our baby clinic. Tomorrow, we’ll take to the roads again, and by the end of the week, we’ll have completed an exhausting circuit of open spaces, church buildings and temporary camps, where people still live in tents, almost two years since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean country. At each temporary camp, we’ll begin with the community volunteer making a megaphone announcement to alert people to the fact that the clinic is about to begin. We’ll then offer free antenatal and postnatal advice to mothers, and weigh babies and provide vaccinations to the infants. In the open areas, we’ll hang the weighing scales from the branches of trees! The daily grind Life in Haiti is far from easy. It was the poorest country in the western hemisphere, before the earthquake struck. In one of the tented camps, where hundreds of people live under tarpaulin, the Haitians proudly show off their primary school that they’re running in abandoned buses that act as classrooms. There are few books; the teachers are volunteers. But, despite all this, children are learning to read and write. For those fortunate enough to have a job, work usually starts at 7am and runs to 7pm, six days a week. And the typical wage packet for these long hours is just $5 per day – $30 for the whole week. Building micro-businesses As a member of the 11-strong medical team from Tearfund, I spent the time attached to Kings Hospital, supported by Tearfund partner World Relief. World Relief have used post-earthquake funding from Tearfund to support a number of people with start-up business loans. Among those to benefit are community volunteers Kathleen and Antoinette, who I had the privilege of meeting one day. Kathleen has used her $200 grant to produce peanut butter from peanuts and this helps her support her children and younger siblings. Meanwhile, Antoinette sells charcoal for fuel. Kathleen and Antoinette lost so much in the earthquake, yet they getting on with their lives and volunteering to work in their community by helping at the clinics and providing health education classes. Isolated but not alone On one of the last days before I came home, I left my usual nursing routine in Port-au-Prince and made the three-hour, 25km journey along a windy highway to the highland village of Leogane, where the epicentre of the earthquake was. From there, I made a 45-minutes journey in a jeep, followed by a hike through a riverbed and up a dirt track, to reach a stream that is being diverted by Tearfund to provide clean water for the village. I met some local people who were provided with new homes, and I saw a transitional school that has been built by Tearfund. Because of the village’s isolated position, Tearfund has been the only organisation to work there. All the building supplies have been carried by hand, up the mountain, by the local people. Together Priscilla is a mother whose home was destroyed in the earthquake. With immense pride, she showed me round the two-room shelter that had been built for her family by Tearfund. One of the most moving moments of my trip was when I held hands with Priscilla and we prayed together – two mothers from different countries sharing in God’s love. Haiti, Emergencies 2012-01-09T17:14:17+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/typhoon_disaster_strikes_philippines/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/typhoon_disaster_strikes_philippines/#When:15:20:38Z 17 December 2011 More than 400 people have been killed after a typhoon struck the southern Philippines. Hours of continuous rain unleashed flooding which has left tens of thousands of people homeless on the island of Mindanao, with the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan particularly badly affected. Hundreds of people are missing following the storm, which struck on Friday night, with many of those unaccounted for being swept into the sea. A military spokesman said some villages had been entirely destroyed by the fast rising flood waters. Tearfund has responded to many similar emergencies over the years, and we know that these next few days, when people are searching for loved ones and trying to retrieve valuable items, are extremely distressing for everyone in the community affected by floods. Let’s pray for people who are grieving the loss of family and friends and for those who are living with the terrifying uncertainty of wondering whether their family members are still alive. Pray for those who have lost their homes and their livelihoods because of the floods; that they will find the help they need to rebuild their lives. We know that it’s going to be a long time before people in these communities feel that they have rebuilt their lives. Pray that they have the equipment and the help they need to ‘build back better’, to make sure that any future floods have less devastating impact. There are many islands and countries around the world who are more prone to natural disasters than previously, because climates are changing. Pray that world leaders will reach an agreement to provide money to help vulnerable countries to prevent, prepare and respond to changing climates and natural disasters. 2011-12-19T15:20:38+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/buy_a_living_gift_this_christmas/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/buy_a_living_gift_this_christmas/#When:16:47:31Z For example, the gift of two pigs and five chickens has a dramatic impact on the life of a family in Cambodia. Bred for food and income they are both an immediate and longer term solution to breaking the poverty cycle and protecting vulnerable rural families whose crops are subject to seasonal and climatic changes. To buy your Living gifts go to; Living Gifts 2011-11-29T16:47:31+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/increasing_desperation_in_east_africa/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/increasing_desperation_in_east_africa/#When:09:26:16Z ‘This is the worst crisis we’ve ever experienced. We’ve gone from a reasonably successful life to utter devastation.’ The words of Salina Mamoru convey something of the detrimental impact of the drought affecting more than 13 million people in East Africa but her appearance and living conditions also speak volumes. The 37-year-old is staying in the Katilu displacement camp in Turkana, northern Kenya, a dry, sandy and dusty place that has no home comforts. Yet people like Salina come here in hope they will find food and water, two things in incredibly short supply in northern Kenya, as well as Somalia and southern Ethiopia after months without rain. For Salina and her neighbours, accommodation at the camp consists of huts made of mud and sticks, with a few residents having sheets of plastic to bolster their flimsy rooves. Salina has six children to look after and all her money has gone on buying food and medicines to keep them alive. Her husband can’t find work in this parched landscape and there’s no help forthcoming from the government or anyone else. Salina, who is thin and tired, prays for three things, that her sick children will get better, her husband will find work and there’ll be rain soon. 28-day walk It’s a prayer echoed by mother-of-four Maka who walked 28 days through the bush between Somalia and Kenya. It was a sapping and heartbreaking journey, with Maka seeing people die along the way due to lack of food and water. ‘People would say “I can’t walk anymore” then sit down under a tree and die,’ she recalls. ‘We don’t have enough food and water. I don’t know what to do with my sick child.’ Tearfund partner, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), is responding in northern Kenya, providing water and repairing broken boreholes to get supplies back on line. Fellow partner, Christian Community Services of Mount Kenya East (CCSMKE), is also helping by getting water to needy families through organising a shuttle of tankers to the area. Across East Africa, seven Tearfund partners are tackling hunger caused mainly by drought and high food prices in the hardest-hit regions of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Life-saving services are being provided to 100,000 refugees and displaced people through distributing food and water and providing cash-for-work, shelter materials and essential non-food items. Tearfund is also involved in long term work to increase the resilience of communities by improving farming methods and the way people manage water. However the forecasts are for the crisis to worsen over the coming months, with humanitarian help being needed well into 2012. Give today Emergencies 2011-10-06T09:26:16+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/aid_teams_help_himalayan_quake_survivors/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/aid_teams_help_himalayan_quake_survivors/#When:10:40:15Z Survivors of an earthquake which has rocked the Himalayan region are being helped by Tearfund partners. The 6.9 magnitude quake struck on 18 September, affecting parts of India, Nepal and Tibet, killing at least 130 people. The epicentre was in the Indian state of Sikkim, where despite rescue efforts being hampered by heavy rainfall and landslides blocking roads, Tearfund partner teams were on the scene within 48 hours. Thousands of people have been left injured and at least 15,000 people are homeless due to the collapse of buildings. Getting food, warm clothes, blankets and shelter to survivors is now the priority, particularly as many villages in Sikkim are rural, remote and difficult to get to. Long treks Tearfund has released emergency funds and four partners in India, Discipleship Centre, EFICOR, Emmanuel Hospital Association and NEICORD, are launching a coordinated aid effort to help the worst affected families. A Tearfund spokesman in India said, ‘As roads are opening and media reports are coming through, we are seeing that damage to property and the number of casualties is quite high. The immediate need is to provide temporary shelter. Also there is an acute need for food supplies.’ In the district of Mangan, partner relief teams have trekked more than 20 miles across hilly terrain to reach communities that are inaccessible by road. 2011-09-28T10:40:15+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/pumpynut_-_a_miracle_food/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/pumpynut_-_a_miracle_food/#When:08:29:53Z Throughout the emergencies of the 1980s and 1990s, Tearfund’s emergency teams would set up therapeutic feeding centres in places like Ethiopia and Sudan – essentially intensive care units – in rural areas and mothers came from far and wide, bringing their children for treatment. Children were fed with special foods that had to be prepared carefully to ensure that they got the correct benefit from it, and nursed back to health over a number of weeks. It was expensive, difficult and hugely disruptive to poor families who had to walk miles to the feeding centres. Added to that, it became clear that therapeutic feeding centres were only reaching a tiny percentage of people and doing virtually nothing to combat the causes of food shortages and malnutrition. Pumpynut – a miracle solution It was felt that there had to be a better and more effective way of tackling emergencies and combating malnutrition. The breakthrough came when a Frenchman called Andre Briend came up with a ready-prepared food called Plumpynut. Essentially, a nutritious high-energy paste made from nuts, Plumpynut requires no preparation and keeps for several months. Tearfund knew that it was on to something that could revolutionise the approach to malnutrition. “Instead of bringing people in for treatment, we could bring this ready-to-eat food to them,” says Reuben Coulter, Chief Executive of Tearfund Ireland, who witnessed this approach in use in Darfur. With supplies of Plumpynut in local health facilities, more people could be reached and malnutrition could be caught earlier. Even in emergency situations it was found that most severely malnourished children don’t need major medical attention. With Plumpynut and the minimum medical attention, they get better. If the child doesn’t have any medical complications they can be sent home with their mother and a few weeks supply of this food. The child recovers in front of the community because of the food the mother is feeding it rather than because of some magic cure by some foreign doctor – the empowerment and value to that mother is enormous. Going global Realising the potential of this approach, the Irish aid agency Concern teamed up with another organisation called Valid International, and conducted extensive trials and research. Tearfund also became involved and together they compiled whole body of evidence confirming the success of community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM)* as it became known. Today this approach is used in all Tearfund’s nutrition programmes in emergency situations. The evidence was brought to the World Health Organisation (WHO). CMAM and Plumpynut was able to help 75 percent of malnourished children at lower cost, better survival rates and less disruption to the families. In 2007, the WHO changed its policy to recommend this approach to dealing with malnutrition, and more children’s lives have been saved as a result. Emergencies 2011-09-07T08:29:53+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/east_africa_drought_tightens_its_grip/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/east_africa_drought_tightens_its_grip/#When:10:35:07Z In some parts of the drought-affected country, more than 50 per cent of the population are suffering acute malnutrition. Overall, 3.7 million people need food urgently. Five areas of central and southern Somalia were declared famine zones in July but the Famine Early Warning Systems is warning more areas could join that list over the next four to six weeks. Drought during the April to June rainy season resulted in the lowest crop production for 17 years, with matters worsened by crop pests and diseases. This combined with ‘exorbitant’ cereal prices has put food beyond the means of most Somalis. Access to Somalia is difficult because of its long-standing armed conflict but Tearfund partner World Concern is helping refugees coming across the Somali border into northern Kenya, providing water, sanitation and essential household items. World Concern is also supplying emergency aid to 12,000 people in neighbouring Somaliland. Somali refugees have also been crossing into Ethiopia, with more than 76,000 arriving in the Dollo Ado area since January. Ethiopia has at least 4.6 million people in need of food aid, with high levels of acute malnutrition in southern regions. Tearfund partners are working to strengthen the ability of communities’ to withstand the worsening crisis, for example by running cash-for-work schemes to boost incomes. Life-saving help However there are growing fears that Ethiopia will require relief aid up until the end of 2012. In Kenya, 3.2 million people in the country’s north are suffering severe food shortages and here Tearfund partners are providing water, hygiene kits, cooking utensils and shelter materials. Across the entire region, Tearfund partners are helping more than 93,000 people affected by the food crisis. Robert Schofield, Tearfund’s Disaster Management Director, said, ‘The situation in East Africa continues to deteriorate and there are now more than 12 million people across the region in need. ‘We very much appreciate all the financial support for our East Africa appeal which means we can bring life-saving assistance to thousands of people affected by the drought and famine. I urge supporters to continue to pray for the relief and recovery effort across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.’ 2011-09-01T10:35:07+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/villagers_feel_the_heat_after_months_without_rain/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/villagers_feel_the_heat_after_months_without_rain/#When:14:58:11Z The last time 66-year-old Guyo Galgallo remembers it raining in his northern Kenyan village was four months ago. But it wasn’t a case of refreshing April showers: ‘We had drizzle,’ recalls Guyo, who lives in a community called Halkano Gora, which like many others in the region is facing one of the worst droughts in living memory. Poor rains have led to failed harvests and significant livestock losses which in turn have left 3.2 million Kenyans on the brink of starvation. Guyo and his seven strong family survive on one meal of maize a day but things are bleak. Guyo said, ‘The drought now is much worse than other times. We lack pasture and water. Our water sources are drying up, we have no animals to sell and food prices have shot up.’ His family are clinging on by making and selling charcoal but the rocketing price of staple foods, a factor hitting poor communities across the world, is worsening their plight, not just in terms of diet. ‘Soaring food prices mean we cannot buy as much,’ says Guyo. ‘Students are unable to attend school because they can’t pay school fees.’ Appeal support Generous support for Tearfund’s East Africa appeal means our partners in Kenya, as well as Somalia and Ethiopia, are able to expand the help they offer people like Guyo. Tearfund partner Christian Community Services of Mount Kenya East (CCSMKE) is helping his community by sending tankers filled with water to the area so people and their livestock can be sustained while the wait for rain continues. While appreciating the help Tearfund is providing, Guyo is determined to return to standing on his own two feet. ‘I’m praying the rains will return so I’ll be able to farm again and produce sufficient food once more,’ he says. ‘Then I will be able to continue educating my children.’ Education is something that has clearly benefited 18-year-old Lokho Gollo from the village of Qilta. Literate and bright, she has ambitions of becoming a lawyer but needs to keep studying at secondary school. The impact of the drought has disrupted that because her parents are struggling to get by. The family has just one meal a day. ‘This time is much worse than other times,’ says Lokho. ‘We have lost livestock and our farms are not producing anything. We have very little food and water. I try to get whatever small work I can get so I can help my parents. ‘I’m praying that I might finish secondary school well and that there might be jobs for people in my community.’ 2011-08-16T14:58:11+00:00 http://www.tearfund.ie/news/pakistan_floods_-_one_year_update/ http://www.tearfund.ie/news/pakistan_floods_-_one_year_update/#When:10:23:26Z In August last year, Pakistan was hit by its worst natural disaster in living memory. More than 1,750 people are thought to have died and an estimated 18 million people were affected by the floods. This figure represents more people than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2005 Kamir earthquake combined. In Ireland, Tearfund raised over €100,000 for its Pakistan appeal. Here is an example of how your unswerving support rescued and restored… The 19th October 2010 is a date seared into the memory of father-of-ten Rozi Khan from Pakistan. The worst flooding in the country’s recent history swept into his village of Mangal Khan in Sindh and took away his possessions and livelihood. Within hours of the flooding, 16 hectares of his rice crop were obliterated: ‘When I remember those moments, I still find tears in my eyes,’ says Rozi, 38. Losing this food was bad enough but its disappearance also left him with a sense of hopelessness. Previous natural disasters had made him impoverished, forcing him to resort to moneylenders to pay for crop seeds. He confesses to being heartbroken as the flooding wiped out his ability to repay his loans on the back of crop sales. Tearfund was the only organisation to come to Rozi’s village offering help and hope to get out of the black hole of poverty. Seeing the need to get him growing as soon as the floods subsided, Tearfund organised for a tractor to cultivate part of his land. He was also given high quality sunflower seeds and help via a seed drill to plant them. After a few months, the oil-rich crop was ready for harvesting. ‘I thank God for sending this team to help me,’ says Rozi, who plans to use crop surpluses to pay off his loans over the next three years. Rozi is one of thousands of Pakistanis helped by Tearfund to restart their livelihoods after the floods. Long-term help continues. We’re now rebuilding homes and providing water and sanitation to the most vulnerable facing material and spiritual poverty. Pakistan, Emergencies 2011-07-28T10:23:26+00:00