Press Releases
CHURCH OF IRELAND BISHOPS' APPEAL
The Church of Ireland Bishops' Appeal made four grants at its June meeting.
Mid-Africa Ministry is working in the diocese of Makamba in southern Burundi. The area is suffering greatly through the unrest in the country and the parishes of Mushara and Munyange are caring for 8,000 people who lack even the most basic necessities. A grant of £6,250 was made towards the provision of items such as blankets, soap, cooking pans, clothes, shoes and medicine.
In Bangladesh some 50 million people are at risk through the extensive arsenic contamination of drinking water from tubewells which provide 95% of the country's drinking water. The poisoning is believed to be geological in origin and the government response has tended to be to subsidise the digging of deeper tubewells (dug below the depth at which contamination is known to occur), however, such larger projects tend to be inaccessible to the poor. Christian Aid is involved in a four year programme with local partners to educate and enable communities to secure safe drinking water. The overall programme is costing £87,000 per year and Bishops' Appeal has contributed £20,000.
CMSI are working in the diocese of Kajiado in Kenya. The district is semi-arid with a population of 500,000 mainly Maasai people. Rainfall is unreliable and the region is currently experiencing severe drought and famine. The diocese is engaged in a six month feeding programme for 2,500. Bishops' Appeal granted £30,000 towards the programme.
A contruction unit has been established in the diocese of Ruwenzori, Uganda by CMSI partner Norman Jackson. The intention is to create employment and skills training, the unit will recruit and train workers and will then tender for local building contracts. A grant of £5,200 was approved to fund the purchase of equipment and materials.
In addition to these grants, Bishops' Appeal received a number of donations in response to a number of the emergency situations that have arisen over the past months: £21,412 for work assisting refugees in Kosovo; £2,846 for the continuing earthquake relief programme in Turkey; and £5,584 to support communities in Mozambique recovering from floods.
Further information from:
THE HONORARY SECRETARY
THE CHURCH OF IRELAND BISHOPS' APPEAL
Church of Ireland House
Church Avenue
Rathmines
Dublin 6
Tel: (01) 4978422
Fax: (01) 4978821
Email:Bishops' Appeal
HONORARY SECRETARY
The Revd Ian Poulton