ACT Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Dr. Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel and Dr. Humberto Martin Shikiya as ACT Goodwill Ambassadors. Each brings a wealth of experience to these newly created positions.  

Appointed following the invitation of ACT’s Secretary General Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, the ACT Goodwill Ambassadors will spotlight critical issues affecting our planet and its people. Both have been deeply involved in the life of the Alliance and are at the top of their field with talents and achievements that have made them household names.  

ACT’s Goodwill Ambassadors will raise awareness and mobilize support among their already broad audiences to help ACT fight climate change, promote peace, human security and gender justice, and realize the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Dr. Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, ACT Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Justice 

“I feel honored to be nominated as ACT Goodwill Ambassador,” says Prof. Dr. Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, pastor and political scientist.  

Dr. Füllkrug-Weitzel brings more than 20 years’ experience on governing bodies of the ACT “family” (ACT International, ACT Development, ACT Alliance, and ACT EU) and was the Moderator of the ACT Alliance Governing Board from 2010 to 2014. “The ACT family – with its specialised knowledge of the issues and with the political experience of its members – plays a strong part in the advocacy work of the ecumenical family,” she says.  

Dr. Füllkrug-Weitzel was President of ACT Alliance member Brot für die Welt from 2000 until February 2021 and active in the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).  

“One of my major concerns in the last decade has been climate justice,” says Dr. Füllkrug-Weitzel. “I have met communities all over the world and seen the devastating effects of climate-related disasters on their livelihoods, their communities, their identity and their culture.” 

As ACT Alliance Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Justice, she will support ACT’s advocacy on climate justice in relation to Agenda 2030 and the Sendai Framework for Action of DRR and the UNFCCC, with a focus on the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. 

“As one ecumenical family we have a huge opportunity to magnify the voices of the most excluded communities and people and bring the hope and ethical convictions of the churches to fruition,” she says. 

Dr. Füllkrug-Weitzel is also a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals Commission of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:). 

Dr. Humberto Martin Shikiya, Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development 

Dr. Humberto Martin Shikiya of Buenos Aires, Argentina, brings his academic background in economics and international cooperation to his current role as the Secretary General of Qonakuy, a network of Latin American and Caribbean Protestant and Evangelical universities working towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

“It is a privilege to serve ACT Alliance and collaborate with its vision and strategic objectives for climate justice in the midst of a world of scandalous social, economic, gender, ethnic and other inequalities,” says Dr. Shikiya. “Transformational development puts people at the center of dignity, alongside caring for all of God’s creation. Full access to human rights is essential in these critical times.” 

Dr. Shikaya is a co-founder of CREAS (the Regional Ecumenical Advisory and Service Center) and currently vice president of Argentina’s CREAS. He has been a member of ACT Alliance’s Executive Committee and ACT’s Membership and Nominations Committee.  

As ACT Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development, Dr. Shikaya will support ACT’s advocacy to counter inequality and economic injustice in alignment with the UN’s 2030 Agenda and the underlying principles of the Sustainable Development Goals.  

As the ACT Haiti Forum have worked to bring life-saving relief to communities impacted by the August 14 earthquake, they uncovered some excellent news about the work done by ACT members after the Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

ACT members constructed about 100 houses for families who lost their homes in the hurricane and repaired more than a thousand, and as needs assessment teams have visited those communities, they have found that every house that they visited which was built and repaired by ACT members is still standing and looks to be structurally sound.

“We are really proud that we did a really good job in this situation,” said Prospery Raymond, the convenor of the ACT Haiti Forum.  “All the houses that we have seen since the earthquake that we built are still standing.”

“Some neighbours went to those houses, and put their children in those houses, because they felt safe in them in the first days after the earthquake,” he continued.  “They were confident in those houses.  They became points of safety for the community in those first days.”

The ACT Forum is already working hard to support the communities impacted by the August 14 quake, and plans to use the same housing design for rebuilding strong homes that they used after Hurricane Matthew.

“As we have a good model already, that has received certification from the state and aligned with local customs, that means that as soon as we have the resources, we can move forward rebuild faster- the construction will be better.”

In addition to having an engineer design stronger houses, the ACT reconstruction took advantage of a few other things: they made sure strong foundations were built for the houses, which was unusual in the area at the time.  They also worked with families to find the best place on their property to build the home, and used international standards in the mix of cement and sand used to make the materials.  All of these factors helped to produce houses which remained standing after the powerful earthquake in August.

The ACT Haiti Forum is already distributing shelter and hygiene kits, and is providing safe water to communities.

More information on the ACT response can be found in the ACT Appeal here.

“The situation is still very critical,” Prospery concluded. “There are more than 800,000 people living in very difficult situations.  People are living outside their houses, in the rain, because their houses are cracked and collapsed.  We need some support in order to help those people to survive this difficult situation. We will provide support with transparency and respecting the tradition and local customs.”

To donate to support ACT’s work in Haiti to help families and communities to build back better, please inform the Director of Operations, Nancy Etté and Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Niall O’Rourke with a copy to the Finance Officer, Marjorie Schmidt.

“We believe that the global community can and must do more to save lives, improve the well-being of all human beings, promote peace and ensure the realization of all human rights,” reads a statement from ACT Alliance on vaccine justice.

Further, ACT calls on governments and multilateral institutions to, among other things, ensure that everyone has access to COVID-19 vaccines, leaving no one behind.  “Share vaccine doses and financial resources to ensure everyone everywhere has immediate access to vaccines, and guarantee affordable prices, fair allocation and prioritization while also committing at least 5% of overall supply to equitable vaccine distribution and investing in public health systems and social protection systems that tackle the social determinants of health.”

ACT also urges the 194 members of the WHO to “immediately adopt the decision to create a new international treaty on pandemics at its special session to be held in November 2021, in order to hold governments accountable to their decisions and actions around pandemics.”

Read the full statement by ACT Alliance here.

“This is not about climate. It’s about our life, our future. And you are destroying our future.” Steve Private, an Indigenous youth from Peru, is making a powerful challenge to participants in ACT Alliance’s May 2021 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on climate change. “We must change our approach in how we address the climate.”  The series of dialogues was initiated by ACT Alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean (ACT Alliance LAC) in collaboration with the LWF (Lutheran World Federation) Action for Justice – Climate Justice unit.  

“We started this approach 4 or 5 years ago,” says Carlos Rauda, ACT Alliance LAC’s Regional Representative. “ACT and LWF had invited climate justice experts from the region to share scientific knowledge on topics like greenhouse gasses with the LAC forums.” At that first training the experts pointed to the power of churches’ advocacy, based on moral authority and strong community connections. “They said that churches could raise their voices and tell leaders how they are failing us,” says Carlos. The scientists and academics offered to share their knowledge with ACT Alliance LAC members.  

Four virtual sessions  

“Churches and faith-based organizations are deeply committed to climate justice in the region,” says Elena Cedillo, LWF’s Action for Justice Program Executive, who coordinated the dialogues with ACT LAC. “During this process they agreed on the next steps for advocacy at the national and regional levels. Working together is the only way to tackle the climate impacts.” 

“Dialogues to Increase Climate Action,” as they were called, were designed to meet members’ common desire to move from knowledge to action. The first dialogue was open to all interested ACT members and drew 150 participants. Participating forums included Cuba, Peru, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. In the second dialogue 60 people met by country with experts to identify and discuss key issues. In the third dialogue 70 participants, including many churches and faith-based organizations, explored the national forums’ common issues and regional synergies. The fourth dialogue took place a month later with 80 participants who reviewed their plans with scientific experts.  

Action results 

In the final dialogue the forums committed to specific country actions to be completed before November’s COP 26. ACT El Salvador Forum members will meet with their country’s COP 26 climate negotiators to discuss the negotiators’ agenda on financial loss and damage. The impact of climate change on migration and food security are also important to the forum and the region. ACT Peru Forum members will lobby their government to incorporate biodiversity in its Amazon restoration strategy and protect environmental activists. 

Finally, dialogue participants will develop a regional plan next year which will include advocacy, capacity building and dialogues on climate justice with academics and research centres.  

Each year, ACT Alliance members join other Christians around the world to pray, act and advocate for our common home, Earth, by celebrating the ecumenical Season of Creation. 

The Season of Creation begins on September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.  This year’s theme, “A home for all? Renewing the Oikos (home) of God,” is symbolized by Abraham’s tent, and is a call to care for all creation as an act of radical hospitality.  

An ecumenical online prayer service on Wednesday, September 1 will mark the beginning of the Season. 

Climate Justice 

“This year is a critical moment to leverage ambitious targets and momentum on implementation in the international negotiations,” the authors note in the Season of Creation Celebration Guide. Two United Nations meetings fall just after the Season of Creation ends: COP 15 on biodiversity, October 11-24; and COP 26 on climate change in Glasgow UK, November 1-12.  ACT Alliance and its members have been working on Climate Justice and preparing for COP 26.  

The Guide suggests getting involved in Pray and Act for Climate Justice, which is circulating a petition of climate justice demands to be presented to world leaders at COP 26. You may consider including promotion of the petition in your Season of Creation celebrations as a concrete activity geared to COP 26. 

How to participate 

The Guide also contains resources for faith communities. There are resources for an ecumenical prayer service; ideas for a Creation walk or pilgrimage; and suggestions for sustainable initiatives at both the personal and institutional level. Everyone is invited to pitch a tent at their local church as a “sign of hospitality for all who are excluded.” 

A special Resources tab on the Season of Creation website features worship resources organized by denomination. Some include bulletin inserts, social media cards and other ways of promoting Season of Creation celebrations locally.  

Follow ACT Alliance Twitter and Facebook accounts for the latest news about the Season of Creation. 

COP 26, scheduled to take place in Glasgow, UK, this November, is a crucial moment in the fight for climate justice. Due to COVID-19, this COP has already been delayed a year. The time for countries to implement necessary and ambitious climate action is fading. 

We urge you to join the Global Prayer and Action Chain for Climate Justice and to sign and distribute the petition to your networks.  

The petition will be presented to world leaders at a COP 26 public event. The more signatures there are from people around the world, the more impact it will have.  It tells our world leaders that they must set ambitious targets in solidarity with the world’s most vulnerable people – those who are most affected by climate change. Governments must take urgent action to limit warming to 1.5C by cutting emissions and significantly increasing climate finance to the poorest and most vulnerable.  

As people of faith, we believe that each person matters to God, and each deserves to be protected from climate change. We need everyone to join us in calling for climate justice. As well as distributing the petition, we encourage you to pray for climate justice. Sign up for the global prayer chain and join a Prayer Service for Climate Justice.  

Jesus said, “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”  

Together, we can persuade world leaders to put aside their differences and implement ambitious climate action.  

Sign the petition today and join us to demand Climate Justice for All. 

On the 14th August a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti with devastating consequences.  The passage of Tropical Depression Grace on the 17^th of August worsened conditions on the ground and increased the level of humanitarian need.  As at the 22nd of August more than 2,200 fatalities have been reported, at least 344 people are missing, over 12,000 people have been injured and upwards of 130,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed (OCHA sitrep 22 Aug).

Per the UN System in Haiti, 650,000 people need emergency humanitarian assistance in the three most affected departments (Sud, Grand’Anse and Nippes).   The Haitian Government has declared a month-long state of emergency and underlined the need for food and psychological support.  There is an urgent need for additional human and financial resources to rapidly scale up response efforts to match the scale of needs.

Based upon programmatic learnings following emergency responses to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Christian Aid has issued an advocacy briefing.  Christian Aid and the ACT Alliance secretariat are highlighting the following recommendations to donors and international actors:

1. Donors should act fast and step up their efforts both in terms of quantity but also to deliver multi-year and quality of funding to address the earthquake crisis and its long-term recovery.
2. Given the multi-sectoral nature of the crisis it is vital that the humanitarian community and donors moves in the direction of longer-term more holistic funding; that better integrates different sectors, phases, and dimensions of Haitian recovery. It must involve community philanthropy, religious leaders, and private sector in a nexus approach.
3. Donors must continue to invest in disaster risk reduction programmes in order to strengthen national, local and community preparedness towards multiple risks. Reconstruction should focus on this type of long-term intervention instead of short-term fixes.
4. The UN and other INGOs should abide by their Grand Bargain commitments and support local agency by working through to strengthen and not replace, national and local civil society who will continue the reconstruction efforts in the long term. It is of fundamental importance to include local civil society and local government departments in decision making processes and coordination systems as well as to ensure access to quality funding, such actors can work in a more culturally sensitive way, based upon their strong knowledge of the context. Practices such as survivor and community led response have shown the benefit of giving agency to affected population being fast, bespoke and therefore efficient and sustainable, strengthening mutual help and solidarity within the community whilst also providing important psychosocial recovery.
5. Insecurity remains a major challenge facing humanitarian actors across all sectors. Access constraints and a volatile security context mean the delivery of humanitarian assistance is being hampered. High quality programmes, including essential protection and GBV programming and reconstruction and livelihoods programmes, central to the long-term recovery of affected communities, can only be delivered by humanitarian actors, in line with humanitarian principles, as part of a safe scale up of the planned response involving the Haitian authorities, UN actors and NGOs.
6. The first round of presidential elections is scheduled for the 07^th of November. The Haitian Government is leading the co-ordination and scale up of multi-sectoral response efforts in all quake-affected areas. The provision of critical humanitarian assistance must not be hindered by political instability.
7. With extensive damage to homes and infrastructure, large numbers of people remain displaced and without shelter.C-19 remains a virulent and dangerous risk to the wider population.  Without strong preventative messaging by all actors involved in the humanitarian response to raise awareness of C-19 there is a significant risk that the situation facing affected populations could significantly worsen.

ACT Alliance members respond daily to humanitarian crises all around the globe – from building shelters for people who lost their homes to earthquakes or floods, to providing life-saving WASH infrastructures , to helping those in need with cash assistance.

The crises that members are asked to respond to are growing in number and intensity and many of those emergencies are climate-induced disasters. The evidence is overwhelming: climate change will influence our work even more in the future.

The climate emergency humanity is facing is and will have severe consequences on the foundations of human life, namely on water supply and on crops, putting millions of people at risk of severe malnutrition. The fight for water and land could aggravate existing larger scale conflicts and lead to political instability and mass migration.

Affecting everyone, but harshest impact on those already vulnerable

Climate change knows no border. The recent floods and wildfires in Europe and the drought in California are clear examples that nobody is and will be spared by the consequences of not reaching the Paris Agreement ambitions.

However, the harshest consequences of climate change affect vulnerable societies with limited resources the most – thus those who are already subject to poverty, conflict, and violence.

On the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day on August 19, ACT Alliance-member Community World Service produced a number video testimonies of people in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh who are experiencing intensifying heat and exceptional drought which are already impacting their food supply systems.

The voices of these people, recorded by the CWSA team, are a cry for help and a warning to politicians, but also to those working in the humanitarian field. Climate change is and will exacerbate humanitarian crises, and humanitarian relief planning must include a climate perspective and prepare for what is coming.

This can only be done in cooperation with local communities, making sure that every crisis is also an opportunity for them to become more resilient to future natural and man-made disasters.

Pathani – Video CWSA

«We are experiencing water scarcity due to increasing warm weather and lack of rains. Our crops and cattle are dying as a result of the shortage. We have to plant more trees and plants in our villages and overcome this negative impact of climate change.” (Pathani, community member, Umerkot, Pakistan)

Hakin Chan – Video CWSA

«There have been no rains in the area, and the pollution from the brick production is severely damaging our ecosystem. Because of our agricultural activities, we are extremely reliant on rain and livestock. Our communities and livelihoods are being negatively impacted by changes in rainfall patterns.” (Hakin Chan, community member, Umerkot, Pakistan).

Chandi – Video CWSA

“CWS Asia provided water harvest tanks to our village. Due to a lack of water, we collect rainwater and store it in the tanks which we subsequently use to irrigate our kitchen gardens, wash clothes, and feed cattle. Brine water is harmful to both humans and cattle. Therefore, rainwater conservation is assisting us in coping with water shortage in our area.” (Chandi, kitchen gardener, Umerkot, Pakistan)

Marwa – Video CWSA

“We did not have access to safe drinking water. CWS Asia constructed a Reverse Osmosis plant (water purification system) in our community which has supplied residents with sweet water to drink. We are now safe from the health risks by polluted, brine water in our area. We are also engaged in kitchen gardening to provide our families with nutritious home-grown veggies, resulting in improved health and forestation.” (Marwa, kitchen gardener, Umerkot, Pakistan)

Seeta – Video CWSA

“Previously, we cooked on traditional mud-built stoves with a single burner that produced a continuous plume of smoke. Out health was suffering as a result of spending so much time in the kitchen. Using fuel-efficient stoves, on the other hand, has decreased health hazards since we don’t burn our hands and less smoke is produced. We use less wood, resulting in less deforestation in our vicinity.” (Seeta, housewife, Umerkot, Pakistan)

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the south of Haiti at 8:29am on Saturday, 14 August. The earthquake was also felt in other Caribbean islands, like Jamaica and Cuba. This earthquake was stronger than the 2010 quake that devastated the nation’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

Although estimates of the destruction, casualties, and the full impact on lives and livelihoods are still developing, our ACT Haiti Forum reports that the magnitude of the impact has been devastating and hospitals are overwhelmed.  The latest reports from the Haiti civil protection report more than 1200 deaths and 5700 wounded in the South department, specifically in the Nippe and Grand-Anse areas. More than 14,000 families have been affected in the three departments.

The ACT Haiti Forum and their partners are engaging in immediate needs assessments and coordination.  They have issued an alert on the situation, which is available here.

Destruction hinders relief operations

Thousands of houses have been damaged or destroyed, and approximately 60% of the population has been affected, according to the civil protection forces based in the south of the island. Some routes of communication, as well as infrastructure including roads have also been damaged, which will affect the relief operations.  Some communities are now only accessible by air or boat due to roads damaged or blocked by the earthquake or the subsequent landslides.

Many aftershocks are making the situation worse and more unstable. The government fears this earthquake could be worse than the one that hit Haiti in 2010. Further exacerbating the situation, Haiti is currently in the direct path of Tropical Storm Grace, which is expected to make landfall between 16 and 17 August, exposing an already vulnerable population to tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain that could trigger life-threatening flash floods and landslides.

ACT Forum coordinates response

The ACT Forum met on Sunday 15^th August with partners and members on the ground to assess the situation and an alert which will be shared with ACT members. Tents and shelters have already been installed at the OFATMA Hospital and deployment of volunteers to help with rescue operations and assess the damage.

The ACT Forum members are working synergically to support each other and meet the immediate needs of the population affected by this tragedy. The initial interventions will focus on distribution of shelter kits, WASH activities and distribution of water as well as psychosocial support.

Haiti Forum Co-chair Prospery Raymond said, “In the Haiti Forum, we have spent more than two years supporting our partners and some communities to include Survivor and Community Led Responses in their ways of working.  SCLR allows people to be the leaders in humanitarian response, ensuring that the work of ACT members is appropriate and effective, and respects the needs, expertise, and leadership of those affected by this disaster.”

The humanitarian situation might worsen due to the weather conditions. Tropical Depression Grace is expected to provoke heavy rainfall which could lead to flash flooding in Haiti, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

ACT Alliance is currently monitoring the situation and is supporting local partners to carry out rapid needs assessments in affected areas. Emergency teams are preparing to be deployed. The forum plans to raise an appeal pending their needs assessment analysis.

Immediate needs

The ACT Haiti Forum reports the following immediate needs:

• Tents and tarpaulins, temporary shelters, flashlights, emergency power generators;
• hygiene kits, clothes, water, and food; first aid kits;
• Health workers, rescuers (at least 10 people per municipality affected);
• Fuel, vehicles, mobile phones, and SIM cards

Key contacts to support the relief operations in Haiti

ACT has set up two WhatsApp groups to keep members apprised of the developing situation.  The first is aimed at humanitarian specialists and can be joined by emailing your WhatsApp details to Carlos Rauda, Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean (carlos.rauda@actalliance.org).  The second is for communications and fundraising efforts and can be joined by emailing your WhatsApp details to Simon Chambers, Director of Communications (simon.chambers@actalliance.org).

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to the Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Niall O’Rourke (niall.orourke@actalliance.org) and Director of Operations, Nancy Ette (Nancy.ette@actalliance.org), with copy to the Finance Officer, Marjorie Schmidt

(Marjorie.schmidt@actalliance.org).