“Personally I feel that what we do is like a drop in the ocean. But when I see the smiles on the faces of the people we try to assist, I realise how important this drop in the ocean is…” a statement by Azzam Alsaqqa, from ACT member Christian Aid, which has for years been working to provide humanitarian relief for people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt).

On 8 July 2014, Israeli forces launched military operations on Gaza that lasted 50 days. The onslaught included frequent aerial bombardments, which according to the UN killed 2,200 people, including more than 1,600 civilians, a third of whom were children. In total, 11,000 Palestinians were injured, 1,000 of whom were permanently disabled. During the conflict, five Israeli civilians and 60 Israeli soldiers were also killed. Over a quarter of the 1.8 million people living in Gaza have been displaced because of the conflict, and the destruction has left approximately 108,000 people homeless. Tens of thousands of homes have been reduced to rubble, and hospitals and educational establishments damaged or destroyed. Extensive infrastructure damage left many areas without electricity and around 450,000 people without access to clean water, posing a major threat to public health.

Providing life saving relief

ACT members provided support primarily to those who have been identified as vulnerable, such as children, pregnant mothers, the injured and the grieving. Thirteen hundred expectant mothers received antenatal visits from healthcare professionals in the targeted district, and 100 newborn kits were distributed. Alliance members provided 350 hygiene kits and 27 medical kits to assist injured patients, and psychosocial projects were set up in the most heavily bombed areas of Gaza to try to heal emotional wounds.

The blockade and conflict made humanitarian access challenging, however food was distributed where possible to families who had lost their livelihoods, and 11,000 one-litre bottles of mineral water were provided to those without access to clean water. Alliance members also provided 835 children in the Shijia area with vouchers for school equipment, such as stationery.

Ongoing crisis

The Israeli blockade of Gaza, by land, air and sea, has continued since 2007 and severely restricts the entry of goods and food to Gaza. The blockade has been heavily criticised by the UN, as well as humanitarian and human rights organisations. Currently, building materials that are needed to rebuild after the massive destruction caused by the bombardments are heavily restricted. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, approximately 1 million of the 1.8 million population were already receiving food aid before the recent escalation of violence.

ACT members have been working in Gaza for more than a decade.

Fawzi Abu Jame’a, with his 7-year old daughter Raghad, sit in the ruins of what was once his parents’ home Khan Yunis, Gaza. Houses in the area were destroyed by Israeli air strikes during the 2014 war between the state of Israel and the Hamas government of Gaza.  ACT/Paul Jeffrey

Climate change affects everyone but especially the most poor and vulnerable people. The ACT Now for Climate Justice campaign calls on world leaders to cut carbon emissions drastically, and to help the world’s poorest to cope with the impacts of climate change while developing in a sustainable way. The campaign aims to add voices to the growing movement of unrest as climate change reaches more dangerous levels. Join the campaign by signing the ACT Now For Climate Justice petition!

On July 19, 2015, the ACT Alliance partners of DKH Austria in Nepal, expanded cooperation with a local organization, the cash transfer program for the affected by the earthquake to build temporary accommodation at the places Lakuri Bhanjyang and Lamatar in Lalitpur district ,

Like most villages that lie around the Kathmandu Valley in hilly area, the homes of residents in Lakuri Bhanjyang and Lamatar were uninhabitable by the impact of the earthquake on 25 April and its aftershocks.

Simple payment system for much-needed building material
The local markets in the earthquake region have recovered well after the disaster. Building material for repair of damaged houses is plentiful and is desperately needed by those affected to rebuild waterproof and protects the houses before the monsoon. Therefore, the local population needs as quickly and efficiently financial resources for the purchase of goods.

In close cooperation with the local government authorities, a private company that develops mobile applications, and a local bank, the DKH has joined together with the partner organizations and developing a new e-cash transfer. Using the mobile app “Hello Paisa” were able to more than 1,300 households can be supplied within a few hours with an electronic coupon in the amount of around 10,000 Nepali rupees (about 90 EUR). This e-Vouchers can be used to pay in the local markets and help to prevent the misuse of funds.

Households that have for some reason do not have a mobile phone and so the payment system could not use were supported by cash amounts.

The partners of Diakonia Austria pioneer in the use of modern technology to ensure faster and more efficient help.

More information here.

As the third international conference on Financing for Development (FfD) that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13-16 July concludes, high level politicians deliberated to reach consensus on a range of finical measures that set the path for post-2015 development agenda.

Domestic resource mobilisation has been among the top agenda. Over the four days, countries looked at how they can mobilise resources of financing, including domestic and international, public and private, and ensure that they are channeled for sustainable development.

The conference came ahead of two crucial events this year that will have major impact for a sustainable future:

• the goals for Sustainable Development to be adopted in New York in September, and
• the Paris UN climate negotiations in December that will reduce global carbon emissions

Ethiopia is the first third world country to host the conference, which brought together delegates including Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Finance, non-governmental organisations among others.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda

The Conference led to negotiated and agreed outcomes that will support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One of the major outcomes from the conference is what is now called, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, where 193 UN Member States reached consensus “…to overhaul global finance practices and generate investments for tackling a range of economic, social and environmental challenges”.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: “The results here in Addis Ababa give us the foundation of a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind.”

The agreement contains more than 100 measures addressing all sources of finance to improve tax collection, combat illicit financial flows. It also incorporates policy commitments and cooperation including such as foreign aid, infrastructure, health, taxation and climate change.

ACT Alliance and Stakeholders Calls for Accountability beyond Addis

In addition to plenary meetings and roundtable discussions, the conference featured international civil society and business forums, as well as more than 200 side events.

ACT Alliance, along with the Addis Ababa Civil Society Coordinating Group and the Women Working Group, co-organised two side events that explored the private sector’s role and impact on sustainable development, as well as accountability to commitments beyond the summit.

The panel composed of UN, civil society and government representatives deliberated on effectiveness of private financing, including public private partnerships and ways to ensure the human rights and needs of communities affected by private investments are respected.

In reference to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were developed on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Benjamin Schachter, UN Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOCHR) said, “We would like to see stronger application of the principle and more firm standards on Human Rights obligations in the development agenda”.

As the third international conference on Financing for Development (FfD) that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13-16 July concludes, high level politicians deliberated to reach consensus on a range of finical measures that set the path for post-2015 development agenda.

Domestic resource mobilisation has been among the top agenda. Over the four days, countries looked at how they can mobilise resources of financing, including domestic and international, public and private, and ensure that they are channeled for sustainable development.

The conference came ahead of two crucial events this year that will have major impact for a sustainable future:

• the goals for Sustainable Development to be adopted in New York in September, and
• the Paris UN climate negotiations in December that will reduce global carbon emissions

Ethiopia is the first third world country to host the conference, which brought together delegates including Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Finance, non-governmental organisations among others.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda

The Conference led to negotiated and agreed outcomes that will support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One of the major outcomes from the conference is what is now called, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, where 193 UN Member States reached consensus “…to overhaul global finance practices and generate investments for tackling a range of economic, social and environmental challenges”.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: “The results here in Addis Ababa give us the foundation of a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind.”

The agreement contains more than 100 measures addressing all sources of finance to improve tax collection, combat illicit financial flows. It also incorporates policy commitments and cooperation including such as foreign aid, infrastructure, health, taxation and climate change.

ACT Alliance and Stakeholders Calls for Accountability beyond Addis

In addition to plenary meetings and roundtable discussions, the conference featured international civil society and business forums, as well as more than 200 side events.

ACT Alliance, along with the Addis Ababa Civil Society Coordinating Group and the Women Working Group, co-organised two side events that explored the private sector’s role and impact on sustainable development, as well as accountability to commitments beyond the summit.

The panel composed of UN, civil society and government representatives deliberated on effectiveness of private financing, including public private partnerships and ways to ensure the human rights and needs of communities affected by private investments are respected.

In reference to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were developed on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Benjamin Schachter, UN Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOCHR) said, “We would like to see stronger application of the principle and more firm standards on Human Rights obligations in the development agenda”.

As the third international conference on Financing for Development (FfD) that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13-16 July concludes, high level politicians deliberated to reach consensus on a range of finical measures that set the path for post-2015 development agenda.

Domestic resource mobilisation has been among the top agenda. Over the four days, countries looked at how they can mobilise resources of financing, including domestic and international, public and private, and ensure that they are channeled for sustainable development.

The conference came ahead of two crucial events this year that will have major impact for a sustainable future:

• the goals for Sustainable Development to be adopted in New York in September, and
• the Paris UN climate negotiations in December that will reduce global carbon emissions

Ethiopia is the first third world country to host the conference, which brought together delegates including Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Finance, non-governmental organisations among others.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda

The Conference led to negotiated and agreed outcomes that will support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One of the major outcomes from the conference is what is now called, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, where 193 UN Member States reached consensus “…to overhaul global finance practices and generate investments for tackling a range of economic, social and environmental challenges”.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: “The results here in Addis Ababa give us the foundation of a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind.”

The agreement contains more than 100 measures addressing all sources of finance to improve tax collection, combat illicit financial flows. It also incorporates policy commitments and cooperation including such as foreign aid, infrastructure, health, taxation and climate change.

ACT Alliance and Stakeholders Calls for Accountability beyond Addis

In addition to plenary meetings and roundtable discussions, the conference featured international civil society and business forums, as well as more than 200 side events.

ACT Alliance, along with the Addis Ababa Civil Society Coordinating Group and the Women Working Group, co-organised two side events that explored the private sector’s role and impact on sustainable development, as well as accountability to commitments beyond the summit.

The panel composed of UN, civil society and government representatives deliberated on effectiveness of private financing, including public private partnerships and ways to ensure the human rights and needs of communities affected by private investments are respected.

In reference to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were developed on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Benjamin Schachter, UN Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOCHR) said, “We would like to see stronger application of the principle and more firm standards on Human Rights obligations in the development agenda”.

One thousand miles separate Syria and Serbia, but the desperation to flee their war-torn country is driving thousands of refugees from Syria, as well as some from Afghanistan and other countries to make the long and dangerous journey.

Their trek is a combination of boats, buses, trains, and walking.

Many land in Greece first. From there, they head north on foot, walking hundreds of miles through the Balkans to the European Union. In the past six months, more than 37,000 refugees have endured rough terrain, temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, a lack of food and water, and violent attacks from predatory gangs along the way to reach Serbia.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Serbia is receiving by far the largest percentage of refugees seeking international protection in southeastern Europe. The refugees are using the route through Serbia to reach their desired final destination of Western Europe. Now Serbian authorities face an emerging crisis as they struggle to care for the growing masses of exhausted, hungry, and injured refugees making the arduous journey to hoped-for asylum.

ACT member, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), from its office in Belgrade, is on the ground responding to the urgent needs of the Syrian refugees in southern Serbia with food assistance and logistical support. Working in cooperation with the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Red Cross of Serbia, IOCC is providing support for more than 3,500 meals per day for refugees and local people in need from the towns of Bujanovac and Preševo.

In Greece, IOCC is also extending relief to the refugees as they land on the island of Chios, providing access to improved shower and sanitation facilities and distributing hygiene kits so that they can take care of their personal hygiene in privacy and with dignity.

The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is pleased to announce a new joint program with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). PWRDF will contribute $2,654,612 over five years towards the $17,697,412 project that will focus on maternal and child health in 350 villages in Burundi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania.

“PWRDF is deeply satisfied that DFATD has approved an ambitious proposal to scale up the work we are presently doing with them in three countries—Burundi, Mozambique and Tanzania–and adding Rwanda.

At the three-year mark in our current DFATD programs, we are seeing many of the five-year results we were aiming at, due to our partnership with strong local partner organizations who know their countries, their cultures and their people,” said Adele Finney, Executive Director of PWRDF. “As we accompany partners, and they accompany vulnerable people making lasting changes in their communities, we see more mothers and babies living and thriving through pregnancy, childbirth and the first years of life. We see siblings, fathers and families growing their own food with confidence.”

The program will reach 3,545,315 women of reproductive age, newborns, children under 5 and men, including post-natal care for women, and vaccinations, vitamin A and enough good, healthy food for children to grow to their potential.

Health workers and trained birth attendants will be trained to dispense accurate advice on ante- and post-natal care, promote healthy habits, provide basic health care, identify high risk pregnancies and make referrals to government-run medical facilities. Health centres will be equipped with essential equipment, dispensaries, nurses’ houses, and expectant mothers’ houses will be built. Rapid and affordable transportation to medical facilities, including bicycle and motorcycle ambulances will be provided.

The project will provide improved access to clean water and nutritious food- the basics of good health. Village leadership and local communities will be mobilized and equipped to continue the work, and to ensure gender rights.

PWRDF is proud of its more than 40 year working relationship with DFATD, and looks forward to continuing to work together with partners including Village Health Works in Burundi, the Anglican Diocese of Masasi in Tanzania, the Association of Community Health (EHALE) in Mozambique, and Inshuti Mu Buzima (Partners in Health) in Rwanda, to improve the lives of mothers and children throughout their respective regions.

Summer is the height of tourist season in the Greek isles, but Amina, 35, isn’t on the island of Chios with her husband and three young sons for a vacation.

The Syrian refugee family is in flight from Damascus. Their long and arduous trek took them through Lebanon and into Turkey, where they hiked a grueling 200 miles across the country to reach a boat that would carry them to safety in Greece. Also part of their group were several Syrian youth under 18 traveling alone or with distant relatives, like Sahir, 17, a member of Amina’s extended family.

They travel at great risk with the hope to reach Western Europe and register as underage refugees, which would allow their parents to join them. The eastern Aegean isles have been inundated
by the flow of Syrian refugees arriving by sea. The island of Chios, which lies just four miles from Turkey, has received more than 7,000 newcomers since last March. The influx of refugees has overwhelmed local authorities on this small island of only 32,000 inhabitants as they struggle to register refugees and provide basic shelter and food to the men, women, and children who arrive daily at Chios’ small and outdated immigrant reception center.

ACT member International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) with its local partner, Apostoli, the humanitarian arm of the Church of Greece, is responding to the dire needs of the refugees by improving poor hygiene and health conditions in the crowded reception centers. Newly installed portable showers along with renovated plumbing and sewage systems provide the travel weary refugees with a place to take care of their personal hygiene in privacy and with dignity.

IOCC is also providing 1,700 personal hygiene kits customized to meet the needs of men, women, or infants, and reinforcing good hygiene practices through bilingual posters in English and Arabic and one-on-one awareness talks with refugees of all ages.

In addition, school kits filled with writing and coloring supplies, will be distributed to 200 school-aged children including Amina’s three boys, Bayas, 11; Abdurrahmal, 6; and Aymullah, 4. “I just want my children to be safe and happy,” said the tearful and exhausted mother. “There was nothing we could do in Syria, with our lives in danger all the time.” In spite of her tired state, Amina and her husband were already eager to move their family on to the next step of the journey – to a new country where their children can receive a good education and grow up far from the memories of war.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can help the victims of poverty and conflicts around the world by making a financial gift to the IOCC International Emergency Response Fund which will provide immediate relief, as well as long-term support through the provision of emergency aid, recovery assistance and other support to help those in need. To make a gift, please visit iocc.org or call toll free at 1-877-803-IOCC (4622).

IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has delivered $534 million in relief and development programs to families and communities in more than 50 countries. IOCC is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of more than 140 churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy, and a member of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.–based secular and faith-based organizations working to improve the lives of the world’s most poor and vulnerable populations.

It’s been a difficult year since record rainfall drenched the Balkans last spring, unleashing the worst flooding in more than 100 years and leaving a trail of destruction across Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. More than 70 people lost their lives, while hundreds of thousands of survivors had to evacuate as family homes and farms, roads, and utilities were damaged or destroyed. Relentless summer and fall rains renewed flooding, which slowed recovery and threatened to keep many families from having warm and dry shelter in time for winter.

“I have never felt so scared and helpless in all my life,” recalls Ljubica, of the day last May when forceful floodwaters rushed through the doors and windows of her modest home in Šamac, Bosnia. She and her husband, Živko, both disabled, sat trapped and helpless as cold, muddy waters quickly rose toward the ceiling. Neighbors managed to carry the couple up to the attic where they spent 13 days living on food and water rations delivered by rescue boats and waiting for the floodwater to subside. When it did subside, their wood stove and water heater were all that was spared. Everything else in the couple’s home of 40 years was carried away by water or buried under a foot of mud and silt.

In neighboring Serbia, Mladen, 32, a Kosovo refugee, had just moved his pregnant wife, Dragica, and their son, Stevan, 2, from his mother’s cramped apartment into a newly renovated two-bedroom cottage near the town of Kraljevo. Mladen purchased the dilapidated house in 2012 with savings from his job at a local trucking company, and then spent the next two years rebuilding it by himself after work and on weekends. It was going to be a fresh start for him and his family. One month after they had settled in, the May floods engulfed the rooms within minutes, destroying everything inside and leaving the young family without a home once again. “I lost my home in Kosovo when I was 17,” said Mladen. “Going through it once more was heartbreaking for me and for my wife.” “I was beyond tears,” added Dragica quietly.

From its offices in Serbia and Bosnia, ACT member International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) responded on the heels of the disaster, ensuring the delivery of relief to vulnerable families in the region’s hardest hit communities. Through the financial support of church and private donors in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and close cooperation with local partners, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Red Cross, IOCC’s ongoing assistance has helped thousands of survivors like Ljubica and Mladen return to their homes and resume their lives. More than 800 families have received support with cleanup, home repair kits filled with construction materials, or replacement stoves and refrigerators.

The raging waters not only damaged homes and businesses, but also swept away desks, books, computers and lab equipment from school classrooms. Schooling came to a standstill for the 950 students of Šamac. IOCC has helped restore the learning environment for the community’s schoolchildren. Replacement desks, blackboards, computers, and teaching materials now fill the classrooms at Šamac Primary School. At nearby Nikola Tesla High School, future pharmacists and chemists can pursue their studies in the newly equipped chemistry lab.

“The children and their families in this community have suffered great losses from the floods,” said Principal Milivoje Dzombic. “The restoration of the school, and especially the lab, also restores the morale in these high school students and gives them the will to continue their education.”