|
|
SPRING 2024 NEWSLETTER
|
|
|
|
|
Seeking new ways to love God and one another
|
The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church serves a nine-year term. This year the current Presiding Bishop, Bishop Michael Curry, will conclude the final year of his tenure, and his successor will be named in November.
Episcopal Relief & Development has been blessed to have Bishop Curry at the head of The Episcopal Church. He was the chair of our board of directors at the time of his election, and in his capacity as the Presiding Bishop, he has served as honorary chair ever since. His unwavering passion for our work has been palpable and has inspired others.
During his tenure, Bishop Curry made two pilgrimages with Episcopal Relief & Development to visit our programs and see them in action — first to Ghana in 2017 and then to Sri Lanka in 2019. Both trips were memorable and provided him with vivid opportunities to witness firsthand the power of our partnerships and the difference we're making to so many.
In addition to visiting our programs, the Ghana trip also included a powerful pilgrimage to the Cape Coast, a central port in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. We worshiped and prayed together in the shadow of the Cape Coast Castle, where captives were held before passing through the "Door of No Return" on their way into chattel slavery in the Americas.
Not long after that trip, Bishop Curry wrote a column in Seek & Serve, and he ended it by saying, "Let's commit ourselves to… seeking new ways to love God and one another." Through his words and actions, Bishop Curry has never stopped doing that, and I am grateful for all he's done to celebrate and champion our work.
Through your ongoing support of Episcopal Relief & Development, you too are loving God and one
another. Thank you for being with us again this year.
|
|
|
Faithfully,
|
|
Robert W. Radtke
President & CEO
Episcopal Relief & Development
|
|
|
|
|
|
EMERGENCY RELIEF AROUND THE WORLD
|
Providing relief in times of emergency is central to Episcopal Relief & Development's mission. And as the number of disasters across our planet grows, we are stretching to meet the need — and donors like you are helping us do so. Working with our partner organizations around the world, we help provide critical emergency assistance to alleviate suffering, restore dignity, build resilience and jump-start economic recovery. This work is ongoing in dozens of locations, but here are a few updates that illustrate your generosity at work.
In response to the Israel-Hamas war, we are
supporting the Diocese of Jerusalem's Al Ahli
Hospital in Gaza, which continues to mobilize
resources to provide 24/7 health services to all
people in need of medical care. This includes
procuring urgent medicines, medical consumables,
ICU equipment, fuel, provisions of food and
psychosocial support. We also plan to provide
support for medical institutions, education
subsidies for households with income losses and
cash grants for medical care in the Palestinian
Territories, where the Hamas-Israel war has had
a profound impact.
In Türkiye, our response continues after last
year's devastating earthquake. We are supporting
the aid agency Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe in
providing urgent humanitarian assistance to
10,330 individuals (including cash grants), family
winterization, income generation services and
agricultural training for farmers. We're also
helping International Blue Crescent, which has
established a solar energy system to provide
clean potable water to all homes in the city of
Soran, serving 35,100 people following severe
infrastructure damage.
Through support of ACT Alliance, we continue to
provide food, shelter and necessary non-food items
to people affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
We're also assisting the Convocation of Episcopal
Churches in Europe, which is running a small-grants
program to support 10 Episcopal congregations
across Europe in their efforts to welcome and orient
over 15,000 refugees displaced from Ukraine and
other high-conflict countries.
And in the ongoing response to last August's
deadly wildfires in Maui, we're assisting the
Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i to provide basic
needs and relocation support to low-income
families who were displaced. In addition, we're
helping with physical, spiritual and emotional
support to newly and chronically unhoused
populations in the fires' aftermath.
|
|
|
|
HONDURAS: BUILDING
CLIMATE
RESILIENCE
|
The Maya Ch'orti' people are an indigenous
group who rely on farming for food and trading
in the remote Copán Ruinas region of Honduras.
Unpredictable weather patterns with frequent
destructive storms and intense flooding are
forcing them to change their planting cycles,
often leaving a shorter window of time to grow
and yield a productive harvest. With lower yields
comes a loss of income, and fewer laborers
are hired for each season. "The situation in my
country is very bad," said Jacinto, a member of
the indigenous community. "The most affected
are the poor."
The close-knit Maya Ch'orti' people are descendants
of the Mayans, who passed on their rich history,
customs and indigenous language. Many lack
Spanish language literacy skills which can prevent
members of the indigenous community from
participating in mainstream society, including the
ability to find or successfully perform other kinds
of work.
In partnership with the Diocese of Honduras —
aided by Agencia Anglicana para el Desarrollo
de Honduras — Episcopal Relief & Development
is supporting this community with supplemental
nutritious food while simultaneously initiating
conversations on climate resilience. Discussions focus on the effects of a changing climate —
drastic flooding and seasons of drought — and its
impact on their lives.
Building on their strong social networks and deep
reverence for the earth, their community has
formed savings and lending groups as a way to
cushion themselves from financial shocks created
by future climate-related disturbances. Farmers
who take part in the Savings with Education (SwE)
groups strengthen their communities and find
creative ways to maximize their earning potential.
The SwE approach includes management and
financial literacy training to help people start and
expand small businesses and build collectives
that support loans and insurance products.
For the Maya Ch'orti' farming community, the SwE
initiative has allowed them to focus on education
for their young people, including classes to preserve
their indigenous language as well as creating
economic opportunities for women and youth.
|
|
|
Disaster Relief Kits
|
|
For $50, provide a family with lifesaving necessities like food, clean water and medicine to foster resilience and jump-start recovery after disaster.
|
|
Send a Disaster Relief Kit
|
|
|
|
|
Disaster Relief Kits
|
|
For $50, provide a family with lifesaving necessities like food, clean water and medicine to foster resilience and jump-start recovery after disaster.
|
|
Send a Disaster Relief Kit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY WITH A DONOR-ADVISED FUND
|
|
I'm grateful to you for being a steadfast supporter of Episcopal Relief & Development.
Every gift you make is powerful and helps our programs reach more people around
the world. Maybe this is the year you'll stretch or give in a new way to help our
programs have a greater impact. Here are some special ways you can make a gift to
support Episcopal Relief & Development's life-changing work.
|
|
•
|
Gifts for Life: Give the gift of clean water, livestock or other tangible gifts and have a direct and transformative impact
|
|
•
|
Donor-Advised Funds: DAFs are an impactful tool that combine favorable tax benefits with simplicity and the flexibility to plan your charitable giving
|
|
•
|
Planned Giving: The Matthew 25 Legacy Society enables supporters of Episcopal Relief & Development to sustain the vital work we do for generations to come by making a bequest or other planned gift
|
|
•
|
Monthly Giving: Our Sustainers Circle members provide us with stable income month after month, year after year
|
|
|
No matter how you give, I am grateful to you for every donation. Thank you for your faithful support to help us create lasting change.
|
|
|
With appreciation,
|
|
Betsy Deisroth
Vice President, Advancement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We promise to always use your donation wisely
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
•
|
|
|
|
