CONTENTS: Solomon Islands Earthquake | Lent Event 2010 | Experience Placements | Partnership Building in North India | Welcome to Geoff Dornan | Ask the Climate Change Specialist 

Earthquake Aftershock Leaves Communities at Risk

Associate Director, Church Solidarity (Pacific), Mr Bruce Mullan has spoken with UnitingWorld’s Partner Church in Solomon Islands, following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday 4 January. 

The earthquake’s aftershock, measuring 6.8 magnitude, has affected mainly Rendova and Tetepare Islands in the Western Province of Solomon Islands, located about 88km SSE of Gizo. The island closest to the earthquake also sustained a two metre wave which destroyed several homes.

Assembly General Secretary of the United Church in Soloman Islands, Mr Isaac Dakei said the Church office building has sustained minor damage, and is currently safe.

“The quake hit us at about 9.30am and our hospital patients [were] evacuated to the Church area,” said Mr Dakei.

The Administrator of the Helena Goldie Hospital, Eddie Pratt said all patients were evacuated as a precaution and moved to safer ground at a nearby primary. They were moved back the following day once the situation stabilised.  

UnitingWorld has been working in partnership with the United Church in Solomon Islands to increase capacity and improve facilities at the Helena Goldie Hospital since the tsunami in 2007.

Please pray for those still at risk, and for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of the earthquake.

Lent Event 2010 – Joining God at the Edges

 Lent Event would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

 For many, the start of a new year provides a time to reflect on your life, get your priorities straight, and begin your journey afresh. Lent Event would like to encourage you all to do this in 2010 by participating in Lent Event between 17 February to 3 April.

During Lent, participants and congregations are asked to give up a luxury in their life, such as chocolate or coffee, and donate the money saved to helping those enduring poverty.

Funds raised from Lent Event go directly to support six of UnitingWorld’s Relief and Development projects operating in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, South India, Sudan, Solomon Islands and Zambia. 

Lent Event 2010 is shaping up to be the most successful yet, with several congregations from Tasmania joining for the first time to take action against poverty and reflect on God’s amazing love for all.

It’s not too late to sign up to this worthwhile and exciting event. The Lent Event staff will be happy to provide you and your community with resources, including the bible study, youth study, children’s materials, worship resource and a promotional pack. Call the Lent Event office on 1300 536 838 or visit www.lentevent.com to find out more about how you can join God at the edges.

Experience Placements

There are a variety of exciting long and short term Experience volunteer placements available for 2010 throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Some new and urgent vacancies include:

• Community Development/Social Research in Kiribati (1001) Working to assist women who are prostitutes, to research their circumstances, then develop crisis and preventative programs with the assistance of the Church community in Kiribati.
• History/Anthropology in Solomon Islands (1002) Researching and documenting the history of an i-Kiribati community who were forcibly displaced from Kiribati in the 1950s. 
• Printing in Samoa (062) Training our Partner Church in Samoa in using their printing machinery. Both short and long term applications will be considered.  
• Education in Tuvalu (99) and Tonga (093/094/097). Science and Accounting teachers.  
• Music in Cook Islands (108). A choir master is required to teach Cook Island choirs Western-style singing. 
• Medical in Samoa (1003). Counselors and psychologists are required to assist the Congregational Church in Samoa establish a counseling service. 
• Ministry in China (1004). An ordained minister is required to pastor an interdenominational community of English speaking expatriates at the Congregation of the Good Shepherd (COGS) in Beijing. 
• Education. Several placements exist for English language teachers throughout Asia and the Pacific.  

Click here for a full list of Experience volunteer placements for 2010. For more information, please contact:

 Kathy Pereira
P: 02 8267 4250
E: kathyp@unitingworld.org.au  

Partnership Building in North India

UnitingWorld’s Development Education Officer, Bronwyn Fraser is currently in North India visiting projects run in partnership with the Church of North India in Durgapur. These projects fund the provision of study materials, books, uniforms, games and play equipment to children of school going age.

Bronwyn will also visit local schools in the Durgapur area to investigate the possibility of developing partnerships between schools in North India and schools in Australia.

We wish Bronwyn a safe trip and look forward to strengthening the connection with our Partner Churches.

Welcoming Geoff Dornan to UnitingWorld

 We are excited to announce that Rev Geoff Dornan has joined UnitingWorld’s Relief and Development Unit as International Programs Coordinator.

Geoff has held a variety of positions and placements within the Uniting Church in Australia, including Director of Ministry and Mission with UnitingCare NSW/ACT, and School Chaplain and Senior Teacher at Newington College.

Throughout his career, Geoff has involved himself in work with marginalised populations, including indigenous Australians and refugees and immigrants to Australia.

Geoff is based in the Sydney office managing projects in India, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Zambia. He is also involved in strengthening partnerships between Australian Church communities, UnitingWorld, and our Overseas Partners.

Geoff will bring knowledge and experience in both the Australian and overseas contexts to our team and we look forward to having him here.

Ask the Climate Change Specialist

Professor Howes from the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University will being answering questions from 18 January to 22 January about the outcomes of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

The conference demonstrated that climate change was a global issue, but also confirmed that it affects some more than others.

Our Partners in the Pacific are amoung the worst affected by rising sea levels. The Tuvalu delegation was especially vocal about how climate change would affect them.

If you were left scratching your head over a climate change related question, you now have the opportunity to ask an expert.

Tell us your questions by replying to this post below by Friday 15 January, and we’ll submit them to Professor Howes on your behalf.

Some questions already put forward include:

• Did the outcomes at Copenhagen meet your expectations for the Pacific island nations? Sarah, Killara, NSW.
• Tuvalu made the headlines for a number of days, but what effect did this have on the outcomes? Kathryn, Geelong, VIC.
•  What are the next steps following this conference? Bronwyn, Thornleigh NSW.

 A selection of answers will be posted on UnitingWorld’s website.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 3:05 pm and is filed under News, Solomon Islands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.