Click here to download the Annual Report for 2009
The Relief and Development Unit of UnitingWorld has released its Annual Report for 2009.
Some highlights from 2009 include:
- Connecting 5200 people in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, with a reliable source of clean water
- Opening up micro finance services to an additional 1200 families and groups in West Timor
- Restoring sight to 90 people in Fiji and 200 people in Vanuatu, children and adults suffering from preventable blindness due to dense cataracts
- Providing 500 children in 12 communities in Gudalur-Nilgiris Hills, South India, with regular medical check ups
- Continuing to build peace in some of the most conflict-ridden regions of Asia and the Pacific through eight Young Ambassadors for Peace (YAP) Centres
- Engaging more and more students in Uniting Church Schools in Australia with issues surrounding best practice in development.
UnitingWorld would like to thank individuals and Uniting Church communities throughout Australia for the generous offers of support that have made these transformations possible.
Director for Relief and Development, Rev. Dr Kerry Enright said: “The Relief and Development Unit continued to respond to the needs of our Church Partners during the Global Financial Crisis. This crisis severely affected people in developing countries more than in Australia, so we were, and still are, in a prime position to respond. Through the generosity of our supporters, we were well equipped in 2009 to do this.
“In April 2009, we launched a new identity, UnitingWorld, with a distinct role for the Relief and Development Unit. Our new vision has been embraced by our supporters. We experienced a growth in our funding of 29.7 percent compared to 2008, made up of donations, bequests and AusAID support, enabling us to expand our work.
“We kept our fundraising, administration and other operational costs at a minimum – 18.09 percent – while continuing to carry out our work in a transparent, effective, and accountable manner.
“Additionally, significant progress has been made with our new strategic plan, with a renewed focus on connecting communities for life. We continued to seek to empower Australian church communities to be effective partners in our work, empowering them to connect, communicate, and collaborate with our global Church Partners.”
In September and October 2009, UnitingWorld’s Church Partners faced destructive natural disasters and emergencies. UnitingWorld responded to their urgent needs by:
- Providing 835 vulnerable families with emergency food supplies and sanitation during a chronic food shortage in the poverty stricken Buhera District of Zimbabwe
- Aiding the recovery of farming communities in the Philippines after the flooding resulting from Typhoon Ketsana
- Helping to rebuild community centres in villages in Samoa that were swept away during the deadly tsunami
- Distributing 12 tonnes of rice, 200 kg of green beans and 4 800 bottles of water to nine communities affected by the earthquake in Aceh, Sumatra (Indonesia).
“We are so thankful for the overwhelming support we received for our emergency appeals in 2009. The generous support from people and congregations in the Uniting Church is what made our responses possible.
“I am proud of what the Relief and Development Unit has achieved in 2009. All people have a right to economic and social well being. We look forward to continuing to stand in solidarity with our friends in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, growing and working together to bring about a world in which extreme poverty is eradicated, people’s needs are met and human rights are realised.”
