‘SHARE’ 232 – ‘Hill Tribes’ Blood is in My Veins.’
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Author: CEDAR Fund
‘Hill Tribes’ Blood is in My Veins.’ – An Advocate Walking Alongside Marginalised Hill Tribes
Written by: Lai Ka Chun In mid-2018, a junior football team and their assistant coach were rescued after 18 days in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Their 25-year-old coach’s care in the cave was indispensable. This incident made the coach a hero in Thais’ hearts. However, this coach was originally stateless, as well as the other 3 boys, who had no Thai citizenships. According to UNHCR, there are about 480,000 stateless people in Thailand, and most of them were living in remote mountainous area near the border. As they belonged to no country, they could not enjoy the rights of education, healthcare, employment, and social security as other citizens. Even though they lived
2018 CEDAR’s Exposure Trip Sharing: All Things Bright and Beautiful
Written by: Janice Cheng (Participant of CEDAR’s 2018 Exposure Trip to Thai-Burmese border and northern Thailand, church pastor) All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small. All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. These are lyrics from a classic children hymn called All things bright and beautiful. I looked it up on the internet, you will discover the songwriter’s intention was to explain the first sentence of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” Participants of this trip to Thai-Myanmar border came from all walks of life, including rookies in the workplace, retired people, pastors, Christian organisation’s staff, and seminary teacher. This combination enriched our
Resurrection and Integral Mission
Written by: Au Bing Chung (Lecturer at the Christian Ministry Institute) Resurrection is an eschatological idea, and Integral Mission addresses the responsibility and stewardship of Christians living on earth. Although there seems to be no apparent connection between the two, the eschatological view of Christians will affect how they interpret their missions. For instance, if a person believes that the world will be in ultimate destruction at the end days, he will put less effort in constructing a world that will be wiped out eventually. On the other hand, if the believers anticipate a forthcoming new world that is connected to and evolved from the present world, they will somehow attend to the world’s development and conservation. Paul
We are awake: STOP Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
We put on armors to fight to eliminate harmful traditional practicesSubvert the harmful influences and effectsWe are united and determined to take actionsBecause we are now well awaken to the scourge. Ignorant people in the pastHave been badly harmed by themBecause they did not know any better.Ignorant people in the past believedHarmful traditional practices were good for themWhen indeed their lives were at stake. Female Genital Mutilation is a major harmful practice.Sugar-coated as prestigious and noble,FGM suffocated our mothersWe regret and repent for the harm incurred.FGM steals away sexual pleasures, corrupts marriagesAnd adds complications to child birth. (Lyrics edited by CEDAR Fund, originally written by a memberfrom the ant-FGM group in Ethiopia.) Under the warmth of the bright
When Poverty Becomes a Sin
Banner image: The author (far right) and other trippers visited ethnic minorities in northern Thailand Written by: Janice Cheng (participant of CEDAR’s exposure trip in 2018; church pastor) In December last year, I went to the Thai-Myanmar border with CEDAR to learn about their poverty alleviation projects in the area. The 8-day trip enabled me to understand more about the region. We visited some villages with CEDAR’s local partners and spoke to various individuals during our time there. The residents are mostly ethnic minority groups from the mountainous areas, and they all have their own predicaments to overcome. There are abandoned single mothers and minority groups who have been relocated to the border area in northern Thailand due
Cyclone Idai: Two Meals a Day, One Meal a Day, then…
In mid-March, CEDAR shared on Facebook (Chinese only) about a trip in Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Zimbabwe was continuously hot and dry, and Zimbabweans discovered that a particular fruit was growing which indicated forthcoming drought. When villagers were still waiting for rains and hoping for harvests in April and May, the sudden attack of intense tropical cyclone Idai shattered not only their homes, but also their hearts. Expected drought became unexpected windstorm and floods. http://www.CEDARfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190327-video.mp4 (Video in Chinese only) Pui Shan, CEDAR’s staff, shares about situation in Buhera after Cyclone Idai Cyclone Idai first destroyed a port city on the east of Mozambique with a wind speed of 170km/h. Then it moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi. As of 27
Climate Injustice: a Christian Perspective
Written by: Edward Lai Ka-chun (Senior Communications Officer) On 15 March, thousands of students from New Zealand, Australia, India, Thailand, and Hong Kong skipped school and took to the streets to protest against the collective inaction of governments and other world leaders on alleviating global warming. The wave of ongoing protests against climate change has spread across the globe since last Autumn. In an interview with foreign media in February, a French student who boycotted school said, “Why study for a future, which may not be there?” This is somewhat true. In recent years, the United Nations has issued multiple warnings on the imminent threat of climate change: If the countries do not collaborate and adopt comprehensive policies to stop temperature rises, based
Ethiopian Child Sponsorship Programme – Graduates Passing on the Love
Every year in Ethiopia, there are a few beneficiaries “graduating” from the Child Sponsorship Programme* supported by CEDAR. Generally, beneficiaries are no longer supported by the programme once they reached 18 years old, however, we believe that the criterion to “graduate” from the programme shall not be limited to their age. We, instead, take the holistic development of the beneficiaries into account. For this reason, even as they turn 18 years old, we continue to subsidise them in occupational training for 1 to 3 years in hope of a higher chance for them to be employed with a certain qualification. For those that were admitted to university, our subsidy will apply until the completion of their degrees. From
What is Creation Care?
God and his creations “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” – Romans 1:19-20 When Apostle Paul explain the gospel to the church in Rome, he pointed out that the created world manifest God’s eternal power and divine nature, and no one can hold excuses against it. In the Old Testament, the writers wrote numerous times about the world’s creations to praise God, for example, in Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider your heavens, the work