News and Views from Christian Aid Cymru

Over the summer months, our ears were filled with the words of Waldo Williams as the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol took place in Y Garreg Las (Bluestone) in West Wales. The words of his poem ‘Plentyn y ddaear’ (Child of the Earth), written in May 1939 under the shadow of the Second World War, have resonance with us still today and feel pertinent to this season as we continue to long for peace and justice for our brothers and sisters across the world. 

The summer months have been heavy with humanitarian emergencies, some reaching our ears here in Wales more than others. Very soon after Christian Aid Week back in May, our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo began to respond to the Ebola outbreak which is at risk of spiralling out of control’. 

Christian Aid has also been active through our ACT Alliance partners to respond to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela in July and the deadly flooding in Nepal at the end of August. Our partners have been supporting communities with shelter, food, water and sanitation, as well as health and psycho-social support. As our partners continue to respond in these situations over the coming months, the solidarity and faithful support from supporters and communities in Wales enables us to respond quickly and effectively to reach the families of the earth – diolch o galon.  

Here in Wales this summer we’ve had a taste of the reality of the climate crisis. The warm sun on the one hand, but wildfires and the strain on agriculture and health on the other. 

Increasingly in Wales we’re seeing closer to home the need to adapt to the climate crisis. And while it’s encouraging to see the new Welsh Government setting out plans to reach net zero by 2040 – the reality is that our partners in places like South Sudan have been adapting to the effects of climate change for decades and calling for urgent global action which is still not happening fast enough. 

In  this year’s Harvest Appeal  we’re putting a spotlight on communities in South Sudan, a country that continues to experience conflict, displacement, food insecurity and the impacts of the climate crisis. Over 7 million people – half of the population – are facing extreme hunger and high rates of acute malnutrition, and yet it rarely reaches our headlines.

Families are struggling to farm their land because of the increasing unpredictability of the seasons and flooding, on top of a humanitarian crisis. This Harvest we invite you to share Anok Kon and her family’s story, where our local partners have been supporting their community in Aguat region to come together to build dikes to hold back the flood water and protect their land, animals and crops, so they can plant again and make a living from the land.  

This autumn we have a couple of exciting opportunities lined up in Wales to hear from colleagues and partner in South Sudan. 

Join us online on Tuesday 22 September for a lunchtime webinar with James Wani, Christian Aid South Sudan. 

And join us 19-21 October to meet Angelina Nyajima Simon Jial, founder and director of Christian Aid partner Hope Restoration South Sudan. Join us at Swansea Minister on 19 October under the inspiring Gaia installation to hear Angelina’s story. 

Look out for updates and more events on our website and on social media. 

Over the summer months, alongside our church and Christian partners, we launched the ‘Time to Act’ campaign. Across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, communities are living through devastating violence, loss and injustice. Palestinian Christians have called on the global Church to respond, not with silence or despair, but with courage, compassion and action.  

In a moment of solidarity, Cymru church leaders came together to pray and to act for peace at the Eisteddfod. The Archbishop of Wales and Bishops of St David’s and Llandaf stood alongside representatives from the Quakers, Cytûn, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, Presbyterian Church in Wales and Union of Welsh Independents.

We are inviting churches to learn more, to pray for peace for all people who call the Holy Land home, and to write to their MP asking for the UK government to uphold International Law.  

We have some resources available to inspire your church to act for a just pace, including an Order of Service and Discussion Guide available in Welsh and English.

Lastly, a question! What did you dream about being when you were at school? An astronaut, doctor, sailor, Olympic sprinter? These were just a few of the answers we heard from you over the summer. It proved to be a great alternative to the usual ‘well, where d’you come from?’ and a beautiful view into how our lives have all been shaped by all different kinds of teachers and friends since our earliest days.

As children in our communities in Wales go back to school this month – to their teachers, lessons, play time – and as the rest of us go back to routine or back to work, we’re pausing to remember just how important our early days as school were. A chance to dream, a chance for a future. 

But around the world, debt is robbing children of their hopes and dreams. Millions of children are being denied the basics of their education from teachers to textbooks, and that’s if they can access a school. Malawi is one of 25 African nations spending more on debt repayments than education. In some schools there’s only one teacher for every 100 students.

As we all go back to routine or ‘back to school’ this September, we’d like to invite you to write to your Cymru MP at Westminster – ask them about their dreams when they were at school and also ask them to ensure the UK Government acts to introduce a law on debt justice to stop private lenders putting profits before people. Write to your MP here. 

The call for us to act for justice in this new term is as strong as ever. We hope you’ll join us as together we raise our voices to call for justice and a world free from poverty for all families of the earth.