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Kairos Times
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| We join all Canadians and the entire world in expressing our grief and our support to the millions of people devastated by the earthquake and tsunamis in Asia. Our prayers rest with the survivors and our partners throughout the region. |
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- KAIROS responds to the devastation in Asia
- Canadian churches respond to disaster in Asia
- KAIROS signs Jubilee South call to cancel debts of Asian countries hit by tsunamis
- Take action now for a national child care program!
- Urgent action: KAIROS partner murdered in the Philippines
- A time for refugee rights
The latest…
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KAIROS responds to the devastation in Asia |
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As we face daily images of horror and suffering in Asia, as people of goodwill around the Earth mobilize emergency aid, KAIROS turns its special expertise and mandate into action. Click here to read our full statement.
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Canadian churches respond to disaster in Asia |
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Groups around the world are responding to the terrible aftermath
of an earthquake and tsunamis that have hit eleven countries in
Asia and Eastern Africa. Many of KAIROS’ member churches have
church and NGO partners in
the countries hardest hit, and have launched emergency aid appeals
that will be channeled through partners on the ground. KAIROS itself
has numerous partners in the region, including Indonesia, Thailand
and India.
(See http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/partners/partners.asp for a complete list.)
What you can do:
* Keep the victims and survivors in your thoughts and prayers. Offer support to people in Canada who have lost loved ones or are unable to contact them.
* Give to the many emergency appeals underway—any amount is important.
The following KAIROS members have issued appeals:
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace:
http://www.devp.org/testA/news/communiques2004_37-e.htm
Canadian Lutheran World Relief:
http://www.clwr.org
Christian Reformed Church in North America (Canada):
http://www.crcna.org/whatweoffer/newsroom/news/2005jan04_donate.asp?WhatWeOfferMenu
Mennonite Central Committee:
http://www.mcc.org/respond/rapid_respond/asiaearthquake/index.html
Presbyterian Church in Canada:
http://www.presbyterian.ca/pwsd/ap04tsunami1.html
Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund:
http://www.pwrdf.org/news/news-db.php?news=208
United Church of Canada:
http://www.united-church.ca/response/news/041229.shtm
At this time we cannot contact some of our partner groups. We will
continue to update you, but in the meantime, we hold in prayer all
who have survived this appalling tragedy, those who have lost loved
ones, and those offering aid.
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KAIROS signs Jubilee South call to cancel debts of Asian countries hit by tsunamis |
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KAIROS has signed on to a statement issued by our long-standing partner Jubilee South, calling on international financial institutions to cancel unconditionally the debts of Southern countries affected by the tsunamis. Click here to read the statement. KAIROS will pressure the Canadian government to go a step further than the temporary debt payments moratorium it has already declared; we call on the Canadian government to cancel the debts of the countries affected by the tsunamis, and to pressure international financial institutions to cancel the multilateral debts of these nations.
For more information, please contact John Dillon, Program Coordinator, Global Economic Justice: jdillon or 416 463 5312 x231.
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Take action now for a national child care program! |
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Social Development Minister Ken Dryden will meet with provincial ministers on February 11 and 12 in Vancouver to decide on critical details of the proposed national child care and early learning program. The Federal government has committed to spending $5-billion over five years, but it is still unclear how the money will be spent. Now is a crucial time to write to Minister Dryden calling upon him to ensure that the program is affordable for all families, delivered on a not-for-profit basis, and sustainable over the long term. For information on the “building blocks” campaign for child care, visit http://www.childcareadvocacy.ca/action/buildingblocks.html
The KAIROS Anti-poverty program and fund focus on both the effects of poverty and its root causes. A lack of affordable child care is a major factor in family poverty, and Canada is one of the few industrialized countries not to have a national child care program. Now is the time to make a change; help push our governments to make good on their promise. To find out more about KAIROS’ work on this and other Canadian social policy issues, contact Michael Polanyi, Coordinator, KAIROS Canadian Social Development Program at mpolanyi@kairoscanada.org or 416-463-5312 x237.
See also the article Caring for our children – all year long: Why we must support a national day care program.
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Urgent action: KAIROS partner murdered in the Philippines |
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Two gunmen believed to be members of the Philippine military summarily executed a KAIROS partner in the Philippines on November 10, 2004. Joel Baclao was gunned down in front of his wife. He had received death threats a few days before his violent death. There were also reports stating that military men had been asking neighbors about Mr. Baclao’s whereabouts several nights before he was killed.
Mr. Baclao was the regional coordinator of the Promotion of Church
People’s Response (PCPR), a lay preacher of the United Church
of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), and a volunteer of Andurog
Mayon, the relief and rehabilitation program of the National Council
of the Philippines in the Bicol region. The Promotion of Church
People’s Response is a KAIROS partner.
Mr. Baclao was a staunch advocate against large-scale mining and
rampant military atrocities and human rights violations in the Albay
region. His determination to uphold human rights and bring justice
and meaningful change may have earned him the ire of the powers
that be.
Mr. Baclao now belongs to a growing list of people who have been murdered under the Arroyo government for their principled stance against government policies that are detrimental to the people. This recent spate of killings is an evidence of the grim fact that church-workers are being targeted and permanently silenced, in the context of escalating human rights violations against people who are actively promoting human rights and working for social justice in the Philippines.
We ask you to write to the President of the Philippines and other government agencies. More background and a sample letter can be found at: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/urgent/uaPhilippines.asp
Many thanks for your support. For more information on the current human rights situation in the Philippines, please contact Connie Sorio, Program Coordinator, Asia Partnerships at 1 877 403 8933 x240, csorio@kairoscanada.org or Nancy Slamet, Program Coordinator, Human Rights (Militarism/“War on Terror”, Asia and the Middle East), x226 or nslamet@kairoscanada.org
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A time for refugee rights |
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Last year, over thirty thousand people filed refugee claims in Canada. For some, Canada has become a place of shelter. But the continued lack of a long-promised appeal process means that some refugees are wrongly denied protection and sent back into danger, with no opportunity to restate their case. This is why some churches have decided, in particularly compelling cases, to offer sanctuary, a “room in the inn” as refugees wait for a more permanent solution.
Raise your voice! Speak out for people seeking security:
- Add to your services a reflection on the refugee experience, an experience shared by Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
- Invite refugees in your community to share their stories.
- Pray for those in sanctuary, for those sent back into danger, and for those who continue to seek our hospitality.
- Encourage members of your faith community or work place to sign
our petition calling on the Canadian government to implement the
Refugee Appeal Division, so that asylum will not be denied to
those who need it. You will find the KAIROS Refugee Rights petition
and relevant background information on our website at
www.kairoscanada.org/e/action/campaign.asp
The Catholic Organization for Overseas Development has worship
resources for an Advent service focused on refugee issues. You will
find this information on the web at
www.cafod.org.uk/resources/worship/liturgies_and_services/parish_liturgies/advent_service
In your upcoming worship services or Masses, you may want to use a Refugee Rights bulletin insert developed by KAIROS. Find this bulletin insert on our website at www.kairoscanada.org/e/action/Refugees_Sunday_BulletinInsert.pdf Or, consider joining KAIROS members across the country in planning a Refugee Rights Sunday for February 6 2005. Look for further details in the New Year.
For more information, contact Tanya Chute, Interim Coordinator for the Refugee and Migration Program, at 1-877-403-8933 X230 or tchute@kairoscanada.org
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