Free Burma!

 

Walk On, Burma

I awake this morning to news of shots being fired out in Burma against the demonstrators against the military regime.

In the words of U2’s song “Walk On”:

Oh, oh
Walk on, walk on
What you got, they can’t steal it
No, they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Burma, including the monks and Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

Lifestyle choices

I saw this on a web site* a while ago, and it has really made me think. I already sponsor one child, a little 7-year old girl in Mongolia. Today I was out shopping, and saw the new iPods. They’re very cool. And then I saw a World Vision** stand there in the shopping centre. I had been thinking of sponsoring another child, and so when I saw them I had to go ahead and do that! I now sponsor a 3-year old boy, also in Mongolia.

The message of the image above had been bouncing around in my head, reminding me of perspectives and balance. I probably will buy a new iPod sometime soon, but what has really thrilled me is sponsoring this additional child. Won’t you consider doing that, too? Or make a one-off donation? Every little bit helps. Here’s where you find out more:

• Sponsor a child
• Donate to improve the life of a child
• Find out more about the work of World Vision in Mongolia

* I didn’t make a note of where I found this graphic. If you know where it came from, please let me know and I will gladly give the correct acknowledgment here.

** Charity Navigator has given World Vision a 4-star rating after evaluating its organizational efficiency and capacity.

 

Act now to fight climate change, report warns

A coalition of aid, development and environmental non-government organisations has researched, and commissioned the CSIRO to research, the effects of climate change on development, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The results of the research showed that the likely effect of rising sea levels due to global warming will be to cause a mass exodus to Australia. The Australian Government is being urged to review its immigration program in light of this.

Australia has made a disproportionate contribution to global warming.

The report found, for example:

• Millions in the Asia-Pacific region will be forced to relocate, from sea level rises up to 50cm by 2070, having an economic impact of thousands of billions. Most affected will be islands in the Pacific, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.
• The climate changes will trigger the increase of heat-related illnesses, while flooding and cyclones will also increase injuries and deaths.
• Water resources will be challenged with both drought, and intrusion of salt-water into freshwater sources.

World Vision Australia chief executive, Tom Costello, has said that it is the poorest of the poor who will be hardest hit. Climate change “fundamentally change the way we aid the world’s poor. It will undermine the value and impact of current aid spending and will lead to far greater calls for assistance from those hurt most. The impacts of climate change will require Australia to respond far more frequently.”

The World Vision Australia Media Release reported:

Victorian and Tasmanian moderator of the Uniting Church Rev Jason Kioa, himself a Pacific Islander, said global warming was as much a moral, social, economic and theological issue as an environmental one: “We’re deeply concerned about the impact climate change will have on the lives of vulnerable people in our region.”

The report recommends that Australian aid needs help the nations most likely to be affected by climate change to prepare for those changes, and to assist in working towards more use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. And, Australia needs to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, while assisting those displaced by climate change.

For more details, see:

• The Climate Change & Development Roundtable reports, particularly the Executive Summary and “Australia responds: Helping our neighbours fight climate change”
• The World Vision Australia Media Release about the report.
• News.com.au’s summary