Global Partners

Three Canadian government sources provide valuable funding support for the development work of United Church of Canada global partners.

The funds come from the federal government, via CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency)-$933,000 in 2005; the government of Manitoba, administered via the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation-$29,840 in 2006; and the government of Saskatchewan, through the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation-$15,456 in 2006.

In the case of the CIDA, the funds are committed as part of a three-year co-funding program for development-related work with specific goals and objectives. The United Church of Canada negotiates this three-year financial agreement by submitting to CIDA eligible partner project work with a financial plan to match CIDA funding with United Church funding. The church also makes a commitment to report on program results annually and to fulfill other CIDA requirements. Global partners are completely in charge of developing and implementing the work.

About 20 United Church global partners receive some government funds for their work in this way. For most partners, the government money is two or three times the amount of the United Church financial commitment. The United Church funds come from the Mission and Service Fund, and are part of the annual budget of the General Council Office's Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit (JGER). Because funding for the CIDA program is part of a three-year pre-approved program, the United Church is not able to get more CIDA funds if a special donation is given for a particular project.

The funds administered by the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation and the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation are calculated annually, and are directly related to the amount that the United Church receives from members and donors in those provinces for international development work. If more money is raised, the church is eligible to apply for a higher grant.

In addition to the United Church's co-financing agreement with CIDA, some global partners apply for available CIDA funds directly, via Canadian embassies around the world or through other programs that CIDA administers. The United Church has also recently participated, along with other Canadian church partners, in specific government funding programs related to emergency response.

For The United Church of Canada global partners, including those whose work receives some form of government co-financing, see the online list of global partners.

The partners are grouped by region and country; partners whose work is currently supported by CIDA funds are identified.

The following are examples of the kind of work that is supported through the United Church's current contribution agreement with CIDA (April 2005 to March 2008).

South Africa: The Surplus People Project

The Surplus People Project(SPP)began in 1985 as an organization to support the struggles of groups and communities faced with land dispossession. Located in Cape Town, it mainly focused on urban removals. Over the years it began to work increasingly with rural groups of men and women. In 1994 its focus shifted and it began to assist people to acquire land.

Currently, it is an organization that implements land and agrarian reform by working with groups of men and women to secure rights to land and to introduce sustainable mechanisms to manage and develop the land. At the same time, SPP works to persuade government and other landholding and development-supporting institutions to introduce policies that favour poor people. It does this through direct advocacy as well as through building organizations of landless people who then advocate themselves.

In the post-1994 era, the strength of civil society organization has decreased and government policy has increasingly been developed without the particular contribution of the poor in civil society. SPP decided to specifically build the ability of the poor, especially farm workers and landless small-scale farmers, to help them voice their interests in various forums. SPP has become an initiator of advocacy activities, a facilitator of advocacy initiated elsewhere (especially among landless people's groups with whom the organization works), and a supporter of advocacy undertaken by others. The provision of information, emerging from research and documentation, to support these initiatives is a crucial part of SPP's Research, Policy and Information Program. United Church of Canada and CIDA funding is supporting this work in the 2005-07 period.

Top

Zimbabwe: AFRODAD

The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) was established in 1996 with the main goal of increasing civil society capacity to engage in and influence policy on issues of debt and development. Program areas include Research and Dialogue, Information, and Policy Influence. It has so far assisted in establishing debt coalitions in several African countries and has affiliates in Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Uganda, as well as associates in five West African countries.

Underpinning all AFRODAD's program goals and objectives is a desire to contribute to the development of an equitable and sustainable development vision for Africa. AFRODAD's mission is to articulate policy responses and secure policy changes at many levels that will redress the current development problems associated with the heavy debt burdens of African countries. AFRODAD pursues its mission through research and policy analysis, the dissemination of information on African debt and development, institutional strengthening and networking, and direct lobbying and advocacy on African debt and development issues. AFRODAD also participates in the Reality of Aid Network, a leading global network that monitors trends in official development assistance and provides important alternative analysis of aid flows.

The United Church of Canada and CIDA funds transferred to AFRODAD support research, policy analysis, and information-dissemination activities related to economic policies and their impact on debt and debt management in Africa.

Top

Zambia: People's Action Forum

People's Action Forum (PAF) was founded in the early 1990s by a group of Zambian women and men concerned about the deteriorating economic climate in Zambia and its impact on rural communities, and in particular on women and children. It strives to build the capacity of rural communities through non-formal education, PAF currently runs a number of programs in selected regions of the country: pre-school and primary education for orphaned children; adult literacy and income generation training; skills (trade) training for disadvantaged youth aged 18-25; sanitation and hygiene education; and Basic Education for Capacity Building of Grassroots NGOs in Zambia (as part of an international UNESCO program).

PAF receives many requests for assistance from Zambian communities. The United Church of Canada and CIDA funding to PAF supports PAF's programming through strengthening the program management skills within the organization, developing democratic information-sharing processes, and strengthening linkages with other NGOs and with government agencies.

Top

Peru: Movimiento Manuela Ramos

Movimiento Manuela Ramos (MMR) is a leading national advocate for women's rights and gender equity in Peru, with 26 years of experience. MMR provides legal services to victims of family and sexual violence, facilitates training and education programs for police officers and other professionals serving victims of violence, and monitors the public and political mood related to this work. It also runs a Reception and Legal Aid centre for victims of gender and family violence in close cooperation with the Women's Police Detachment in Lima. Maintaining a high profile in the media, MMR collaborates with numerous other agencies in efforts to raise public awareness and bring about attitudinal and policy change.

The work of this partner has had considerable impact not only directly on women and children victims of violence but also on public attitudes and levels of service provided by professionals.

For the 2005-07 period, MMR is seeking to improve the access to justice for victims of family and sexual violence by offering a holistic model of service in police programs and public institutions. At the same time MMR will educate organized groups in society on strategies for family violence prevention and conduct public awareness campaigns and processes that contribute to attitudinal change.

Top

Brazil: KOINONIA Presencia Ecuménica y Servicio

KOINONIA is a Brazilian ecumenical organization, bringing together churches, universities and non-governmental organizations in their efforts to improve the life of the most marginalized in Brazil. For a number of years, KOINONIA has facilitated HIV/AIDS awareness and education programming among its participating churches. Its AIDS and the Churches work is part of a larger Health and Rights Program.

While Brazil has achieved a level of relative success in slowing down the growth of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in general, the same success cannot be found among young people, women, the poor, and those living in the countryside.

Churches and religious communities play a critical role in the life of Brazilians. Given training and support, church leaders and community educators have the potential to work to overcome prejudices and stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS.

Afro-Brazilian religious expressions are present in all aspects of Brazilian life. One of the most important Afro-Brazilian religions is Candomblé. Its Terreiros (the place for religious celebrations) are also places around which the communities organize themselves for activities ranging from education to health and cultural services. KOINONIA has been working with Candomblé in Salvador since 1995 and has established links with about 90 Terreiros. The leaders of some Terreiros indicated that they were concerned about HIV/AIDS and in 2003 asked KOINONIA to extend the HIV/AIDS project to Candomblé communities.

Quilombo are rural Black communities originaly formed when slaves escaped from plantations during the slavery period in Brazil. KOINONIA has been working with 63 of these communities since 1998. They have asked KOINONIA to help them to develop education and prevention activities on HIV/AIDS.

The AIDS and Rights work of KOINONIA in 2005-07 has two main objectives:

• to contribute to overcoming the stigma and discrimination regarding HIV/AIDS through educational actions on AIDS and Rights in conjunction with religious communities (churches and Candomblé, Quilombo communities, and rural workers)
• to stimulate and support local communities to carry out activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention (reproductive health and sex education) and gender relations through training and accompaniment of peer educators

The training and accompaniment of peer educators is key for the continuity of the work after the end of the present term. The methodology used works toward strengthening local communities and local leadership development and creating the conditions for them to continue the work by themselves. KOINONIA's role after the end of the project will be to accompany and support those local initiatives.

Top

World Council of Churches: Urban Rural Mission Program in Africa

The aim of the World Council of Churches Urban Rural Mission Program (WCC/URM) is to work for an understanding and practice of the churches' mission as one that includes solidarity with the poor and marginalised in communities, and throughout the world. A global program, it has three broad goals:

• to analyse and reflect with a view to influencing the mission thinking of the churches in response to contemporary social challenges, especially related to marginalization and exclusion
• to encourage Christian and other faith-based initiatives that support people's struggles for life with dignity and in building communities with justice
• to facilitate networking of such initiatives at the local, regional and global levels for mutual support, empowerment and inspiration

The work is carried out in six regions of the world.

Activities in the URM-Africa program are aimed at training community organisers and building grassroots leadership, providing resources to new grassroots initiatives and reinforcing existing ones, and enabling reflection and social analysis from a grassroots, Africa perspective. URM-Africa focuses its work on the critical challenges facing the continent today: HIV/AIDS; conflict, peace building and reconstruction; poverty and lack of opportunity; lack of education; health and sanitation.

The specific objectives for 2005-2007 are

• to strengthen the existing URM-related groups in Africa and reinforce their capacities in community mobilisation for social transformation
• to organise and set up base community groups in four countries to facilitate URM work of community mobilizing for social transformation
• to support the coordination and monitoring of this program and work during the period specified

Top

India: The Institute of Social Sciences

The Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) studies contemporary social, political, and economic issues and problems that confront India and provides recommendations to decision-making bodies. Areas of work include local governance issues, urban issues, and economic issues. This partner is directing United Church of Canada and CIDA support to community development work in three communities in the Delhi area.

The ISS has been actively accompanying people in these communities for several years by building up non-formal education centres, community health centres, and a variety of vocational training and entrepreneurial development support programs that focus, in particular, on empowering girls and women.

The goal of the Education, Entrepreneurial Development and Community Health Program is to reduce poverty in the target communities by equipping residents, particularly girls and women, with education opportunities, vocational training, and consistent health care so that they may focus on improved income generation and community problem-solving.

Other partners whose work is included in The United Church of Canada's CIDA co-financing program for 2005-07 are:

• The Zambia Student Christian Movement
• The Amity Foundation (in China)
• Institute of Religion and Culture in the Philippines
• National Council of Churches in the Philippines
• The United Church of Christ in the Philippines
• CEMURI (in Chile)
• Coordenadoria Ecumênica de Serviço ( CESE)-Brazil
• Centro Regional Ecuménico de Asesoría y Servicio (Creas)- Argentina
• L'Eglise Methodiste d'Haiti
• World Council of Churches: World Youth Program in Africa and Asia
• WCC-SISTERS Network
• WCC-Ecumenical Advocacy and Peaceful Response to Conflicts
• The World Association for Christian Communication
• The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund

All of the United Church of Canada funds for these partner projects (and many more) come from your gifts to The Mission and Service Fund.