Letter from CCA

(“A Letter from CCA” is a sharing message of the CCA General Secretary to update member churches and ecumenical friends about the life and works of CCA. It is electronically published every Wednesday.)

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ!

17th June was the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" focusing on "Combating Land Degradation for Sustainable Agriculture". Several organisations, groups and communities all over the world commemorated the day by raising awareness on the need of protecting the land.

Desertification is not only one of world's greatest environmental challenges but a major impediment in the way of ensuring basic human needs. It puts at risk the health and well-being of billions people in the world.

According to UN reports two-third of the poor live in dry-lands, about half in farm households where environmental degradation threatens the agricultural production on which their livelihoods depends.

Increase in land desertification and drought is a sign that God's creation of earth is not a mere boundless warehouse of resources - but a creation with infinite boundaries! Therefore, churches and church-based organisations are challenged to uphold their responsibility to lead advocacies in regenerating dry-lands.

CCA calls all the churches to assert their moral integrity to lead movements for the restoration of degraded lands, our reserve for future generations to live in place God created called the "Mother Earth!"

CCA Solidarity Visit to Myanmar

After CCA's solidarity visit to Myanmar lead by Rev. Freddy De Alwis of Justice International Affairs and Development (JID), including Dr Park Sungkook of Faith Mission and Unity (FMU) and Ms Naveen Qayyum from General Secretariat, the reports, news briefs and follow up action plan were circulated. 

I hope you have received the reports by now. The three day visit comprised of fact finding and exploring ecumenical response from the churches to the crisis situation. The team visited several cyclone affected areas near Yangon and the communities and churches destroyed after the catastrophe. The CCA team met with the representatives of MCC and church leaders in Myanmar involved with the emergency response along with the international ecumenical organizations working in the country to support churches' relief efforts and rehabilitation programs.

"Churches have tried to target 'unreachable areas', which are generally ignored by the government and NGOs. We had been trying to provide food, temporary shelters, water sanitation, mosquito nets and medicines, yet there are many communities we could not reach due to official restrictions" said Saw George Shey, the MCC Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The team had an opportunity to meet with the Acts International representative Margrate Walton and David Pandey of Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh . It was shared how the collaboration between the church bodies and international organisations need a balanced structure to be able to make the relief efforts smooth. 

The team had come up with the follow up action plan "Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness-Workshop". The proposal will be presented for further comments to other executive staff and colleagues. JID with the support of ecumenical organisations will run the program.

EASY Net meeting in Kuala Lumpur

CCA Youth Consultant, Mr. Adam Row was in Kuala Lumpur to facilitate the inaugural meeting of EASY Net Malaysia. He also participated in the planning committee meeting for Asian Students Youth Gathering (ASYG) 2008 and preparatory meeting for CCA Youth Pre Assembly 2010 with youth committee of Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM). CCM youth committee is currently working on sourcing possible venue location for the CCA Youth Pre Assembly. 

The EASY Net is a network of youth related organisations- the Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APA-YMCA), CCA, the International Movement of Catholic Students Asia Pacific (IMCS-AP), the International Young Christian Students Asia (IYCS Asia), the World Student Christian Federation-Asia Pacific (WSCF-AP), and the World Young Women Christian Association (World YWCA). IMCS-AP and IYCS Asia are Catholic student and youth organizations. It was formally registered as a Society in Hong Kong in 2003.

Thus EASY Net focuses on encouraging more coordination, cooperation and sharing among local, national, and regional youth and student groups that have common vision, and work on the same or related program concerns. Its main objectives are to deepen ecumenical formation by "doing"; to broaden the ecumenical horizon by encountering life, especially in countries in crisis; and to build solidarity with people in the ecumenical movement. 

Visitors of the week

CCA is pleased to welcome Dr Oh Jae Shik, Director of Asia Institute, Korea . Dr Jae Shik and his colleague Mr. Lawrence Surendra. There are here in Chiang Mai for the preparation of "Study Tour" on migration and indigenous people. The meeting was held on Monday, 16 June at YMCA Chiang Mai with colleagues including Ms. Janejinda Pawadee, Rev. Huh Chun Jung and Mr. Chan Beng Seng from CCA.

Asia Institute (AI) is an education and research institute that aims to create a "House of Peace and Co-existence" in Asia by building solidarity and developing common responses to challenges facing the Asian community. While seeking to bridge differences, AI recognizes the value of Asia 's religious, social and cultural diversity.

We also welcome Rev. Kwon Oh-Sung, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea . Rev. Oh-Sung led the delegation of church leaders to visit Myanmar . They were in Myanmar after the CCA solidarity visit to Myanmar . On his way back to Korea , he stopped in Chiang Mai to share experience and discuss cooperation with CCA on disaster preparedness and sustainable development for the victims of cyclone Nargis.

Prawate Khid-arn
General Secretary

No. 25/18 June 2008