News from the PWRDF
Subscribe today to the 2024 PWRDF Lent Resource.
Daily reflections begin February 14! Health and well-being – without one, the other simply isn’t possible. Likewise, the well-being of humans isn’t possible without a healthy planet; something we are discovering every day as we face a growing and global climate crisis. This theme is at the centre of PWRDF’s 2024 Lent Resource.
Throughout the Lenten season, you will receive a daily email with a reflection from Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat, on what health, well-being and good living require of us in our lives and our relationships with one another, with creation and with God.
As you will read, things begin to break down when human beings separate themselves from creation, exploiting it as a commodity, or separate from and exploit one another. In so doing, we separate ourselves from the Creator.
And so, on this journey through Lent, PWRDF invites you to join Dr. Keesmaat as she walks with us, meditating on our current climate crisis and the well-being of ALL of creation, human and non-human, and offering us lessons in repair and restoration that are both profoundly ancient and current. Go to pwrdf.org/Lent2024 to subscribe
Gaza and West Bank: PWRDF joins multinational alliance of Anglican organizations in joint project
On October 7, 2023, fighting broke out between Israel and Gaza and continues at a relentless pace. Within days of the initial violence, PWRDF issued an emergency appeal for Gaza and immediately sent a relief grant of $30,000 to the long-standing partner, the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital (operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem), which was used to hire much-needed staff, and to buy an increased supply of fuel and medical supplies.
Now, as PWRDF and our partners look to the future and longer-term support in the region, a proposal for a new six-month project, which will run from February 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024, has been designed in consultation with a partnership of Anglican humanitarian and development agencies, including PWRDF, who are convened by the Anglican Alliance. Eight agencies from five countries (Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and Canada), have joined hands in support of a single proposal. This relieves the Diocese of Jerusalem of the need to provide individual proposals and reports to each funding agency at a time when they are already nearing capacity as they respond to the emergency. This joint proposal streamlines the communication and working relationship between the Anglican Alliance, smaller groups representing the agencies, and the office of the Diocese of Jerusalem.
Raising voices for change: PWRDF supports adolescents and girls in Zambia
In Katete district, Zambia, a PWRDF-supported project aims to reduce child marriages, promote sexual and reproductive health for adolescents and empower girls to realize their full potential. PWRDF is supporting the Zambian Anglican Council Outreach Program (ZACOP)’s Raising Adolescents’ Voices for Change project with a total $150,000 over three years. This project builds upon the successes, lessons learned and best practices established during the Ending Child Marriages project, which began in 2020 and concluded in 2023.
Warm for winter: PWRDF continues support for Ukrainians with disabilities
Since Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine began in 2022, PWRDF has been supporting Ukrainian organization Fight for Right. Founded in 2017 by a group of Ukrainian women with disabilities, Fight for Right seeks to provide support and improve health and safety for people living with disabilities. Ongoing war and Russian occupation have made life for those with limited mobility or impaired vision increasingly difficult, but to date, Fight for Right has supported nearly 20,000 Ukrainians living with disabilities.
We’ve met our match!
This year, thanks to a very generous donor, support for World of Gifts was matched up to $110,000. We are very excited to announce that thanks to your generosity, this match has been met! More than $110,000 has been donated to fund programs in countries all over the world.
Shop World of Gifts!
Delivering aid amid war: A Q&A with PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator, Naba Gurung
Naba Gurung is the Humanitarian Response Coordinator at PWRDF. Whenever and wherever disaster strikes or conflict erupts, Gurung is managing the response as PWRDF answers the call to support our partners on the ground. Iwn his 22 years with PWRDF, Naba has experienced countless unique situations.
PWRDF Communications and Marketing Officer, Jacqueline Tucci, recently sat down with Gurung for this edition of PWRDF’s Under the Sun, to discuss the intricacies of delivering humanitarian aid during times of conflict and war.
