Author: CEDAR Fund

Update: CEDAR Supports Local Partner to respond to the Needs of Survivors in Sulawesi Indonesia

It has been almost 3 weeks of the earthquake and tsunami struck Sulawesi, Indonesia. The government has ended search efforts of missing people on 11th October. Over 610,000 people are affected by the disaster. More than 82,000 people have been displaced and at least 2,000 people were killed. Right now, the government is planning to relocate survivors and build temporary shelters in Donggala and Sigi. Some families have set up tents on the roadsides. A lack of proper sanitation facilities in the affected area remains a concern. CEDAR has allocated funds to support a local Christian organisation, PESAT, to distribute emergency items in 4 villages in central Sulawesi. About 1,000 households will receive food, cooking tools, and hygiene

Urgent: Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief

On 28th September, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. The quake was followed by multiple aftershocks and triggered a tsunami with waves ranging from 6 metres tall. As of 8th October, at least 1,900 lives were lost and more than 2,630 people have been heavily injured, recorded by the Indonesian government. Nearly 66,000 houses were severely damaged, and about 74,000 people have been displaced. Palu and Donggala, in central Sulawesi, were heavily affected, but access to the area were blocked due to roads destruction. Conditions of the survivors in certain regions of remote areas are unknown. Humanitarian workers are expected to arrive the area in a few days. The number of deaths and affected

Uprooting Poverty: The Perspective of Christian Faith

Written by: Raymond Kwong (CEDAR’s Chief Executive) and Jady Sit In recent years, the international development sector began to emphasise the importance of human inner transformation for uprooting poverty. For instance, Cornell University Professor Kaushik Basu, who serves as the chief economist of World Bank from 2012 to 2016, shared in a public lecture, that no matter what kind of models of poverty alleviation is, one of the key factors to its success is whether people are willing to let go of some of their own interests or economic benefits and seek higher purposes, with which human being in general are common, and so, he advocates strengthening values education in society. This is about changing hearts and minds.

CEDAR Supports Post-Flood Relief in Kerala State

Banner image: CEDAR Fund’s Indian partner EFICOR provides food and non-food aid to flood-affected families in Kerala (Photo credit: EFICOR, 27th August, 2018) “This is a wonderful moment as this act of love is a great and timely support for my family to survive for one month… It is a god-given comfort for my family.” Indu, resident of Kerala in southern India, says. Last month, Kerala suffered the worst floods in a hundred years. Indu is still reeling from fear. The floods took away all her belongings and destroyed her house. Indu and her family temporarily stayed in a relief camp. Since her husband has been living with kidney disease, Indu could not imagine when their house could

The Letter from CEDAR | September 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Hope you had a blessed summer. My wife and I were invited to share on the handling of conflict in parenting at a fellowship group in our church few days ago. We shared about the struggle parents are facing. In Hong Kong, we do all we can to prepare our children for a successful life. This often means completion of higher education, successful career, better living environment, etc. However, less attention is paid to prepare the little ones for transforming the world. In June and July, other than the World Cup, the world’s attention was captured by the Tham Luang cave rescue. We were thankful that all 12 boys and their coach

Let Indian Voice Their Right to Information: Christian Group Bridges Government and Villagers

Banner image: CEDAR’s partner EFICOR formed and supported the Disaster Management Committees(DMC) in 15 villages of Hasanpur block of India. DMC mmember Mr. Buchi Thakur (centre) is helping women, widows, old people, and people with disability in his village to access pension and other government entitlements When confronting natural disasters, impoverished people are often the most vulnerable group. It is especially difficult for them to cope with disasters due to a lack of resources and knowledge, resulted from limited education. Although public resources are available, they may not be aware of it and do not know how to access. CEDAR’s partner organisation in India has witnessed the difficulties of poor people in obtaining information and government assistance. India,