Author: CEDAR Fund

Break Down Interpersonal Barriers through ‘Play’

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) I recently watched an anime show, ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc’. The family of Tanjiro, the anime’s main protagonist, was attacked by a demon, and only he and his sister survived, but his sister became a demon. To find a cure for his sister and avenge those he’d lost, Tanjiro joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Young comrades were trained to fight the demons. In one episode, their superior, Muichiro, was teaching them swordsmanship. Muichiro was often expressionless and trained them rigorously. His personality and training style made the trainees fearful, frightened and tired. Tanjiro knew that although Muichiro was strict, he was worried about the trainees

Afghanistan Flood and Bangladesh Cyclone Relief

On 10 and 11 May 2024, the northeastern provinces of Afghanistan, including Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Takhar, were hit by heavy rain and flash floods. At least 180 people have lost their lives, 242 have been injured, and a total of 8,975 houses have been destroyed or damaged, with 80% of the fatalities concentrated in Baghlan province. Bangladesh’s first tropical cyclone of the year, Cyclone Remal, made landfall in southern Bangladesh on the evening of Sunday, 26 May 2024. The adjacent western part of India was also affected, with wind speeds reaching up to 135 km/h. The cyclone resulted in at least 23 deaths and nearly one million people were evacuated to about 9,000 shelters. Over 8.4 million people,

Learn to be like God – CEDAR Bible Study Insights

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) Earlier, on behalf of my fellowship, I invited a staff member from CEDAR to lead our fellowship Bible study. We explored God’s compassion for the poor, striving to emulate God. Both my fellow members and I benefited greatly from this experience. I want to share our insights with you in this issue of the CEDAR eNews. We studied the parable of the ‘Sheep and the Goats’ from Matthew 25. Before delving into the specific passage, the staff member guided us to first examine the context in which Jesus used this parable. In Matthew 24, as Jesus was leaving the temple, he told his disciples: ‘Not one stone here will be

Assistance to Myanmar Refugees

Myanmar has long been suffering from internal conflicts, and the Kachin State in the north has become a critical conflict zone between the military junta and the ethnic militias. Recently, the conflict has spread throughout the state, with airstrikes bombing many areas, forcing over 100,000 civilians to flee their homes and become internally displaced persons in Kachin state. You might go to a reliable place like a hospital or police station; meanwhile, villagers in Kachin State face increasingly dire situations, flocking to churches for shelter. ‘Three days ago, I gave birth to my child, and my body hadn’t fully recovered when suddenly there was a massive explosion. Soon, the entire village was engulfed in flames. To escape the

Practising spirituality, rediscovering the goodwill of the Lord

Written by: Ken Wong (Communications Officer) We previously launched the ‘Lenten Prayer Guide’ (Chinese only) to help everyone cultivate a heart for creation care during this period. Our colleagues have also engaged in various practices during Lent. Some have abstained from eating beef to reduce carbon emissions, while others have chosen walking instead of short-distance transportation. As for myself, I chose to abstain from coffee and organised an outing with fellow brothers and sisters to clean up litter in the countryside. I hope to share some insights from my experience of abstaining from coffee here. The initial reason for choosing to give up coffee as part of the practice was the realisation of the environmental impact of coffee cultivation.

LETTER FROM CEDAR | APR 2024

Dear CEDAR friends and supporters, Someone once speaks of the difference between charity and justice: ‘Charity makes people happy but keeps them in an unjust system, while justice frees people from that system.’ At CEDAR, we believe both charity and justice are what God has called us to fight for, as together, they pertain to a vision of human flourishing that is part of God’s will for His creation. We are most grateful for each of you who is partnering with us in this Kingdom work. We believe in the power of partnership, networks and collaboration. We are delighted to partner with 58 churches and schools this year in our annual Red Packet Campaign to raise funds to