Dear CEDAR friends and supporters,
The UN Humanitarian Affairs Office (OCHA) reported in November that ‘2024 is the deadliest year ever for humanitarian workers’, with 281 killed globally. Relief work is getting more and more dangerous. At the same time, the violence against aid workers also reflects the fact that more civilians are being killed in conflict zones.
Indeed, according to the United Nations, civilian deaths in armed conflicts surged by a shocking 72% in 2023. Four in ten civilians killed in conflicts are women, and three in ten are children. Conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls rose by 50% in 2023, an appalling increase. The Institute for Economics & Peace reports that we are living in a world with the highest number of active conflicts (56 in total) since the end of WWII. 92 countries are currently engaged in conflicts beyond their borders. According to the International Crisis Group, the top ten conflicts are found in Gaza, the wider Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and others.
CEDAR has years-long relationships with partners serving in four of the top ten conflict countries. Walking alongside our partners this past year has been heart-wrenching as we see the impact of violence up close. At the same time, there is no stronger call to live out the Church’s mission: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Matthew 5:9). There is also no truer manifestation of the peace that only Jesus, the ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6), can bring.
We have chosen 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 as the theme of our Annual Report 2023/2024 – ‘But Not in Despair’. Paul’s words are echoed by a lot of our field partners and the communities we serve ─ being ‘hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair’. We hope our sharing of God’s work in some of the poorest and most marginalised communities around the world can inspire and bring encouragement to you.
Our SHARE issue focuses on the importance of peacebuilding amidst global conflicts. Peacebuilding and reconciliation embody Christ’s heart for this world. Please join us also in our annual Red Packet Campaign to raise funds for refugee children around the world. The UNHCR estimates that the global refugee population had reached 43.7 million by mid-2024. One in every 67 people on Earth are now forcibly displaced. Most of them suffer from food insecurity, violence and trauma, and deterioration in both physical and mental health conditions. We must not turn a blind eye to those who are suffering.
As we step into the new year of 2025, may we encourage one another to ‘learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17).
Your sister in Christ,
Winnie Fung
Chief Executive